Water Softeners, Sodium Ions, and My "Wierd" Water

This is a video about why I always say I have "wierd" or "odd" water. I have a softening systems that removes calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) from my water, but exchanges them for sodium ions. So I have 0 degrees GH but still have several hundred PPM TDS in my water.

[@nedeem]

This is EXACTLY the same situation I am in....makes it tough to determine which fish will make it or not and seems like a lot of trial and error with every fish. Thanks for this video...it's nice to know I'm not alone with my odd water! I'll be interested in knowing how your test quarantine tank works out and thanks for all the great videos!

[@DanHiteshew-oneandonly]

So far it seems like I have a higher success rate. To soon to really tell for sure.

[@FoolyLiving]

My tank crashed but I have the same exact issue with my water softener water - except we have a water tank for our community that is trucked in from all kinds of different towns so its constantly changing. Our water from the tank is horrible and just like bleach, so we got a water filter and water softener. Well, water softener water is always weird. My plants dont do well. Since my tank crashed and had bacterial bloom etc, I am adding fluval stratum to the sand substrate so my plants can get some growth. They werent doing well with lots of root tabs, so maybe that will help my plants, which will help my water and fish. The fish need calcium, but I've found if you add calcium to the tank (with Seachem Equilibrium) it will cause a crash overnight and will kill your fish. I dont know what to do to keep my pH buffered and to slowly add calcium. Ive tried eggshells, but it didnt do too much. What stabilizers are you using to keep your pH buffered? I dont ever want to use this equilibrium ever again. I just added a little bit to a 75 gallon and it was enough to crash it overnight.

[@AussieAquatic]

It's very important for everyone in this hobby to understand how different all our water supplies can be. So this video is very important. My water is weird because it is so clean/pure. This makes temporary breeding tanks really easy, but permanent planted show tanks more difficult.

[@DanHiteshew-oneandonly]

My neighbor's well is about 500 feet from mine, and he has totally different water. His comes out of the ground with less TDS than my RO water! Seriously! He has about 5 PPM in his ground water.

[@AussieAquatic]

You know how unbelievable that sounds, but rock and soil structure underground is so variable and water assimilates what it comes in contact with. I reckon you both should blend your waters 50/50 and bingo!!!!

[@knyghtryder3599]

Just add epsom salt , marine salt and iron/calcium supplement depending on what you need

[@operationhotshotinc.6887]

I just installed a water softener .. I added a spigot before the water softener for my plants and fish tank. Some water softeners allow you to adjust to softness.. but I would definitely suggest to add a spigot before the water softener this way you still have an option for hard water .

[@HalfManHalfCichlid]

As a chemist I agree with most of what you said. I have a valve on my water softener that came with it to bypass the softening process. Very simple to push or pull the valve to decide what kind of water I want. Most water softeners have these. Solved the same problem.

[@DanHiteshew-oneandonly]

My problem is that my ground water has anywhere from 20 to 80 PPM Nitrates, depending on the time of year, so I have to run it through the ion exchange resin anyway. If not for the nitrates, I could keep S.A. fish without changing the water at all.

[@HalfManHalfCichlid]

are you using a nitrate selective ion exchange resin?

[@DanHiteshew-oneandonly]

Yes, as a matter o' fact, I am. The non specific will "dump" when saturated.

[@katherinebourke171]

@@HalfManHalfCichlid I have Kinetico soft water system and didn't know soft water wasn't good..my tank was COVERED in red algae. Now I've been using the bypass spout and a neutral regulator to adjust the pH levels but now everything is getting covered in this brownish-yellow algae? Please help🙏

[@ArtistIrinaSharie]

Wow, I love your (what are they, anyways?) plants! Those, that sort of cascade from the top to middle of aquarium, in particular - look like green Fairytale Fireworks, frozen in time - I’ve not seen this before anywhere. Kudos!!! ❤️❤️❤️ If you don’t mind sharing, are they easy to plant and maintain? Are they in a slow or fast growing spectrum? Thanks

[@DanHiteshew-oneandonly]

I'm guessing you're talking about the floating water sprite. It's very easy to maintain. I sell it if you're interested. [e-mail]

[@Shaden0040]

Do you have and of the same types of rocks in this tank also in your quaranine tanks? If not, it is possible that something isleaching out of the rocks that is poisoning them with a trace mineral or heavy metal, perhaps? Or it is possible you need to add some crushed coral into your filter to buffer your water's pH and GH a bit higher.

[@DanHiteshew-oneandonly]

I doubt there's any metals leeching into my water, but I suppose there's a possibilty.

