# Water softener



## el Mattador (Nov 19, 2008)

I have really hard water in my tank and was wanting to slowly soften it as I do water changes. Can anyone recommend a water softener I can use when doing water changes? (preferably one that hooks up to a faucet)

Thanks


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## froglady (Apr 12, 2009)

Im not sure what water softener would work good. I;ll I have in my tank is a peice of bogwood. and not sure what its role in my water is.


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## Mikaila31 (Dec 18, 2008)

I wouldn't bother. I mean how hard is hard? I also remember being told that water softeners don't do to much for fish. They may reduce gh and kh a little, but the total dissolved solids (TDS) stays the same.


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

the pH you list for your tank profile would suit the fish you are currently keeping with the exception of possibly the ram. Not a good idea to attempt to adjust the water for one fish without considering how it might affect the others. If there is a softwater species you are interested in ,it might be better to set .up a small ten or twenty gal tank especially for them. A pH value is not always indicitive of hard water. It is the KH or carbonate hardness that I would be interested in. Perhaps you could get a test for the KH or ask fish store if they would test it for you. 
In any event, were it me,(and it ain't) I would get a separate tank set up for any softwater fish that I might be interested in. And I might use Peat in the filter,or a mixture of treated tapwater and R/O water prolly about 50/50 to start with. Peat will need to be replaced when pH levels begin to rise but with monitoring,,you should be able to determine how often.
Mixing tapwater and R/O water will require a tub or bucket with this mixture already made up for water changes and the water should be heated and aerated at least 24 hours BEFORE using it in the tank. 
I would NOT attempt to adjust water in a tank containing fish.


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## el Mattador (Nov 19, 2008)

My KH is 180, and my gH is 150. I was reading about my fish and the website said that my julii likes soft water. It did not mention any of my other fish (the ram is dead), so I assume they would all be ok with softer water. My idea was to do small water changes, maybe 10% bi weekly, with filtered softer water, and over time it would lower the hardness of my water without harming the fish. The website I got the information about the julii liking soft water was aquaticcommunity.com, and like I said, it did not mention that my other fish like hard or soft water. Does anyone know of another website that might show this type of information for all my fish?


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

el Mattador said:


> My KH is 180, and my gH is 150. I was reading about my fish and the website said that my julii likes soft water. It did not mention any of my other fish (the ram is dead), so I assume they would all be ok with softer water. My idea was to do small water changes, maybe 10% bi weekly, with filtered softer water, and over time it would lower the hardness of my water without harming the fish. The website I got the information about the julii liking soft water was aquaticcommunity.com, and like I said, it did not mention that my other fish like hard or soft water. Does anyone know of another website that might show this type of information for all my fish?


I fully answered your question on softening water in my last response to your previous thread entitled "Ram died after a week" and 1077 gave you advice there as well. As he said here, softening water with fish in the tank is dangerous. Peat filtration is the best option in your situation as it is gradual. Other means usually don't work because of the buffering agents in the water that counter it. I explained why this is dangerous to fish in the other thread.

There are many websites with info on fish species. Fishbase, Seriously Fish, Practical Fishkeeping, Fish Profiles, etc. Do a Google search of the fish name and dozens if not hundreds of sites will display. It is best to check several sites to ensure you get the correct information. As others have posted on this forum, there is conflicting information out there, but if you see the same information on several sites it is probably reliable. Then there are books like the Aquarium Atlas series by Baensch and Riehl. Volume I is worth having by anyone seriously into tropical freshwater fish.


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## Mikaila31 (Dec 18, 2008)

You can use a water softener, but I really don't think it is necessary with your water. I do have a full scale water softener, not the little faucet thingys. All the water I use for water changes has run through it and I've never had a problem. Still even with a softener my water still tests at a KH of 143ppm. I don't have any issues with GB rams, I currently have 5 that I raised from tiny fry. My PH is 7.8-7.0. As for the cory I can't help, cories always die on me. IDK exactly why.

Also a mostly unrelated question, but why are there ppm readings for KH and GH now? I've been seeing them a lot lately and they are confusing me. My test kit measures in degrees and those are the units I use to see used. I know my KH is 8 in terms of degrees, I had to google to figure out what it was in ppm.


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