Water softener
- Thread starter nzafi
- Start date
I have ungodly hard water that colors the shower rust red if I don't keep up with it, which I don't because I'm a man.
I would venture to guess soft water and the additives that are in some of the water softening salt will have an effect on fish that can't take the lower PH. I don't have an answer to this as I don't have a softener.
I would venture to guess soft water and the additives that are in some of the water softening salt will have an effect on fish that can't take the lower PH. I don't have an answer to this as I don't have a softener.
The problem with a water softener is that it only temporarily lowers the ph. When I lived in my parents' house for a short time before my wife and I got our own house, I tested the ph from their tap and it came out at about 7.0. However, after it sat for about 24 hours, it was up at about 8.2-8.4. This creates a problem for fish because the ph in the tank is that of aged water, which is about 8.4. However, when a water change is done, say 50%, it will drop the ph from 8.4 to 7.7, immediately, and shock fish that are sensitive to it. Then, 24 hours later the ph will be back up at 8.4.
If you want to run a water softener then I recommend setting up some sort of water aging container. That way you can give the water a change to level out before adding it to the tank.
If you want to run a water softener then I recommend setting up some sort of water aging container. That way you can give the water a change to level out before adding it to the tank.
In most cases water softeners use salt, which basically swaps the calcium ion from hard water, for a sodium ion in the salt. And the main reason is to make soap suddsier. The soft water, softeners produce is not like natural soft water. Usually when a softener is installed, at least 1 tap is usually left unsoftened, and that's the one I would use for my fish, unless they needed brackish (more sodium rich water).
Thanks for the feedback. Number of things for me to think about. Luckily I dont have those red stains but I do have lots of white stains. It is at the point where you can see hard white stains inside my fish tank even though it is full with lots of current. Not to mentioned all the stains that are starting to show up in my shower, dishwasher, etc.
Ok I have a water softner and have had one my whole life. I have a well with extremely hard water and iron. Yep you get the metal smell and it'd orange discoloration without it. What I do is run two filters for it, I run a sediment filter that filters down to 5 microns before it goes into the softner and a taste, color and odor filter when it comes out. I have no discoloration, smell or anything after that. Now I have 5 Tanks I run in my house and the water comes right out of the tap and into the tanks with no aging. My Ph stay around 8.0 to 8.4 in the Tanks and out of the tap. I keep south American Cichlids and they have absolutely no issues with the water. Hard water fish species I have never tried. I think there's a lot of misunderstanding out there about using them. I personally have no issues whatsoever. This is my 125 with softened water, all fish are 3 plus years old.
Since I've returned to the hobby 4 years ago, I've been using well water that runs through a whole house softening system, at my current new home. I could bypass the softener and use unfiltered hard water, but living in a cold region and doing 50% wc, would be detrimental to my tropical fish due to the temp fluctuation.
There are those that advise against using this softened water due to the salt content, but, as far as I know, there aren't any scientific research/studies that has indicated any detrimental/adverse effect from prolong exposure to this softened water.
The majority of my fish are in the 3 year range and ranges from different parts of the world in origins. I also have a native North American tank. All are kept in this softened water. All seems to be doing just fine: active; colorful; growing; breeding. The only thing that I have notice is that my fish tends to grow on the slower side than those of other members here. This could be due to a side effect of the softened water and /or feeding habit.......since I tend to not heavily feed my fish. Other than that, all my fishes appears to be healthy and thriving.
There are those that advise against using this softened water due to the salt content, but, as far as I know, there aren't any scientific research/studies that has indicated any detrimental/adverse effect from prolong exposure to this softened water.
The majority of my fish are in the 3 year range and ranges from different parts of the world in origins. I also have a native North American tank. All are kept in this softened water. All seems to be doing just fine: active; colorful; growing; breeding. The only thing that I have notice is that my fish tends to grow on the slower side than those of other members here. This could be due to a side effect of the softened water and /or feeding habit.......since I tend to not heavily feed my fish. Other than that, all my fishes appears to be healthy and thriving.