Soft Water?

[Sab_Fan]

What exactly is a "water softener"? A Reverse Osmosis unit? What kind of South Americans are we talking, and what are your current parameters?

I took the OP to mean the same thing I have, which is a household water softener system that "softens" water by using a membrane to remove calcium and magnesium ions, replacing them with sodium ions

it is not necessarily the best method to create soft water for fishes, in fact some sources are adamant that is not good for fish at all . . . I have found that my fish seem to do very well in the softened water, as long as I take adequate precautions . . .

 

[Sab_Fan]

. . . and by "adequate precautions", I simply meant not using the water when it tastes salty, which is a potential - - but infrequent - - problem. when there is a detectable salt-taste in the water, I can do a "rinse" cycle and that purges excess salts

overall, it's a bit of a pain-in-the-ass for fishkeeping, but the water softener does a great job in other respects, such as washing, laundry and eliminating build-up on pipes

one last note: I use only salt-only tablets, i.e., I don't use any products that contain additives, such as rust preventers

 

[Clearwater guy]

.
one last note: I use only salt-only tablets, i.e., I don't use any products that contain additives, such as rust preventers

The "rust preventers" are a misleading additive. all they really are is some type of acid that cleans Iron from the softener media. Softener media can absorb very little Iron before it can't take on any more...so cleaning the Iron off the media in the softener is important if relying on the softener to remove Iron which it isn't designed to remove in the first place...

What can you do as a "rust inhibitor"... add a quart of Lemon juice to the brine tank next time you regenerate your softener...Same thing. Iron buildup will shorten the life of the softener media significantly if it isn't dealt with one way or another.

Mike

 

[DarthMaul]

Well everyone on here basically says if you fish are sick, add some salt and raise the temps. If your fish have ich add some salt and raise the temps... I was just looking too see if anyone else mainly just used soft water in their tanks. I live in utah and the water here is extremely hard. So i'm just curious if adding some soft water, (not completely filling my tank with soft water,) would this be better for my fish?

 

[DarthMaul]

What exactly is a "water softener"? A Reverse Osmosis unit? What kind of South Americans are we talking, and what are your current parameters?

Water softening is the act of reducing the dissolved calcium, magnesium, and to some degree manganese and ferrous iron ion concentration in hard water. A common water softener is sodium carbonate (Na2CO3).
These "hardness ions" cause three major kinds of undesired effects. Most visibly, metal ions react with soaps and calcium-sensitive detergents, hindering their ability to lather and forming a precipitate—the familiar "bathtub ring". Presence of "hardness ions" also inhibits the cleaning effect of detergent formulations.
Second, calcium and magnesium carbonates tend to precipitate out as hard deposits to the surfaces of pipes and heat exchanger surfaces. This is principally caused by thermal decomposition of bi-carbonate ions but also happens to some extent even in the absence of such ions. The resulting build-up of scale can restrict water flow in pipes. In boilers, the deposits act as an insulation that impairs the flow of heat into water, reducing the heating efficiency and allowing the metal boiler components to overheat. In a pressurized system, this can lead to failure of the boiler.[1] The damage caused by calcium carbonate deposits varies depending on the crystalline form, for example, calcite or aragonite.[2]
Third, the presence of ions in an electrolyte, in this case, hard water, can also lead to galvanic corrosion, in which one metal will preferentially corrode when in contact with another type of metal, when both are in contact with an electrolyte. However the sodium (or potassium) ions released during conventional water softening are much more electrolytically active than the calcium or magnesium ions that they replace and galvanic corrosion would be expected to be substantially increased by water softening and not decreased[citation needed]. Similarly if any lead plumbing is in use, softened water is likely to be substantially more plumbo-solvent than hard water[c

I'm dealing with FH, Midas, JD, common Plecos, Texas cichlids. My water is at 7.2, which is as good as i can get with tap water here...

Because he wants to try and provide ideal water conditions for the fish he keeps, whether it be to simply promote health and well-being, or breeding.