soft water?

[canufeelme]

my home as a soft water system and i was told i cant use that. but the more i read it sounds like that would be better then normal tap water. what are your thoughts?

[daveedka]

Water softeners exchange Calcium and MAgnesium for sodium at roughly a 2-1 ratio. So water that has passed through a softener is technically twice as hard as the water was before it went through. Additionally calcium and magnesium are ions of importance for most fish and plants, sodium at the levels we are talking about here is not needed.

The water will test softer because the hardness Test (GH Test) picks up on calcium and magnesium but does not detect sodium.

So in a nutshell The water softener would not be the best choice for your tank water. If you can get water before it's softened you will be better off.
Dave

[meangene714]

I also have a water softener and thought it would be a problem for my african cichlids, which are supposed to prefer hard water. Its been about 3 years, and I haven't had any problems.

You might consider using water from a source outside your house, if available, such as a garden hose. It's unlikely that that water passed thru the softener.

[canufeelme]

I have a hose out side that does not pass through the soft water system, so ill use that. thank you for explaining all that to me.

[liv2padl]

the water is not actually "harder" but it does have a higher dissolved solids content. i've kept cichlids for years in "soft" water run through a sodium exchange softener without any apparent problems. fish that do best in 'soft water' will not appreciate the higher TDS and sodium levels but other fish won't care in my experience.

[daveedka]

I also have a water softener and thought it would be a problem for my african cichlids, which are supposed to prefer hard water. Its been about 3 years, and I haven't had any problems.

In effect the "Softened water" would not bother africans much at all since it has higher solids levels.
If you wanted to be a purist, it could be said that You'd bebetter off adding calcium and magnesium rather than sodium, but fish are adaptable, and as long as maintenance is good you would probably see no issues.

Hard and Soft are extremely relative terms. The general definition that society goes by is how "hard" it is to get soap suds, and how "hard" it is to clean the shower. in a true sense Total dissolved solids are the true measure of hardness. Our GH Test kit was designed to pick up on Calcium and Magnesium because they are the predominat elements in natural water and by testing for them we "generally" get a good overview of what is in the water. Municiple water treatment, softeners, and all kinds of chemical alterations skew the perspective of our GH kits.


Dave

[joephys]

Yeah avoid the water softener. The magnesium and calcium are ok for fish unless your keeping discus. My only issue with the hose is that every hose I have ever used is cold. Unless you can heat up the water, it will probably kill your fish.

[echoofformless]

My only issue with the hose is that every hose I have ever used is cold. Unless you can heat up the water, it will probably kill your fish.


True point, but it's also advised to age tap water a few days before using it anyway, thus it's room temperature within a few hours.

Philadelphia winter tap water is 40 degrees F! :eek:

So I think it's a safe bet that everyone knows Echo ages his tapwater for quite a while before attempting to allow his fish anywhere near it. haha

[liv2padl]

it's also advised to age tap water a few days before using it

aging water for a few days or a few weeks is an exersize in futility. it does virtually nothing for the water that's of benefit to the fish. the problem is that most municipalities use chloramine rather than chlorine. while chlorine will dissipate on standing, chloramine will not no matter how long you 'age' it. thus you need to use a dechlorinator which breaks the chlorine/ammonia bond and neutralizes the chlorine half of the molecule. failure to do this will result in dead fish.

[joephys]

who advises this ... the usual "they"? seems to me that if you're going to use a dechlorinator, "aging" your water serves no particular purpose.

Aging is a better option, less chemicals in the water is always better, but if you're like me and you live in an appartament, its just not gonna happen.