Here is what Ted had to say about it...
"Water Softener
Before we get to changing water, take a look at these two sponge filters. The filter on the left has been calcified but high general hardness in my tap water. The filter on the right is what a clean filter with no calcification looks like. The calcium and magnesium content of my tap water is so high, that when I opened the fish room all of my filters looked worse than this in less than two months. Huge problem!
I had to solve this problem by installing this 98,000 grain water softener onto the main water line into the bulding, which removes most (but not all) of the general hardness from the water.
This water softener exchanges most of the Mg and Ca general hardness for sodium chloride. Using water parameter terms, before the water softener the GH of the tap water is 18 – 20 degrees of hardness and about 480 parts per million total dissolved solids. The KH before softening is 14-16, and the pH is about 8.2. After passing through the water softener, my tap water parameters are GH 6-7, KH 5-6, pH 7.4-7.6 and about 300 parts per million TDS.
But most of those dissolved solid particles are sodium chloride, which does not bother fish in such low amounts. When you treat your tank with aquarium salt at a rate of one tablespoon per ten gallons, you are putting a higher concentration of salt in the water than I get out of my water softener. That salt has the added benefit of discouraging parasites like velvet and ich… salt is not a cure for those diseases… but the salt can help prevent the parasites from getting a start. That is a topic for a future video.
Another advantage to the water softener is that it removes the chlorine from the water, so I do not need to add water conditioner when filling tanks. My water utility does not add chloramines, and I am not sure if the water softener would remove that molecule.
Most homes are not using a water softener on the main line coming into the building like mine is. Typical water softeners are only plumbed to the hot water line, and the cold water is not being softened. Keep that in mind if you have a water softener in your home… only a portion of the water you are running to your tanks will be conditioned."
