water softner

[travis74]

I don't have room to hook up and store ro/di water in my apartment, but I would like to get my kribs and gbrs a breeding. But this question is for the plants... does the water softner for the xp line have a negative effect on the planted environment? Would it effectively be neutralizing my EI schedule? Any thoughts?

 

[rkilling1]

I don't have room to hook up and store ro/di water in my apartment, but I would like to get my kribs and gbrs a breeding. But this question is for the plants... does the water softner for the xp line have a negative effect on the planted environment? Would it effectively be neutralizing my EI schedule? Any thoughts?

I do not understand what you mean by xp line? (it's early for me), but if you bypass the water softener that would be best IMO for a planted tank. The water softener removes Mg++ and Ca ++ , which are Macro nutrients needed by your plants. The softener also puts a lot of Sodium into the water as well, which may hinder plant growth.

 

[gheitman]

rkilling1,

I think that travis74 is talking about the water softener pillow that Rena makes for their Filstar xP canister filters but that your comments still apply in any case.

travis74,

I've bred kribs and several other species and while trying to soften your water (to get the best results) may be desired it is not necessarily required. I think that most experienced aquarists will say that water quality is the first thing to be concerned about. You are probably already on top of this, but making frequent partial water changes can make a big difference. What is your water hardness currently? I also keep softwater dwarf cichlids (apistos) in planted tanks and have had some spawn recently. I use tap water treated with Prime and then add either Tetra's Blackwater Extract or Marc Weiss' Instant Amazon to soften the water. The tanks I use for breeding have sponge filters in them so I don't have the option of adding anything to the filter to change the water parameters.

 

[travis74]

Yeah sorry about that it was late for me... I was referring to the Rena line of filters.
The fact that the softener extracts the trace's is my reluctance.
gheitman- I have no familiarity with these products. How do they work?

 

[gheitman]

Basically they add peat extract to the water that softens it and lowers the pH somewhat. There are also peat nodules available that you can add to a canister filter as well as peat plates that can be added under the substrate (both are from Hagen).