How Can I Soften My Water?

[lillykinloo]

Hello again! I was wondering if anyone can tell me how to soften my water? I've read that adding "peat" will do the trick, but I don't know what kind of peat needs to be used and how to add it. Also, how do you keep the water soft when doing water changes?

Thanks again for all of your help!

 

[thegnu]

hi,
yes peat can soften water. i use sphagnum moss peat this stuff is pure no pesticides or anything. i also leave some tied up in a stocking in my water waiting to be used for water changes. make sure there's nothing in your tank that could be raising your ph. i also use an ro unit. this is the best thing to use. it cost me £70 but was well worth it

 

[Htw]

Hi. First of all it may be a good idea to know why you want to soften it in the first place.

 

[lillykinloo]

Hi. First of all it may be a good idea to know why you want to soften it in the first place.

Thanks, Htw! I would like to soften the water in the tank, because we have well water which is definitely hard. Currently, I only have 5 Diamond Tetras in my 37 gallon tank. I am interested in adding 3 Pearl Gouramis and some Neon or Cardinal Tetras (I already have 5 Diamond Tetras). Or, if I don't go with the Cardinal or Neon Tetras, I would like to add a pair of Bolivian Rams or German Blue Rams down the road. I've read that the tetras and rams prefer soft water. I haven't added the Pearl Gouramis yet, and I thought I would get the water perameters established before adding any other fish. So, I thought I would go ahead and soften the water. Is this a good idea?

Thanks again!

 

[Torrean]

generally it is a better idea to buy fish that are suited to your water rather than suit your water to the fish you want. having said this bogwood will lower your PH. Most fish (not rams really) will acclimate to most neurtalish PH's (6-8) but are happiest and healthiest at there preferred PH's

 

[MeanHoney]

generally it is a better idea to buy fish that are suited to your water rather than suit your water to the fish you want.

While I agree it's nice to buy fish that suited to your water, for some that is very difficult. My water comes out of the tap with 21 kH and a pH of 8.4. The only fish that are suited to that are African cichlids, which aren't really my cup of tea.

I mix my tap water with RO water but unless you have an RO unit, it's pretty expensive.

 

[Htw]

The trouble with softening your water is that it will need to be kept at a constant ph. Your fish are more likely to be happy in your own tap water, with some bog wood to lower it slightly as said above. They are not very good at living with water that fluctuates up and down. Saying that, if you feel you would be able to keep it stable, you could go for a RO unit [not cheap] or possibly buy in RO water from your LFS. It is not generally a good idea to lower ph using chemicals though. I'm afraid I don't know about using peat in a filter, but when you do water changes, your ph must change as you will be adding unsoftened water. [Someone else may know about this]

There are a huge number of fish that either prefer hard water or can acclimatize [as long as they are not actually soft water fish!] Blue rams prefer soft water, but Bolivian rams can live happily in a ph up to 7.8.
I live in a hard water area in the UK [may not be the same as yours obv] and I,ve never had a problem with tetras or gourami. I'm also thinking about adding some Bolivian Rams, they are lovely looking fish.

I also thought about an RO unit as I would love to keep discus. I wasn't sure if it was going to be worth the hassle though [who will be bothered to do it properly when I go on holiday etc] I still havn't made my mind up yet.
Good luck

 

[GordonTGopher]

Hello again! I was wondering if anyone can tell me how to soften my water? I've read that adding "peat" will do the trick, but I don't know what kind of peat needs to be used and how to add it. Also, how do you keep the water soft when doing water changes?

Thanks again for all of your help!

Fluval sell bags of peat to go in their external filters, not sure on price - probably too expensive for long term use.