Hello! I'm Caribouu. I have had a ten gallon freshwater tank for about ten years, and I had a five gallon for a couple years before that, so I've been doing fish off and on for quite a while. I still don't know much though, but I'm trying to learn. 
My newest problem is I've moved houses and want to set up my tank again, but it's just being stubborn. The water straight from the tap is pH 8.6, if I leave it 24 hours it's still about 8.4. The water in my tank is 8.6 (I assume. It may be even higher, but 8.6 is how high both of my tests go). The tank has been set up for close to two weeks now with no changes at all, and I don't know what to do anymore. I tried pH down for a while, and it did nothing. I used some kind of powder called maybe Perfect pH or something, that was supposed to make it be exactly 7 for several weeks- that brought the tank down to about 7.6 for less than 24 hours, now it's back at 8.6. I have liquid tests and strip tests - both say Nitrates/Nitrites/Ammonia are at 0, and the strips say the water is soft.
I don't know what to do for it now. Should I just leave it alone and let it figure itself out? How long will that take? Or is the pH fine (I always thought it needed to be closer to 7 for freshwater fish)? If it is fine, what fish would do best in it? Should I just switch to saltwater so this pH isn't such a problem?
My newest problem is I've moved houses and want to set up my tank again, but it's just being stubborn. The water straight from the tap is pH 8.6, if I leave it 24 hours it's still about 8.4. The water in my tank is 8.6 (I assume. It may be even higher, but 8.6 is how high both of my tests go). The tank has been set up for close to two weeks now with no changes at all, and I don't know what to do anymore. I tried pH down for a while, and it did nothing. I used some kind of powder called maybe Perfect pH or something, that was supposed to make it be exactly 7 for several weeks- that brought the tank down to about 7.6 for less than 24 hours, now it's back at 8.6. I have liquid tests and strip tests - both say Nitrates/Nitrites/Ammonia are at 0, and the strips say the water is soft.
I don't know what to do for it now. Should I just leave it alone and let it figure itself out? How long will that take? Or is the pH fine (I always thought it needed to be closer to 7 for freshwater fish)? If it is fine, what fish would do best in it? Should I just switch to saltwater so this pH isn't such a problem?
