Does softened water hurt plants?

[Hholly]

My planted tank is still struggling, but doing better with ferts. But it just occurred to me that the fact that I use softened water may be affecting things. Opinions?
Thanks!

 

[Rivercats]

Plants except for a few like rotala wallachii and bolbutis like a Gh and Kh of around 4. If your using RO are you putting any reconstituting powder in it? Plants need magnesium and some calcium so if your tank has none it could be a problem.

 

[Hholly]

No, I have very hard well water that runs through a Culligan water softener that uses salt. But thanks anyway.

 

[aqua_chem]

It's probably not doing them any favors. What's your tank setup?

 

[Hholly]

I've got 2 tanks I'm working on:

55 gal with aquatic life dual t5/ho 108 watt, plus a t8 with a zoomed full spectrum bulb. Dosing dry ferts and a small amount of excel. Ammo-0, trites-0, nitrate-10-20, pH-8.3, temp-78.
Swords, Italian Val, ludwigia, micro sword,crypts, rotalia rotundiflora, and a few assorted others.



45 gal., 24"deep. Aqueon dual t5 42watts, water params same as above.
Jungle vals, rotalia rotundiflora, amazon swords, Brazillian penneywort, etc.

I'm fighting diatoms in the 55, so lights are on 6-8 hours.
Thanks!

 

[Hholly]

Most of the plants appear to be growing. But it seems like some leaves die quickly. Some plants produce a new leaf, then a leaf dies. So nothing seems to get bigger.

 

[Rivercats]

If your using a water softner then your exchanging magnesium and calcium ions for sodium ions. Most plants don't like sodium but use magnesium and calcium so this could be your problem. Anyway you can use WC water from your system before it goes through the water softner?

 

[Hholly]

If your using a water softner then your exchanging magnesium and calcium ions for sodium ions. Most plants don't like sodium but use magnesium and calcium so this could be your problem. Anyway you can use WC water from your system before it goes through the water softner?

Not without some changes to the plumbing. :-/ do you think the sodium is burning them?

 

[Rivercats]

I'm not a chemist but I know sodium and plants don't mix. Had a friend that had no end of trouble with his plants and finally found out his water was on a softner. Once he stopped using the water his plant problems straightened out.

 

[Hholly]

Ah, ok. I may have to figure something else out. Thanks.

 

[aqua_chem]

In order to remove a divalent ion like calcium (or magnesium), you need two monovalent ions, such as sodium. So while you may be reducing your hardness as measured by GH, your TDS is skyrocketing, which may adversely affect some plant and animal species.

 

[Hholly]

So by TDS, you mean sodium? So far the fish seem ok. Do you know what problems might arise other than plants?

 

[Rivercats]

TDS is total dissolved solids. I don't know how it would affect fish or other wildlife.

 

[Hholly]

TDS is total dissolved solids. I don't know how it would affect fish or other wildlife.

I guess I'm confused how the TDS is skyrocketing.

 

[foster53]

Not without some changes to the plumbing. :-/ do you think the sodium is burning them?

There should be a bypass valve on the conditioner. Switch it to bypass, then all the cold water that is used to do water changes will have all the GH left in it. This is what I have to do for my tanks.

 

[Hholly]

There should be a bypass valve on the conditioner. Switch it to bypass, then all the cold water that is used to do water changes will have all the GH left in it. This is what I have to do for my tanks.

Wow great idea! I know that not much of what goes in is hot anyway. Thanks so much!

 

[foster53]

Your very welcome. Rivercats came up with the idea originally.

 

[Hholly]

I was thinking I needed pipes added on, lol. It didn't occur to me to use the bypass.

 

[foster53]

I was thinking I needed pipes added on, lol. It didn't occur to me to use the bypass.

Much easier than plumbing.

 

[aqua_chem]

As mention, TDS means total dissolved solids. It's the sum of all the stuff in your water, including molecules, ions, and any small particulates. TDS is actually the most important factor for fish and most plants. "Soft water" fish are actually low TDS fish, generally speaking. Fish don't really "see" calcium vs sodium vs magnesium, but instead are more sensitive to osmotic concentration (essentially measurable by TDS). When you increase TDS, you increase osmotic concentration, and fish/plants need to work harder to keep themselves from loosing water, stressing them and making it harder for them to thrive.

If you have a water softener hook up to your main line, then you probably have fairly soft water. For example, lets say you have a hardness of 12 dGH, or about 200 ppm. If you run this through a softener, you have a TDS of 200 ppm high than you would have started out with (400 ppm), in addition to whatever sodium or other contributors were already in your water. For reference, the TDS of the Amazon River is about 40 ppm, and many breeders will keep their fish in water with a TDS of 60-80.