How To Raise Alkalinity?

So my tap water is pretty bad. 0 hardness 0 alkalinity and 6.0 ph or lower. This might have been an addition to what problem I had previously with my tank. Now I’ve tested my brothers well water which is around 7ph and in between soft and hard on my strips (don’t have a liquid kit for hardness or alkalinity) but the alkalinity is still basically non existent. I keep mainly platy. Would also like to get some guppies and tetra eventually but majority will be platy. So is alkalinity important for platy? I understand hardness and ph and everything else and how it affects stuff but I still can’t find a clear answer for alkalinity. I will be using the well water from my brothers house from now on. If alkalinity is even needed for platy how would I raise it? Very few things to pick up at my pet stores here in nl canada. Can’t even buy crushed coral.

TLDR;
what is alkalinity?
What does alkalinity affect when high/low?
Is it necessary for platy?
How to raise, if necessary?

Thanks

 

Your PH level in fish tank should be maintained 6.8 -7.9 however some fish species will requires higher PH level . The basic is to this most aquarium fish thrive in pure water, which is a neutral pH of 7. A tank with high pH, meaning it's very alkaline, is dangerous for fish and their habitat. If your fish are showing symptoms of illness, check your pH.. maintain your pH between 7.4 -7.8 unless your fish required higher PH

 

Alkalinity is the opposite of acidity. pH7 is neutral anything above 7 is alkaline anything below 7 is acidic, the further you get from 7 the more acidic/alkaline you get.

If water is too acidic or alkaline it can limit the fish you can keep in it.

If you can't get crushed coral how about sea shells or cuttlefish bone, they all contain calcium salts which will raise your pH and increase the hardness of the water, this is important as it buffers the pH make fluctuations in pH less likely.

 

Thanks for the replies! So when ph is raised alkalinity will automatically go up with it? So basically any water with a ph close to neutral should automatically have decent alkalinity good for livebearers? Thanks!!

 

Alkalinity/ acidity are to pH as hot/Cold are to temperature. Both are general terms to describe where you are on a scale of measurement.