Can You Use Softened Water for Fish Tank Updated

Can You Use Softened Water for Fish Tank

We utilize a water softener at our home. Is this water safe for aquarium use? Have used in the past and my sister has besides tried the aquarium with this water. We have both had bug. We dechlorinate the water merely fish simply don't do well. She has give up on the aquarium, at present I accept decided to endeavor information technology again. Just wondering if it's the water softener?

crzy2rc

ix years agone

1.Im not an adept at all. Withal Though this should be prophylactic, you lot should check with the manufacturer of your softener or the softening media you use to confirm that the h2o is prophylactic for aquarium use before using it.
2. Cheque with the pet store let the water sit in a saucepan for a day check the chemicals and treat if ness.
3. I would say if you lot keep losing fish a last resort become the h2o from somewhere else.
---3is not so helpful bc daily changes may exist required depending on your prepare, type of fish etc. try manufacturer if non a unlike h2o softener production. They likewise also sell filters

what type of softener is it common salt based ?? etc best bet again bank check with the manufacturer
Good luck thanks for posting keep usa updated.

BTW virtually good pet places tin can examination your water for you it could possible exist something else are you letting the water run peradventure to much copper in the water possible. Take it tested earlier you lot go super crazy again practiced look

9 years agone

Near water softeners supervene upon whatever calcium in the water with sodium. Some fish will not practise well with a high sodium content in the h2o. Check your water softener to see if information technology has a featherbed valve. If so switch out the softener when your do y'all water changes then switch it dorsum in when you lot are washed. If it doesn't have a featherbed valve see if you have an outside spigot that bypasses the softener. Another more expensive option is to use potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride in your water softener. It is available at nigh places that sell water softener salt. Potassium is not every bit hard on fish as sodium is and if y'all have live plants they will absorb much of it as they grow. Water softened with potassium chloride is besides healthier for humans to drinkable since most people accept as well much sodium and not enough potassium in their diets.

7 years agone

HI. I have a softener and I oasis't had ay problems. I do add a dechlorinator because the softener doesn't remove chloramines. I treat my h2o with salt, and contrary to popular belief, this does not add table salt to the water. Enquire whatsoever softener company or better yet, ask a chemist. My uncle is a chemist and I tend to believe him. He used to piece of work for the Animate being Disease Lab in Ames Iowa. He helped in perfecting of the sterile atmosphere weather that Howard Hughes had to live in out in Vegas. At present I have had my aquariums upward and running for two years. Non a trouble from the softener. It would impale off the plants in the aquaria and the firm plants also. Mine does not. Near softeners have a featherbed valve on them. If you are concerned, accept non softened and softened h2o to your LFS and take them test the water for you. Expert Luck.

vii years agone

Different water softeners employ unlike technologies. A few years ago, the well-nigh common was ion exchange with table salt.

Aquarists were warned abroad from such h2o for reasons that were never clearly stated. Possibly 1 reason was softened water with all minerals removed has no pH buffers, which are measured equally carbonate hardness (KH).

The newer systems may still remove minerals which are vital to fish health. Softened h2o may not directly harm fish, but its lack of minerals may allow them to get sick.

More discussion on this topic would be very informative.

7 years ago

Hey guys. I am in the water treating business and installed a softener on my house. In my experience, if you are using sodium to soften your water, information technology's non a adept thought to put information technology in your tank as there is residual sodium in your tap water after the softening process. Information technology'due south unavoidable. Still, in that location is potassium available and will work exactly the same in your softener, except you will have potassium in the water instead of sodium. This is what I ise on my house. Not but is it better for the fish, perhaps more than importantly, it'south better for the people in the firm!👍

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7 years ago

@insubordinate...that is but not true. I have been doing water treatment for years. Softeners remove the heavy minerals that make h2o hard, and supersede it with sodium. There is sodium in your h2o. Google it if y'all don't believe me, but information technology's a proven fact. That's why sodium softening is not recommend for people with hypertension.

7 years ago

Please alibi my response, just the way I empathize the typical salt h2o softeners piece of work is as follows:

The resin tank "filters" mineral deposits that crusade water pipes and appliances to have build up in the class of calibration...more often than not lime in our area. The salt solution, in your brine tank, basically washes through the resin tank and bonds with the minerals deposited and flushes them down the bleed, thus rendering the resin tank fit to "filter" the minerals again. If the softener is gear up correctly, with respect to mineral content and salt usage, the resulting water should have piffling if any salt/ sodium content.

