Api Water Softener Pillow

[Fishy_7]

I am looking at the above as a way to soften the water in my aquarium. I have read about the Water Softener Pillow but have some Qs, which I hope people who have used it can explain.

A.> I presume this sits in the Cannister filter?
B.> I have a Fluval 304 and the media racks are split in 2 at all levels. Will it be effective to sit it in one side of a rack?
C.> The Pillow is effective for 48 hours. I assume that you check the hardness after 48 hours and if it is acceptable, remove the Pillow from the filter and recharge. If it is still too hard, to place the Pillow back into the filter after the recharge?
D.> The hardness os the water is due to the mains water in my area and so if I do a water change or after a couple of water changes, the hardness will increase. Do I just place the pillow back in?

Thanks.

 

[Sysiphus]

A.> I presume this sits in the Cannister filter?

I placed mine in the cannister. I know of people who place it in the tank and also I have a friend who uses a small "in the corner filter" with just the softner in it. He runs the filter only when the hardness starts to go up, but it sits in the tank for a week with no recharge and seems to still function ok.

B.> I have a Fluval 304 and the media racks are split in 2 at all levels. Will it be effective to sit it in one side of a rack?

I have also placed the pillow in one of the baskets in a Fluval. Instead of layering vertically can you layer horizontally? It will soften so long as the water is passing over it, but my experience is with the fluval if there is less resistance on one side than the other, most of the flow will by-pass the area of resistance.

C.> The Pillow is effective for 48 hours. I assume that you check the hardness after 48 hours and if it is acceptable, remove the Pillow from the filter and recharge. If it is still too hard, to place the Pillow back into the filter after the recharge?

That was sort-of my method. I came up with a system that was pretty easy for me based on the hardness, evaporation and water changes. I put the pillow in the top fluval basket for one week (in my case) - took it out for recharge and in about 2 weeks put it in again. The top open fluval made this operation take only a minute and virtually no mess.

D.> The hardness os the water is due to the mains water in my area and so if I do a water change or after a couple of water changes, the hardness will increase. Do I just place the pillow back in?

See my comment above. I ultimately got a home water softner which has helped in many things in the house. But if you store change water you can also consider filtering it through a softner (so store it soft - not filter it as you put it in the tank) so once you have your tank where it should be it will stay there much longer.

(sometimes rocks fall out of the tap in Arizona...

 

[Fishy_7]

A.> I presume this sits in the Cannister filter?

I placed mine in the cannister. I know of people who place it in the tank and also I have a friend who uses a small "in the corner filter" with just the softner in it. He runs the filter only when the hardness starts to go up, but it sits in the tank for a week with no recharge and seems to still function ok.

B.> I have a Fluval 304 and the media racks are split in 2 at all levels. Will it be effective to sit it in one side of a rack?

I have also placed the pillow in one of the baskets in a Fluval. Instead of layering vertically can you layer horizontally? It will soften so long as the water is passing over it, but my experience is with the fluval if there is less resistance on one side than the other, most of the flow will by-pass the area of resistance.

C.> The Pillow is effective for 48 hours. I assume that you check the hardness after 48 hours and if it is acceptable, remove the Pillow from the filter and recharge. If it is still too hard, to place the Pillow back into the filter after the recharge?

That was sort-of my method. I came up with a system that was pretty easy for me based on the hardness, evaporation and water changes. I put the pillow in the top fluval basket for one week (in my case) - took it out for recharge and in about 2 weeks put it in again. The top open fluval made this operation take only a minute and virtually no mess.

D.> The hardness os the water is due to the mains water in my area and so if I do a water change or after a couple of water changes, the hardness will increase. Do I just place the pillow back in?

See my comment above. I ultimately got a home water softner which has helped in many things in the house. But if you store change water you can also consider filtering it through a softner (so store it soft - not filter it as you put it in the tank) so once you have your tank where it should be it will stay there much longer.

(sometimes rocks fall out of the tap in Arizona...

THANK YOU I like the idea of putting it into the top media basket - it would make getting it out very easy. Very insightful, thanks again.