Ph/kh/gh And Water Softener

[RachL323]

Ok, so I am about a week and a half into starting a new 10 gallon tank. I have done a fish-in cycle with TSS+, and things seem to be going well. My ammonia is from 0-.25ppm, nitrites are reading 0ppm, and nitrates are reading around 5ppm. My tank inhabitants are 3 RCS, 5 ember tetra, and 1 Glowlight Tetra (I know he is alone and too big for a 10g; it was a mistake by the LFS that he was in with the other fish!) I have some small/beginning plants as well: a moss ball, some java moss, 2 java ferns, and an anubias nana. I also have a piece of mopanI wood and a catappa leaf in there, along with some calcium rocks for the shrimp.

I just got the test kit for kH and gH and tested last night. My kH read 11 degrees and my gH read 6 degrees. My pH is regularly around 8. I have a water softener for my house (the kind that uses salt pellets) and I just realized it is affecting my water parameters and is probably not great for the fish.

My question is should I start using the water that is bypassed instead of from the tap? How should I start that process? A small water change on a weekly basis? A couple of larger changes? I am also concerned about doing this before my tank is fully cycled. I want to have a healthy aquarium!

 

[Kathryn Crook]

Ok, so I am about a week and a half into starting a new 10 gallon tank. I have done a fish-in cycle with TSS+, and things seem to be going well. My ammonia is from 0-.25ppm, nitrites are reading 0ppm, and nitrates are reading around 5ppm. My tank inhabitants are 3 RCS, 5 ember tetra, and 1 Glowlight Tetra (I know he is alone and too big for a 10g; it was a mistake by the LFS that he was in with the other fish!) I have some small/beginning plants as well: a moss ball, some java moss, 2 java ferns, and an anubias nana. I also have a piece of mopanI wood and a catappa leaf in there, along with some calcium rocks for the shrimp.

I just got the test kit for kH and gH and tested last night. My kH read 11 degrees and my gH read 6 degrees. My pH is regularly around 8. I have a water softener for my house (the kind that uses salt pellets) and I just realized it is affecting my water parameters and is probably not great for the fish.

My question is should I start using the water that is bypassed instead of from the tap? How should I start that process? A small water change on a weekly basis? A couple of larger changes? I am also concerned about doing this before my tank is fully cycled. I want to have a healthy aquarium!

I can't speak to the fish, but Ive heard the salts in water softners are not good for shrimp. Imo, I would bypass the softner system. But I can't say how to do it as I have no experience in a softner system. I hope someone chimes in to help.

 

[RachL323]

I can't speak to the fish, but Ive heard the salts in water softners are not good for shrimp. Imo, I would bypass the softner system. But I can't say how to do it as I have no experience in a softner system. I hope someone chimes in to help.

Me too! I can’t find a direct answer about water softeners anywhere! Some people say it is fine, others say it is not.

I also tested some water that is bypassed and water straight out of the tap (after it rested about 12 hours).

Bypassed water (not run through softener):
pH 8.6
kH 9º
gH 5º

Tap water (softened):
pH 7.4
kH 9º
gH 3º

So it seems that the main difference is pH. Not sure if it is better to have an unknown amount of salt in my tank or have super alkaline water. :/ I lost another shrimp today, but it is one I wasn’t sure was going to make it from the get-go.

 

[Kathryn Crook]

Me too! I can’t find a direct answer about water softeners anywhere! Some people say it is fine, others say it is not.

I also tested some water that is bypassed and water straight out of the tap (after it rested about 12 hours).

Bypassed water (not run through softener):
pH 8.6
kH 9º
gH 5º

Tap water (softened):
pH 7.4
kH 9º
gH 3º

So it seems that the main difference is pH. Not sure if it is better to have an unknown amount of salt in my tank or have super alkaline water. :/ I lost another shrimp today, but it is one I wasn’t sure was going to make it from the get-go.

How old is your tank? Cuz with the softner that's a great range for RCS BUT! Shrimp require a well established tank. Some say 3-6 months while others recommend 10-12 months. You may need to just wait on a colony of shrimp for later, ALSO, shrimp in a community tank don't usually do well. They are just too tempting as tasty snacks for most fish,

 

[RachL323]

How old is your tank? Cuz with the softner that's a great range for RCS BUT! Shrimp require a well established tank. Some say 3-6 months while others recommend 10-12 months. You may need to just wait on a colony of shrimp for later, ALSO, shrimp in a community tank don't usually do well. They are just too tempting as tasty snacks for most fish,

My tank is about 2 weeks old, so I have a ways to go! I will do my best to keep the last two alive, then I will add more when the tank is more established!

My biggest fish (a Glowlight Tetra) has shown interest in the shrimp and ‘bumped’ one a couple of times, but my ember tetras have no interest at all. The shrimp are about as big as they are!

 

[Franck]

According to my calculations my softened water has 125ppm NaCl. When I add Aquarium salt to the tank, I am putting in 160ppm NaCl. The question is - can I use softened water. My water coming into the house is 250ppm Hardness. I would like to reduce this with the softened water.