I am not sure of exactly how the resulting water plays a function in the aquarium, but thought it useful to disspell the misconception that softeners salt your water, if set up properly...or potassium it for that thing.

#nine

7 years ago

That is how they work. However, the resulting table salt is not negligible when talking almost freshwater aquarium fish who should 't take any salt in their water and people with blood pressure problems. My married man has always had a heightened sebse of taste and olfactory property. When I was using sodium in my softener he could taste it even though none of the residue of us could. Besides, my fish could non tolerate information technology and, until I switched to potassium, I was having to bring in bottled water.

Many people volition tell you that when you soften your water with potassium, your laundry comes out brighter. How is that possible if there is none left in the water?

#10

7 years agone

I think we may be talking about 2 different softening processes but am certainly no expert on the topic. General hardness (GH) can change the osmotic pressure on a fish's pare and thereby have a meaning effect on fish metabolism and wellness. If either ion exchange method removes vital minerals from aquarium water, information technology can't exist very practiced for fish.

A reverse osmosis filter removes all or most of the minerals and other factors, thus purifying the water and improving taste. People demand minerals simply like fish, so is an RO system actually healthy?

This discussion can be very informative, and so can differing opinions so long as they are expressed in a polite manner. I actually promise to learn more about this issue. 👍

#11

vii years ago

I really agree with both of you. I utilise a salt softener and have success with my 10 gallon thus far in the short term...recently cycled.

I only tested my Gh and Kh and they are:
GH 15
KH 220

I am really not sure if this is good, but my fish are happy and thriving.

Can anyone tell me where these numbers should exist? BTW...pH is very high in our expanse...API can't annals on the high range.

#12

7 years ago

@John that is possible. 😊 I am talking about a h2o softener, not RO h2o. I saw issues with my fish and even had some deaths later on a flow of fourth dimension.

@leveckio, any fish volition tolerate sodium in their water for a short period of fourth dimension. In the long run, it can crusade problems, especially a shortened lifespan. If I were you lot, I would look into the potassium for softeners. It is ameliorate for everyone. 👍

#13

7 years ago

An added bonus is that if yous have live plants in your tank, they demand potassium. And then they love it in your water.

#fourteen

7 years ago

To thrive, terrestrial and aquatic plants need nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (One thousand). I think it'south the phosphorus that often encourages algae growth in aquariums, or is that aquaria. Why, I have no idea but hope to read an caption.

Aquariums are an interacting circus of biological, botanical and chemical reactions, and so there is not much unproblematic about the dynamics. Nevertheless, achieving a healthy balance is not all that hard. Maybe that happens when we don't effort to make things perfect.

#15

7 years ago

If you have a softener on your habitation and are keeping a tank, live plants and fish both would do good more from the potassium due to two factors. Ane, neither can tolerate sodium for an extended length of time and information technology will eventually impale both fish and plants, and 2, every bit John stated, one of the food requirements of plants is potassium. Nitrogen. Is plainly supplied through the fish waste. 😊

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#sixteen

7 years ago

so what is the happy balance...😊
I certainly don't know, but what I know for at present is my fish are doing better than always. I hope to proceed to larn and argue/ converse the varying opinions on this site...I am fastly condign addicted to the aquarist'south view and appreciate the many caveats within the discipline. Thank you to all who contribute here! 👍
Rich

#17

Isaac441

seven years ago

Hi,

This is my commencement post here so please alibi me if this is not in the correct format. I take a 55 gallon customs tank with various species, a 29 gallon community, with soft water loving gouramis, corydoras, and tetras fortunately. I also have a recently aquired a 25 gallon breeding tank with a pair of convict cichlids.

Nosotros utilize a process on our water filtration arrangement that involves a salt tank that softens our water significantly. Correct out of our tap the PH reads 5.v. A little lower than my fish would like. I noticed when performing my weekly h2o changes on my tanks, that the fish would respond negatively to the sudden addition of our soft water.

The problem is primarily with the two smaller tanks. The 29 gallon with soft h2o species consistently tests depression around the 5.5-half-dozen.0 range. After a 25% weekly h2o alter, the PH always drops significantly. Similarly the cichlid breeding tanks PH lowers significantly when I add together our tap water after a h2o change, causing them to be stressed out.

If anyone has any data as to what I could exercise to heighten my PH please let me know.

