endgame (like the band?) - i'm slowly raising the pH on my tank to 8 because that's what our tap water is. i've always kept it around 7, but from what i read that doesn't make any difference. the biggest thing to watch is the kH and gH of your water. i'm more happy with my tap water now than i was a few weeks ago because i've learned that it has an enormous buffering capacity (pretty hardwater), and a pH of around 8. if i were you, i wouldn't keep the pH at whatever your tap water is, but make sure it has a decent buffering capacity so as to avoid pH swings that could trigger something else that would actually hurt the fish.