Water Too Alkaline?

[grownocean]

Hi all, 
 
I just have a simple water chemistry question. I have a betta in a 1.5 gallon, filtered and planted tank. My last water change was approximately a week and a half ago. I went to Petco to get my water tested (because it's closer to my house than my LFS) and everything was fine except that my alkalinity was rather high. The woman who tested my water handed me a bottle of "pH Down". The bottle says to add 2 drops for each gallon, so I was thinking to add only 1, correct? Also, how did my water become so alkaline and how do I prevent this in future?  
 
Thanks,
Andria 

 

[b3cca]

What is the actual PH and what is your tap water PH ??
I wouldn't start messing around using PH down or anything else until you know the excact readings
 
 
If you vastly change your tank PH to your tap PH then Everytime you do a PWC you will be fluctuating the tank PH back to what your tap water is anyways 

 

[grownocean]

I wouldn't be able to tell you the exact readings. I could perhaps go back tomorrow and get re-tested. I probably should take a sample of my tap water PH while I am at it, huh? I did a water change tonight so I'll see what the results are. Will update soon. 

 

[grownocean]

Update: The PH of my tank is around 7.3 and my tap water is slightly above that. 

 

[b3cca]

Ok 7 is neutral and 7.3 is slightly basic and I believe bettas are blackwater type who naturally prefer acicidic water but can't see 7.3 being a problem
 
Just keep your tank natural and stable , no need to be adding any PH buffers or chemicals to it at all 

 

[Essjay]

You also need to test some tap water that's been allowed to stand for 24 hours. The pH of tap water commonly changes after standing. Since the water in your tank has been out of the tap for more than 24 hours, it's the pH of the tap water left to stand that you need to compare the tank's pH to, not freshly run tap water.
My tap water pH goes up by 0.2 after standing.

 

[hobby5]

Your pH is perfectly fine. No need to mess around with it. The ornamental strains can be kept at pH 6-8. On a side note, how do you fit a filter in 1.5G?