How to soften water?

[Lady Hobbs]

I haven't gotten into this area previously and need some help. I obviously can't have an RO system at this time and need some ideas of how I can help soften my tank water.

I have hard water and a pH of 7.6. My fish have done fine with this pH but perhaps they could do even better and display better colors if their water was right for them. Proper pH does not work as my water needs to be softer.

I am rather stuck between what kind of fish I can have in this water so suggestions would be welcome. I've heard of peat, of course, but don't know how to use it, really. From what I've read, you put it in a bucket of water and aerate it for days and days and this sounds like one heck of a mess. Do water softening pillows work or is there a pellet form (or cake form) of peat that can be bought? I know it will give me brackish water but I don't find that too unappealing. Plants like it as well as Discus and Angels and a few others......and rainbows.

I also don't want to buy distilled by the gallons. I do water changes too often to be purchasing this stuff. I know it can be added to your tap water but with 50% water changes? NOT

[Abbeys_Mom]

I'd love to know too. I would also love to know how to raise the PH. I have the wrong PH for some fish, but I don't know which end of the scale I am on. I think I might be leaning towards alkaline water.

[cocoa_pleco]

my waters almost a neutral 7

[Lady Hobbs]

If your pH is low, proper pH will work for you most likely. It's this hard water that makes things difficult.

However, I did find peat pellets on the net. Never seem to be where they should be when you want to do a bunch of shopping. You can buy peat plugs for planting your plants in, as well.

I may buy me a bag of peat today, let it soak in water for a while (possibly boil on the stove) and then stuff some in bags for the filter. Problem is knowing how much is needed so I guess this will take several days of testing.

You might know I have a big bag of it right here but it contains Miracle grow so I can't use that. Do you think boiling it may remove the fertilizer? I guess for what it costs, it's silly to take the chance.

[Lady Hobbs]

Am I confusing peat moss with peat dirt!!!!

[Chrona]

Don't bother with peat, or water softeners for that matter, unless you are planning to keep discus or something. Peat works very slowly, and your hardness will spike with each water change, and this change in total dissolved solids is not good for the fish. Furthermore, it gives off tannins and needs to be replaced fairly often. You COULD purchase a spare tank with a filter packed with water softener to process the water before adding it to the tank, but that's really asking for a lot of trouble. Realistically, the only way to soften water is to buy distilled, LFS produced RO water, or buy your own RO/DI system. Again, I've been down the water softener road and believe me, it's not worth the hassle, and heck, I only had a 10g tank. It's the same thing with pH, fish can adapt, it's changing values they don't like.

[Lady Hobbs]

Bugs me because my water is too hard for dwarf cichlids, breeding angels or trying to have discus. I have been wanting a rainbow tank for some time and they like the brackish water. But regulating with peat may be a trick in itself.

Since I live in an apartment, I don't know how they'd feel about me adding an RO system and frankly, don't know as there'd be enough room under my sink.

I also know dittility about them and changing membranes and back flushing and all that hocus-pocus. It has to be reasonably simple or I get in over my head. However, if I intend to keep fish forever as is my plan, I need to solve my little problem here and just bite the bullet.

I have 4 tanks now and my plan is two more so buying water is not an option. Adding 20 gallons weekly to my 55 gallon is no where I want to go, you know. LOL

I also considered something like this but it's been listed as out of stock forever......at least 6 months.

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[Lady Hobbs]

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Super sale? Ya right.

[Chrona]

If you have the money to spend on an RO unit, then it's easy

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RO units come in either 3 or 4 stages. The fourth stage is a DI (deionization) stage that gets even more out of the water and makes the membrane last longer. Keep in mind that if you have to replace the membrane as it clogs, and they are expensive to say the least. Getting a flush kits increases the time you can use the current membrane but they are still like 70-80 dollars to replace.

As for installation, I believe you just hook it up to any spare faucet.

[Chrona]

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Super sale? Ya right.

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;)

[Lady Hobbs]

Thanks. Prices certainly do vary for decent to WAYYYY too high for my budget.

