Do they do the same job?

[Paul_MTS]

I'm looking for a water softener but they seem a bit scarce(sp)

there's loads of de-ionises which advertise to remove 99.99% of TDS's and says no more calcuim fouling up your lights so obviously it removes the calcuim which is the difference between high and low hardness right?

But in all I need to soften my water so lowering OH will be a easier job.

 

[Ed4567]

I dont know about 'water softeners' it sounds like a fairly broad term sorry, but I know de-ionisation (DI) resins remove pretty much all the ions in water so the water coming out is essentially pure, with hardness of 0 and a meaningless pH. Because of this you need to rebuffer the water before using it in your tank.

However looking at your profile I would reccomend buying a reverse osmosis unit if you want to alter your water chemisty as it will work out cheaping in the long run due to your tank size (DI resins tend to become used up quickly when used with pure tap water due to the high levels of dissolved substance).

 

[Paul_MTS]

Right I'll have to check out what water buffers are availaible to me, and check out the cost of replacement resin.

Although I have a few tanks I'm only going to be messing with the PH on my biggest tank which holds my most treasured fish. Plus I'ved already ruled out a RO unit mainly as we're on a water meter and can't have all that waste water, plus i would need to store aorund 400 litres to make sure I can do my weekly water change and maybe a small emergency one.

I need something that filters as it's running into the tank. I do my water changes sunday after work.

Cheers

 

[Paul_MTS]

still more help needed..!!

 

[CFC]

The R/O reclaim chemistry mimnerals such as KENT R/O right and KENT pH stable will buffer the softened water.

Make sure the softener you choose is one made specificly for aquarium use, comercial water softeners like Brita filters use a type of salt to remove calcium ions which can be bad for the fishes health.

 

[Paul_MTS]

I think our stockist does red sea products, but back at college now :9 so will ahev to check it out Friday.

I'ved e-mail Warehouse Aquariums about the King tube one for some details.

They all work out about the same cost. Any ideas how long the resin will last for?