Water softener vs. discus

[magb321]

Hi! Ok here's the deal, a water softener has just been installed in my house, this specific softener ionizes water to convert calcium and/or magnesium in the water into sodium making the water pass from hard to soft, now the real question is, do you guys think this water will affect my discus?

Here's a little link with more scientific stuff on the softener.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_softener

Thank you!

mario

[grch36]

I'm not 100% on this but I believe that water softeners leave behind some sort of metals can get me harmful to fish... again I'm not sure on this just remember seeing that somewhere.

[pugwash]

Do you have a TDS meter and Gh/Kh test kits? You could test both your tank water and your new softened water and cross reference them both...

It was suggested to me to have an RO unit fitted to my incoming water supply, when I was considering venturing into discus (UK Discus Association - very friendly forum). Not entirely sure of these water softeners...my gut feeling is they're not as efficient as RO units and still leave a lot of dissovled solids/metals etc.

[wesleydnunder]

Discus are concerned with TOTAL dissolved solids. Water softeners exchange sodium ions with the calcium and magnesium ions at a 2:1 ratio resulting in a tds that's twice as high. After softening use RO/DI for salt rejection to get the tds down.

Mark

[magb321]

Jiz, that's exactly what i dont want to do, installing a RO... but well, after all, my water is screwed up, let's get it on with the RO...

Thank you for your fast responses people

mario

[kcooley]

i use both. the one time i didnt replace the salt in my softener it turned out that enough aluminum sulfate got through to kill my discus. the RO wasnt enough to remove the toxic metals itself.

[Star_Rider]

if you are just going to raise discus and not worried about spawning the fish out..you shouldn't have to worry too much about how hard the water is.

as long as there is no out of the norm heavy metals you should be okay

[VTwinFanatic]

if you are just going to raise discus and not worried about spawning the fish out..you shouldn't have to worry too much about how hard the water is.

as long as there is no out of the norm heavy metals you should be okay

even if you arent planning on breeding you still need to be concerned w/ hardness, its pH that (as along as stable) can be adapted too...I've always heard/read that you want to keep the hardness <4dgh

[wesleydnunder]

Juvenile discus actually grow better in harder water. Some huge, healthy discus have lived in nothing but what some people consider liquid rock; ph 7.8-8.0, 13 dkh and 18 dgh. Wild caught fish should always be kept in conditions as close to their source as possible. However, some discus keepers/breeders only keep their fish in soft, acid water when breeding; otherwise they live in local conditions.

Mark

[magb321]

Ok, my real concern is of sodium which is what results after the softening of water through this thing. Do you people think that my discus would not grow properly or be affected by this type of water?

[wesleydnunder]

What are the water params before the softener? ph, kh, gh ? After the softener?

Mark

[Dkarc]

even if you arent planning on breeding you still need to be concerned w/ hardness, its pH that (as along as stable) can be adapted too...I've always heard/read that you want to keep the hardness <4dgh

Not true. I know many breeders who keep all of their discus (except breeding pairs) in rock hard water. Im talking 18GH+. Liquid rock. And their fry grow out great and their adults do perfect as well. The ONLY time you need to be concerned about water hardness and pH is when you are trying to get them to breed and their eggs to hatch...for that, I recommend a pH around 6.5 and a hardness of no greater than 60 u/S (2-3GH or so).

-Ryan

[Dkarc]

Ok, my real concern is of sodium which is what results after the softening of water through this thing. Do you people think that my discus would not grow properly or be affected by this type of water?

If anything, the excess salt will stress them...which can lead to disease problems in short order. Is there a bypass valve before the softener that you can tap into for the discus tank (when doing water changes)?? The salt wont harm them if its only short term...but in the long run, you can run into growth and health problems due to the high salt concentration (which is purely stress related). Discus can handle salt, but only when absolutely necessary. If there isnt a bypass valve before the water softener, see about putting one in. It shouldnt cost very much.

-Ryan

[magb321]

There IS an outlet that is not affected by the softener the only problem is that it is in the basement and the tank is on the third floor. That is the way I have been making my water changes but im getting tired, I hope that on this wednesday I will be able to install my RO system which is going to be connected to the regular water, i'm gonna make a mess of pipping but hey, it's worth it.

Thanks you guys for your comments.

Mario