best chemicals to treat hard water

[sarah04455]

I have hard water (lots of calcium) and I have been doing regular water changes with Spring water from the store. This is getting pretty expensive. What are the best chemicals to treat my tap water with?

 

[jcolon]

Your two choices (I think) are using RO water or using a water softener. I think that just substitutes salts for the calcium. I'd say using RO is the best way to lower excess calcium. Aquachem's pretty knowledgeable on topic.

 

[aqua_chem]

RO water is probably your best option (and probably isn't that much more expensive than spring water, which probably isn't your best option really. Purchasing your own RODI system can be a bit pricey, but you'll probably save long term. You can also try to use peat to soften it, but in harder water that can be like trying to stop a bulldozer with a tricycle.