slowrider Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 I have a water softener at home. Our town claims their water is fairly soft, however, we have had to replace two bathroom taps due to mineral build-up and corrosion. I'm just wondering how the water softener will affect a freshwater tank. Our neighbor used to have fish and used to come borrow water from us before we got the softener because she felt her softener was adding too much salt to the water. Is it true that my water will have higher levels of salt? If so, how can I make adjustments for this? Sorry for my ignorance on this one. Just one of those things I was thinking of before I start setting up my tank again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbruun Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Not all softeners add salt. I have one in my house and it just uses the salt to make a brine which rinses the system. During that rinse I have bypassed/unsoftened water. Which doens't matter because it happens at 2 AM. I'd look into what your system actually does before you worry too much. And I wouldn't say that it's hard water that causes your problems by itself. Probably more to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 If you have space, maybe set up a barrel of unsoftened water with a heater in it, and use that for your WCs. If that's too inconvenient, many fish should be fine, but you may have problems growing some plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geleen Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 If you have space, maybe set up a barrel of unsoftened water with a heater in it, and use that for your WCs. If that's too inconvenient, many fish should be fine, but you may have problems growing some plants. I would recommend this as well. I manually bypass the softener for WC and fill my barrel (valve on the back of the unit). I am not sure anymore what exactly goes on (I did research it at one time) I believe it was the conductivity (measured in micro siemens) that changed dramatically and for the worst. As Jason said most fish are fine, discus would not like it,although they manage. More( mumbo jumbo)The Calcium ion is replaced by the salt ion making the water feel softer but it actually is not. Once the calcium is removed, buildup in pipes is a lot less, and you need less soap, and the white wash is whiter. I have read that you can not use the other salt (???) readily available as it may kill your fish. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Softeners do not add salt (NaCl)- they do add sodium. The magnesium and chloride ions in the hard water are replaced with sodium ions. A water softener works through ion exchange. The softener contains resin beads, which are charged with sodium ions from the salt pellets you buy. When hard water passes through the resin the calcium and magnesium ions change places with the sodium ions on the beads. Each Ca2+ and Mg2+ needs to be replaced with 2 Na+. So, the harder your water is, the more sodium you end up with in it afterward. Eventually the resin becomes full of Ca and Mg. The resin is then washed with the salt/brine solution. The sodium from the salt attaches itself to the resin beads and the calcium and magnesium ions let go of the resin beads and are washed down the drain. This is when your softener regenerates. So... we're all told to reduce our sodium intake. Does the same go for our fish who have to live in the water? Probably. As an alternative, you can buy potassium chloride pellets instead of the regular salt pellets (our bodies use more K than Na.) This is a great alternative for planted tanks where you would be dosing K anyways. Probably better for the fish too. As already suggested, ideally you would just use un-softened water. If you really need to soften it, you can mix it with RO or distilled water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowrider Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Thanks everyone! Wow, there are some pretty chem-smart people on here! -roll- I don't notice a difference myself but my husband won't drink our water from the tap anymore. He swears it tastes salty. We use a brita filter for our drinking water now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Yeah, I also think it tastes disgusting. I put an RO unit under the sink after we got our softener. Tastes great and now I drink as much as I'm supposed to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Tastes great and now I drink as much as I'm supposed to Are you talking about water, beer or that Canadian Club you're so fond of??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Tequila shots, of course. :smokey: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowrider Posted October 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2009 Tastes great and now I drink as much as I'm supposed to Are you talking about water, beer or that Canadian Club you're so fond of??? LOL! You people crack me up! :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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