I have hard, basic (~8) water in my tank. (Don't ask me how I managed to have very basic water within a nasty city's limits. I expected acidity.). Both GH and KH are hard, though since I have added the log to my tank a week or so back, the GH has dropped to a somewhat more manageable level. KH is still off the charts though.
I've heard that I can boil water to lower the hardness before adding it to my tank (well...boil water, let it cool overnight, add it the next day). I am going to try boiling up some water tonight while I make dinner, then adding it tomorrow afternoon (assuming this isn't a bad idea to begin with).
I need to lower my PH, though. Will the driftwood lower it over time? Already I think my water is more acidic, but it's hard to tell with the dip-strips I've been using. I need a more accurate test, but oh, monies.
Is there anything I can do to my water before adding it to change the PH, too?
I currently have 6 kuhlis and a bristlenose in my tank, with hopes to add celestial danios and zebrafish in the future, for what it's worth. Oh yeah, and two amazon swords, lots of drawf hairgrass, and some plant with leaves that turn reddish. And they're all riddles with holes (except the grass), despite new growth and the odd root trim by me. It's rather depressing.