[kimmers318]

Hobbs....I tried the whole softening water thing with RO water and it was a disaster. I have a Clearwater distributor fairly close so I bought several 5 gal bottles and was able to fill them there or at 2 locations in town for $.25/gal. Not a bad price and I was okay with it. I filled 5/5gal jugs at a time....tested the ph/gh/kh of the RO and my tap, came up with a mix of tap and RO that would give me the PH I wanted. I had to gradually try to bring the existing PH down obviously, so I went thru weeks of water changes gradually changing over. (week 1, 1gal RO-4gal tap----week 2, 2galRO--3gal tap). I lost fish left and right for no apparent reason and I believe it was because even in small amounts my tap water would just buffer the water back up. I was doing this because I had my hopes set on having clown loaches that would be ready for their tankbuster aquarium just about when my oldest would be taking off on her own as an adult. I lost about a dozen clowns over the maybe 6 month period I tried this.
Once I gave up on the softer water and said the heck with it, my fish would either learn to live in my water or I wouldn't keep that species anymore things have been much better. Last fall we purchased 3 more small clowns, lost 2 of them, then purchased 3 slightly larger clowns and still have all 4. They have beautiful colors, are very active and eat like little piggys, clicking so loud you can hear them from about 3 feet away. I have lost some fish since stopping trying to soften my water, but I believe those unfortunately were my fault as there were times my tank maintenance lapsed when I was taking care of my father or he was in the hospital. When I lost my gourami I found I had high nitrates.....which goes to show ya that high nitrates can and do kill fish:14: . I feel bad, but sometimes these things happen, and I had to be there for my dad.
If you seriously ever want to get into making soft water I would go with the RO system and the additives necessary to put the trace elements into your water. It won't be cheap, but it may work out much better than any of the other theories.

[kimmers318]

Another thing I forgot to mention.....I just recently learned that in some cases slightly brackish water may be recommended for certain fish due to the fact that the salt has the trace elements needed for the fish that aren't always present in tap water, not because they actually need slight "ocean" water. There is some question about whether fig8 puffers actually need brackish or if they can be happy in hard, high PH water because the hard water has alot of the minerals and such. Apparently, fig8's are found in freshwater in the wild, not brackish, but that very few people have hard enough water to supply the nutrients they need for healthy living. Not everyone agrees, but it is worth keeping in the back of your brain and researching if you choose to get some brackish fish.

[Chrona]

Seachem Equilibrium makes a great mineral/buffer restorer for RO/DI water. You can control how much you put in, so you know exactly what your GH, and kH are.

[Cichlid_Man]

Messing with GH/KH is not suggested if you are trying to lower it.
Raising it is a different story. Just use Epsom salts.

I had the "best" results lowering GH/KH by using a rain barrel outside my house.

I would use the rain water for water changes and that worked really great....IF IT RAINED A LOT :-)
It was also a pain transporting the water in the house.

Others use peat pillows with trickle filters but as Chrona said, it gives off tannins. Not a total disater, but it is a slow process.

Best thing? Get fish to match the water.

[Lady Hobbs]

Thanks Kimmers and Cichlidman. Gosh, I've lost no fish for so long other than one platie and one neon in months so guess what they get here is doing OK by them. I do think if it was softer I may get some to spawn but who knows, it may be a good thing they don't, as well.

I've planned on having a dwarf cichilid tank for some time but that will have to change to another type, I guess, until the day comes that I can have softer water. Kimmers, I couldn't even lift a 5 gallon container!! LOL

I always advise people to stay with the species that matches your water hardness and pH and it looks as I need to take my own suggestions.

It's amazing that buying the tanks and the fish are the cheapest thing for fish keeping. Everything else needed is enough to make your hair stand on end and keep you broke the remainder of your life. :confused:

[sergo]

water pillows do work well i have one and it works as advertised but if you have a planted tank you will be putting the stuff back in when you fertilize.

[Lady Hobbs]

I will try that. I thought it might be another hocus-pocus thing they sell that doesn't work. Thanks

[sergo]

make sure you follow the directions and you can use kosher salt instead of aquarium salt for reactivating it.

[Lady Hobbs]

good

I used Koshler in the tank before, as well. Cheaper and the same thing.

[sergo]

the pillows are not that expensive either and the brand i have has two sizes depending on you tank size.