Good Idea, better yet get him to install a T in the water line before it goes into the softener, and get you water from the T. Then you avoid rididual softened water in the pipes.
I need a cure-all!
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We already have that in place & we have an on-demand water heater, so the hot water isn't soft either. I just run the water for 5 min to make sure all the softened water is out of the pipes. Our water is super hard(pH btwn 8 & 8.4, alkilinity over 300 ppm, & hardness 425ppm) & full of iron. We have a string filter on the water supply as soon as it comes into the house, so that seems to take out most of the rust. I've been thinking of buying RO water to supplement in to lower my values into the more normal range. Would distilled water work as well since it is devoid of all minerals?
I think Pimafix and Melafix are the two greatest newer treatments for fish that are safe and natural and are supposed to be sort of like a "cure all" medicine. I use this with new additions to the tank and to treat fish. Best of all, they are safe for all fish, plants and other critters in the tank.
While salt may not be a cure - all, it does indeed do more tha just buffer & lower stress. Like Dave said - it can help kill some parasites. It also will kill some bacteria - remember back in the old days (I was THERE but perhaps you've read about it!) before refrigeration was common, people used to salt their meat to preserve it - like salt pork on long ocen voyages on sailing ships. That's becuz it killed the bacteria that made the meat spoil. Also - like you should never use soap on your wood cutting board becuz it soaks in to the wood - but you can clean it by rubbing it with salt - salt kills the bacteria.
I do have a salt based softener on my well water, and have used that water straight into the tank for 12 years with no problem. I have 6 cories - one of them for 7 years - doesn't seem to bother them. They don't breed but I'm not interested in that. I personnally think the softener salt helps keep down the disease in the tank.
As for the white things on their lower lips - this is a parasite - my giant danios had them for a while. I started using Aquarisol - first as a treatment and now as a preventative with my weekly maint routine. I haven't had any sick fish in years. Just can't use it if you have invertebrates.
HTH - Good Luck
I do have a salt based softener on my well water, and have used that water straight into the tank for 12 years with no problem. I have 6 cories - one of them for 7 years - doesn't seem to bother them. They don't breed but I'm not interested in that. I personnally think the softener salt helps keep down the disease in the tank.
As for the white things on their lower lips - this is a parasite - my giant danios had them for a while. I started using Aquarisol - first as a treatment and now as a preventative with my weekly maint routine. I haven't had any sick fish in years. Just can't use it if you have invertebrates.
HTH - Good Luck
:OT: Just a thought or maybe a question MamaBarb. Salt as used in curing, or packing meats is at very heavy concentrations. at lower levels meat can and will spoil thus it is safe to say that some bacteria can grow at some level with salt, as evidenced by the fact that bacon and ham will spoil (if not refridgerated) as soon as they are released from their curing processes. At the levels in the fish tanks, the filter bacteria doesn't die, but as we know at heavy brackish or marine levels, it is a different bacteria that grows, but there is still bacteria living and multiplying. Is it really a safe apples to apples when we use meat packing as a comparison to salt's capabilities. Not trying to start a war here, just been thinking all day on this one and wondering a few things.
Dave
Dave
daveedka said:
I agree completely Dave - it is not an apples to apples - just an example that salt does kill some bacteria. I sometimes tend to generalize in writing - I can't type as fast as I think and never express myself completely! I knew EXACTly what I was thinking and just don't know why no one else does! LOL We are on same page I think - IMHO a little salt all the time - like I get from my softener - is a good thing.
Still friends - Mary
