Hard Water High Ph

[4seasons]

Well we just moved out to the farm where the water is extremely hard and has a very high PH. My sons betta is not having any issue with the change in PH. At the apartment the water ran from 6.0 to 7.6 PH so I was checking the PH before doing water changes and only adding 7.0 or higher to avoid changing his PH too much. Now the tap water here stays above 8.0 PH and I have seen it as high as 8.6 PH. I knew this when we moved so I took some time to acclimate the fish to the higher PH but now I am a little concerned about the long term effects. I was planning on adding endlers and otos to this tank soon as it was almost cycled when we moved. I was doing water changes every 4-5 days to clear a trace of nitrite but after moving I am fighting a daily nitrite spike so it may be a few weeks before we can add some other fish. Now I know a stable PH is more important than hitting a perfect number but I would like to lower the PH some to make the betta more comfortable and for the future otos. Could I drop PH much by adding bogwood to the tank? I would just like to see PH at or under 8 as opposed to the 8.2 PH it is running at now. Any ideas?

 

[Jay1983]

Dropping PH in hard water is difficult, my water is fairly hard so I use 50% tap 50% reverse osmosis water. This will help you to be able to lower the PH. You'd have to do it gradually as to not shock the fish.

Most people will tell you a stable PH is better than trying to replicate the fish's natural PH. This is because you could end up having your PH changing alot which can stress out fish and cause problems.

Someone with a bit more experience will hopefully give you some more advice.

Jay