Water Softener.

[Drumachine09]

I was over at my neighbors house in his basement, building two new enclosures for his black throated monitor and his savanha, when i noticed a water softener. Its like a big ole bucket, with salt pellets in it. Does the salt (is it even salt?) soften the water? Also, they have a RO filter attatched to their kitchen faucet.

So i guess my question is, how does the water softener work?

[Rue]

Yup...we have exactly the same system...softener and R/O...

...how does it work...LOL...I used to know that...

[cocoa_pleco]

i found a gently used RO system at a garage sale for 5$ and was like WTF is this? lol

[zackish]

We have a salt system in my house that treats our tap water but my dad says the water is harder. I posted something else about a water softner in i think the general aquarium thread.

[Drumachine09]

The way i see it, the waters hardness is determined by the amount of disolved minerals in it. So, when you disolve salt in water, isnt that addint to the hardness? But i think it is using the salt to have a ration for the RO system to work.

[zackish]

The way i see it, the waters hardness is determined by the amount of disolved minerals in it. So, when you disolve salt in water, isnt that addint to the hardness? But i think it is using the salt to have a ration for the RO system to work.

However, doesn't salt dissolve out of wtaer after time? I don't know anything really about saltwater tanks but don't you have to constantly add salt every few weeks or whatever?

[Drumachine09]

However, doesn't salt dissolve out of wtaer after time? I don't know anything really about saltwater tanks but don't you have to constantly add salt every few weeks or whatever?


Nope. Salt never evaporates or gets filtered out.

[A340]

Nope. Salt never evaporates or gets filtered out.
Salt doesn't evaporate, but you do get salt creep.

Just a bit off topic, my parents have a soft water conditoner tank at their place, they just dump a bag of water softener (salt) into it and it does make the water much softer, however, it dries the hell out of your skin.

[Lady Hobbs]

I had well water in FL and if you know anything about FL, the water is horrid and full of tannins. You have to have a purifying system with well water there. (As well as most other places.) The water is pulled into a big purifying tank where rock salt has been added. It does not make the water salty. I could tell immediately when more salt was needed as the water would get very nasty again.

Just drinking well water without a purifying system is not a good idea.