ph levels and fish dying

Question
I just recently set up a 55 gal. aquarium.I used water from the outside spigot. let it heat and treated it for a week before putting fish in.I now cant get the ph level below 7.4.we had an eel and a red tailed shark die within 24 hrs.after i started trying to lower the ph level. I tried 3 different times yesterday and once today.What am i doing wrong?

Answer
Hi Charles;

PH is not a worry. The fish get accustomed to levels over 8.0 without a problem, as long as it is done gradually when you first put them into it. The problem comes when it is adjusted over and over again. The fluctuations are what kills the fish.

So stop adjusting the pH and gradually introduce the new fish over a period of a few hours. I have done this with new ones for 6 hours with no ill effects as long as it is done carefully. Float the bags on the water of the tank and every half hour, add a quarter cup of tank water to the bags. Pouring this water at a height of 12 inches or so will give the fish oxygen too. Since the bags will get opened so often, this will add new air to the bag as well. Make sure there is a big air space in the bag when you close it back up.(New fish have a tendency to want to leap out, so always close the bag back up!)

Here is a link to the About.com forums that you can browse to find more info on new tanks.
http://freshaquarium.about.com/mpboards.htm

The folks there are great and you will see a few posts by me there as well. (I'm ChrisR62) It's a fun little community with lots of great info.

Followups welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins