yah.. im not sure what would raise your ph aside from store bought ph up.. i think it is only like ten bucks or so, not that pricey.. you could always do a google and check, but make sure it says that it is safe to use on plants..
fox farms products will have a big affect on your ph.. i phed my tap water with nothing added and it was 8.5, yummy lol.. and i rechecked it again after adding the fox farms trio of nutes, and it brought it down to about 6.4 or so, which was perfect.. and i do think that is what the other poster was reffering to about making your ph perfect was by adding the fox farms nutes..
and you are right about phing after you add the nutes, this way you won't have to add ph up or down twice.. do it afterwards and you will only have to ph it once.
best of luck with your grow though