ph balance

Question
Hi .i have a 50 gallon tank,but i am having a hard time maintaining the pH balance .I went to pet smart and they told me to get something called 7.0 pH .i did and followed the instruction as they said .i have taken a sample of the water 3 times now for them to test each time its been very low .and they keep telling me to add another treatment of he 7.0.but i feel like there is something else i should do to maintain the pH .i don't understand why it is always low .please help .

Answer
Hi Toni

The first thing to do is test your tap water. If it is low, you may be best to keep fish that can tolerate a lower pH, and there are many of them. If your tap water has a more neutral pH, then there is something in your tank lowering the pH.

I don't recommend pH buffers, If you use these, you have to replace them with each weekly water change.

Hope this helps, good luck!

Richard