Softened water

[Smudgeboss]

We have had our tank for about a year. all is going well. about 2 weeks ago I got our water softener going again. today, when I did a PWC I realized that the water going into the tank now would be softened. Many of the minerals would be taken out and replaced with a salt solution. Is this good for my tetras? Would I be better off to use hard water? How do I warm it up to the temp that my fishies would llike?

thanks

 

[toddnbecka]

Tetras generally do better in soft water, and there shouldn't be enough salt to do any harm.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

What type of softener do you have? I think cation exchange is good. the other type is not.

Typically the softener is only hooked up to 1 side (hot) so you are probably at 1/4 dilution going to the tank and I doubt the fish would notice until you get up over 50% PWC.. Sadly I'm not expert in water softeners, if you want to play it safe. bypass the softener and fill a pail, then use a heater to heat it up to tank temp..

 

[Fishyfanatic]

You should be fine. Plenty of people use water softeners. It becomes a problem when your water is too soft that it does not have the buffering capabilities. Have you tested the hardness?

 

[jsoong]

You should test the KH of the water. If the KH is too low, it would be a problem with pH stability.

With an ion-exchange unit, the KH should not be a problem. The fishies won't care if you exchange the Ca/Mg with Na or K. It would be a problem if you keep inverts like snails (need Ca for their shells).

If you have a R/O unit, the situation would be totally different.