Thanks for the explanation. Sometimes it is hard to remember that we don't know what you did to get the tank started.
In our excitement to communicate we leave out pertinent info.
The best advice is to leave the PH alone. If you have hard water many people have stated that within a couple of hours the water is back up again despite using the ph reducer. The chemicals are hard on the fish.
Better to get fish that don't mind harder water and higher ph . On the other hand fish that prefer lower ph can adapt fairly well to the higher ph. They just may not breed.
I have tetras in ph 8.2 and they are now 4 years old.They are black skirts and they do lay eggs( and eat them) despite the high ph.
Hope this encourages you to leave the ph alone.