Water Parameters Question

[treesap]

Hello! I seem to be having a water parameter problem. My GH is super low and my KH is really high. My pH is a bit high for my liking:

• GH 30 ppm
• KH 180 ppm - 240 ppm
• pH 7.5 - 8.8

I have a Betta and a few hardy plants in my 5 gallon aquarium but recently got curious and tested my water parameters for the first time with API 5-in-1 test strips. I am aware that all of the factors above are related to each other and I can't bring one up without the other two without going through-the-roof measurements. (vice versa) I have a water softener incorporated in my tap water which I can't do anything about...any suggestions to try to balance this out? I was also thinking of turning the tank into a blackwater biotope which might help with the KH and pH. Additionally, I'm curious if API aquarium salt help with the GH. Thanks!

[ADMWNDSR83]

I laughed a little reading your post, @treesap, because I am struggling with the exact opposite.  My water runs between 150-300 GH, and about 40 KH, with pH falling between 6.8 and 7.2.  

[treesap]

That's quite interesting!

[ADMWNDSR83]

I was just describing it to @Cory in another thread before I saw your post.

[Cory]

Do you know if your water softener affects your outdoor hose? I know a lot of houses it doesn't and the first thing we recommend is aging hose water to come up to temp for people with this problem. 

[treesap]

I actually haven't tried that. I will test it with the API strips. Thank you all!