#18

half-dozen years ago

I've been using pinkish Himalayan body of water salt to treat my adrenal fatigue and using information technology in the goldfish tank at 5 grams per gallon. Information technology contains 84 trace minerals that I thought wold be beneficial to goldfish. The PH seems not to fluctuate as much when I add common salt.

#19

Steve

6 years ago

About h2o softners cycle during early morning hours, then I would think the water would be safe for fish if used afterward in the day, after people in the firm have used water to take showers, wash dishes, clothes, etc. the salt should be rinsed off the collection beads after all that apply.

#20

Rose J

4 years ago

My x yr old has minnows and guppies in a x gal. tank. Her water changes leave a bit to exist desired. We accept well h2o from a gravel aquifer, but the pipes are so very old that I don't trust the water quality. I purchase distilled h2o for 80cents/gallon ($ii/calendar week for her fish). I detect it a better option than additives, testing, occasionally finding a dead fish, etc. Best of luck to you and your aquatic friends!

#21

4 years ago

Please cheque dates before replying. This one is five yrs ago. 😉

Admin squad

#22

Rose J

four years agone

I demand more sleep or more coffee! 😄

#23

4 years ago

Don't worry. It'due south done all the time. 😉

#24

Carl

four years ago

Is not RO water devoid of these minerals also, and it is unremarkably used in aquariums?

#25

HerpZillA

4 years ago

WOW so much ambiguous data.

Water softeners that apply salt or potassium DO leave those chemicals in the h2o produced. What is not said is it depends on the hardness of your h2o how much. I accept extremely hard water so I have far more pure sodium in my h2o. NOT table salt only pure sodium is what is in my water. I have to use salt as I also have very high iron, and at that place is not commercial potassium with iron out. The iron out is basically citric acid to flush the resin bed.

I am Not a fish adept merely worked in the pet merchandise on and off just more reptiles. But some fish do like a scrap of common salt in the water. Yep Potassium is good for fish. IF the amounts are safe. Once more, your h2o concentrations of either potassium or potassium will depend on what our hardness is to begin with. My numbers vary a lot. it happens with well water. Normally around 100 grains hardness and 10 on iron.

And you thought y'all had water issues lol. My neighbors h2o is 130/fifteen.

#26

4 years ago

HerpZillA wrote:

WOW so much ambiguous data.

And, y'all've added fifty-fifty more on a five year former mail. Don't remember the OP is around anymore.

#27

Bnl552

3 years ago

I know this is an old thread, but what people are ignoring is that salt doesn't evaporate. If yous are constantly topping off with water that even has small-scale amounts of sodium it will build up over tim. That beingness said, that is true of all other dissolved solids in your h2o.

I take a heavily planted tank and only exercise very occasional water changes. I have a lot of evaporation and so I top off with mostly RO water.

#28

Josh

3 years ago

Sometime threads are helpful for people similar me going through the same issue at this time, I recently purchased a home and moved our 3 yr sometime fish with united states and since have lost a few fish, I tried to make the move stress complimentary for them the but thing that has changed is our h2o. I recently replaced a not working water softener and take been using sodium, that would probably explain why I have recently lost fish. I will featherbed our softener while doing water changes until we run out of salt so switch over to potassium, thank you all!

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#29

Grant

3 years ago

Hi there. I came hither also looking for answers about using the common salt water softener water in my aquarium stuff.

I've had my 20 gallon ready up for almost 4 months now and it's thriving at this indicate and I simply use my softened tap h2o treated with the Seachem dechlorinator. My pH is nearly seven.8 and I have some plants in my tank which I fertilize with Aquarium Co-Op Like shooting fish in a barrel Light-green. Anybody seems to be happy so we'll see what happens long term

#30

HerpZilla

3 years ago

Typical water softeners that use salt to remove minerals do not add salt. They practise add pure sodium. I accept extremely hard water so my softened water if let to evaporate with leave sodium spots. Salt call up is NACL. The CL locks the minerals to exist flushed later. The sodium is then left in the water that goes to the softener.

The harder your h2o is, the more salt you need to ready your softener for. And so the amount with always vary.

Im not fish good, but this is fact. And you can check this with anyone that would be knowledgeable on the topic. I have planned to test my softened water and direct well water,, after I manually remove the iron. Testing on a few cheaper fish.

As stated some fish tolerate difficult water and salt in h2o. But the softener does not add common salt, but merely the sodium chemical our of the table salt molecule.

Tom