Deplorable Tap Water... What Now???

[FishoPhile J]

so here's the problem.... my tap h2o has a hardness of 2-3 (german), and a ph of about 8.6. if i add chems to harden it, it makes the ph go off the charts... i've tried natural substrates, cichlid salt, malawi buffer, and an alkaline buffer, and i can't seem to get it any harder than 5-6. any suggestions would be appreciated.
thanx,
-j

[jnorris]

Have you tried limestone? Or finely crushed corel in your filters.

btw reading your post can be misleading...lol

Ok I will grow up eventually.

[FishoPhile J]

no, i mixed in aragonite with the gravel but didn't see any change. i'll get some crushed coral from the lfs and try that, putting it in the filter never occured to me, but that seems like a good suggestion.
thanx,
-j

[jnorris]

What kind of filter do you have? Make sure you get Crushed Coral (think it is different than Arogonite). The name on the package is at least.

Also I use Seachem Malawi Buffer. That sems to a good job of holding your PH (you may have already tried that). Sounds like your water would be better for making beer than for a fish tank.

Your water actually sounds a lot like mine. I am sure somone will add to my suggestions. Perhaps with another good idea.

You may also consider getting a form of limestone as part of your rock work.

Here is a good link iI found for you
http://www.drhelm.com/aquarium/chemistry.html