Getting a water softener

I know this will change the PH of my water. How do I slowly introduce the new water without PH shocking my fish?

 

Is this for your 20?

First establish how big a swing you're talking about? When lowering pH, it needs to be done very slowly. I would think any change greater than 0.2/0.3 of a pH should be staggered/staged over a few hours.

And secondly, why are you wanting to change hardness?

 

I would say the best way would be thru small daily water changes (maybe a gallon) until the pH gets to the pH of the softened water.

 

Had a water softener installed in the house to alleviate hard water stains on all our dishes that made them appear filthy. My wife was tired of it. Should also help with dry skin this winter. Not sure on the pH change yet. Haven't tested the tap yet. I want to make sure it is fully cycled through the softener first. Thanks for the info.

 

Please don't use the softened water in you tank. Hard water contains lots of calcium and magnesium ions. Household water softeners just replace these with sodium ions. These are just as bad if not worse for your fish. They are not very good for you either. Softened water is great for washing skin & hair and prolonging the life of appliances that heat water but not good for drinking. When installing water softeners, you need to make sure you have atleast 1 tap for drinking water.

 

Please don't use the softened water in you tank. Hard water contains lots of calcium and magnesium ions. Household water softeners just replace these with sodium ions. These are just as bad if not worse for your fish. They are not very good for you either. Softened water is great for washing skin & hair and prolonging the life of appliances that heat water but not good for drinking. When installing water softeners, you need to make sure you have atleast 1 tap for drinking water.

Agreed with this.
From the perspective of human health, the hard water is actually good for you (when it comes to drinking. It's horrible on your skin.) One thing that has been noted in the longest-lived populations on earth is that they center around areas that have very hard water. In most cases, it's not going to be bad for your fish, either. I like to say that you have to carve my water out of the tap, and I have some tetras that have survived for many years.
The salt, in the quantities we're talking, isn't going to be terribly harmful, but most fish have very little use for it, whereas the calcium and other minerals can be used to build bones and whatnot.

To put it more succinctly: From what I have seen, it's not so much that the softened water is bad for fish, it's that it's less good for the fish.