How do I change ph level in aquarium without salt?

Follow up to a previous question. If I don't use aquarium salt how do I a make the water softer and the ph lower? The water where I live is very hard and I heard that the chemicals to lower ph are toxic to fish and can make them sick. I thought about using spring water in my tank but that could become costly in the long run.How do I change ph level in aquarium without salt?
Driftwood will eventually alter it. Peat moss in a nylon bag inserted into your filter will also soften/acidify the water. One down side....it colors the water like tea.....How do I change ph level in aquarium without salt?
use water softener from your local petshop....



for PH, use PH up or down from your local petshop (there are various brand names, just ask).

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If you use chemicals from the fish store it will add stuff to try to bring down the PH. The problem is all the stuff already in the water that makes it high in the first place is still in the water, so the two will fight with each other and the water will inevitably win. The result is fluctuating PH, which is much worse then a stable ph that is too high.



There really is no cheap way to do it. You can try peat moss to naturally keep it down, but you would need to provide an extra filter that you can fill it with, and it will tint your water orange - you would also want to make sure your water changes are more frequent and smaller in order to prevent jumps in PH at water changes.



Using spring water, or investing in a reverse osmosis unit and mixing this water with your tap water, is about the only reliable method.



It would be nice to know just what your PH is, most common fish have a pretty wide tolerence of PH. Your best bet is to just leave things alone and avoid delicate fish that can't handle it. Keeping it simple usually leads to better long term success.
NEVER use Ph Up / Down! This will make your tank chemistry unstable. Wood and peat moss are best.