De chlorinate the water let it sit and the bubbles forming is the chlorine,I have been told and I use distilled vinegar from the corner shop for a ph down as my tap water is 7.8 not the best but only adds i find around 2 ml in a litre will drop it to about where i want ideally want to vary it from say 5.8 to 6.5 if using soil i hear its lower for hydro around 5.5 to 6.5 is the range I think,I'm no expert but everything I read says the same where that's concerned.good luck