Water Softener

[biogirl52]

So we have a water softener attached, but we haven't refilled it in years and years. It was a gift from my father-in-law to my husband long before we started dating. So my snoopy FIL notices it's out an decides to come over and "surprise" us by filling it and restarting it. I guess he thinks soft water is superior. Personally, I don't care. Now I'm super paranoid that my fish are going to suffer, because our water is now very soft and I have NO clue about this kind of stuff. I've just always known the water I have, well my plants and fish have done well in it. I'm not sure how I am going to do a water change without totally shocking my fish.

I have 1 baby angelfish, cory cats, harl rasboras, mollies, and tetras. I'm pretty attached to all of them so if I lose any due to this incident I'll be pretty upset. Anyone have any insight or what kind of testing I can do?

I am trying to get my angelfish to grow so I was planning tons of water changes for the next several weeks. Ugh.

 

[RyanV]

Did you use any kind of conditioner to remove the chlorine from the water before? I would imagine you had, because it would have been hard water. Having a softener will just do the conditioning for you. I have one and love it, my fish do great with it. If anything it will be better than it was before. Just do small water changes at a time if you are really concerned about it. You can always have the water tested too

 

[raptorrex]

So we have a water softener attached, but we haven't refilled it in years and years. It was a gift from my father-in-law to my husband long before we started dating. So my snoopy FIL notices it's out an decides to come over and "surprise" us by filling it and restarting it. I guess he thinks soft water is superior. Personally, I don't care. Now I'm super paranoid that my fish are going to suffer, because our water is now very soft and I have NO clue about this kind of stuff. I've just always known the water I have, well my plants and fish have done well in it. I'm not sure how I am going to do a water change without totally shocking my fish.

I have 1 baby angelfish, cory cats, harl rasboras, mollies, and tetras. I'm pretty attached to all of them so if I lose any due to this incident I'll be pretty upset. Anyone have any insight or what kind of testing I can do?

I am trying to get my angelfish to grow so I was planning tons of water changes for the next several weeks. Ugh.

mineral depleted water it TOTALLY useless for fish.
Don't do it, It'll Hurt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Essjay]

Depending on how your particular water softener works, the water could be bad for the fish. Some work by replacing the calcium in the water with sodium. There are very few natural water sources with high sodium levels and low levels of calcium, as in the softened water, so there are very few fish that have evolved to scope with it.
I though that there had to be at least one tap on the premises that remained unsoftened? Maybe an outside tap? If you have one, use that. If you don't, maybe look into what the manufacturer says. If it says you must have access to unfiltered water, that's a good reason for stopping using the softener.

 

[DrRob]

As essjay says, most of these work by switching calcium for sodium, so basically you're adding weak salt water.

Some work as Raptorrex says, with a resin that removes things.

I'm guessing that, if it's refillable, rather than rechargable or replacement bits then it's probably a salt one (either in granules or, even more of a give away, blocks). If so then, ideally, you shouldn't really be drinking it, it's high in sodium. We have one and have a few taps that are on a bypass circuit for us to drink from. There are also a few valves around the unit so that it can be bypassed totally.

In summary, don't use water softened water for fish. Try to find out if there are any pipes disappearing off anywhere before the unit or any taps between it and the main supply.