[@Mattb843]

It's weird, I've never tested my water or done anything special to my water. All i use is tap water, dosed with prime. I've kept and bred discus and Rams, all the way to peacocks and haps w/ my tap water and never had problems.

[@mitchellzurick4220]

I have a water softener as well. The company that installed it says it removes the ions and iron in exchange for salt as well. I think that's a fair trade off...

[@knyghtryder3599]

No good

[@Brandon91161]

You made this sound so difficult when it is not.

[@knyghtryder3599]

Crap comment yo 🤪

[@baalwadi]

So I'm considering a water softener for my house but it's a salt-free system. Basically, according to the website, it uses "a physical process known as Template Assisted Crystallization (TAC) which converts the hardness-causing minerals in the water to a hardness crystal that will not stick to any surface". So it sounds like it's not really exchanging the Calcium and Magnesium ions with Sodium, but rather turning them into crystals. So do you think that this affects the fish and plants in the same way that it's affecting your tanks or you think the tanks will be fine?

[@DanHiteshew-oneandonly]

In my case, the little bit of sodium helps since there's no other minerals. If you're removing the calcium and magnesium, I'd add some remineralization. You can't have water that too pure.Fish need some minerals for electrolytes.

[@lucrebec727]

I'm really wanting to get a tank going. I love off the Mississippi river and our house is on a softener, I know when I forget to check we get crazy hard water iron , calicum stains, would you recommend using the softened water or would I need to bring in water and would I be able to do a more natural tank with just water top offs and not water changes. Thanks!

[@DanHiteshew-oneandonly]

You'd probably be ok with the softened water, but I add a bit of Ca and Mg back after softening so there's some mineralization in the water. You could always try getting fish that prefer hard water too.

[@Mimiheart9]

Not like bristlenose? *gasp* I finally got one yesterday. It's nomming on the glass right next to me. Still a little guy though.

[@TheSeverum]

so what does it mean when i test my well water and the gh and the Kh don't read.. my gh is 0 and my kh is not even on the testing chart.. I keep cichlids but they don't do as well as they should

[@DanHiteshew-oneandonly]

You've got really soft water like me. You may need to add some minerals to it for the fish.

[@robertcheever7940]

Hey Dan, Not sure if u mentioned if u could bypass the water softener.What is the water parameters straight from the well? hope you dont have to put your fish on blood pressure meds! LOL

[@Fishfriend001]

I have the same problem. I keep bettas, which prefer soft water. My unsoftened tap is SUPER hard, kh and gh both very high. My house runs on a softener though. I’d love an RO system but can’t afford it (I’m 18 and live with my parents lol) So, I have to go outside and get hose water bc it’s the only water not run through the softener. THEN I have to cut it by half with distilled water. THEN I have to warm it up with a heater. It sucks because I love having fish so much, I want more tanks, but I can’t handle the ridiculous maintenance. I wanna try guppies since they prefer hard water, that’ll cut out the step of cutting it with distilled water. Ugh. When I have a good income and my own place to live, the first thing im gonna do is get an RO system!!

[@DanHiteshew-oneandonly]

This is an old video I should probably delete. I'm not sure what I said in it, but the amount of sodium in the water isn't much.

[@jeremymason8081]

Can you add a product like Replenish by Seachem to solve the issue?

[@DanHiteshew-oneandonly]

Not sure what "issue" you mean.

[@AussieAquatic]

Another reason Bala sharks are difficult, is how skittish they are, and when they are startled they swim straight into the ends of the tank and badly damage themselves.

[@DanHiteshew-oneandonly]

I guess that could be it. They were fine, right up til they were dead.

[@AussieAquatic]

They are pocket torpedos and when they startle, which is often, Bam, instant brain haemorrhage.

[@privatename3447]

Can crawfish live in soft water

[@DanHiteshew-oneandonly]

I've had mixed results. They may have problems molting in soft water.

[@Benjamin0119]

Never heard of using water softener for fish water. Just the fact they add salt doesn't make it appealing to me to even drink it. Don't mess around with tap either. Drink bottled water and RO for the fish, haha. Of course there are products you can get to adjust the pH, hardness, etc of your fish's water.

[@gwflantz]

Can you explain to me why you cant just treat your softened water like RO water and remineralize it to whatever level you desire? Is it because of the salt? Maybe you would push your TDS too high?

[@thomaspatterson6279]

i had this problem for real with my well my ph was 8.5 my water hardness was off the chart before filter and softener put a tap before your softener and your problems will go away i promise they will adjust to the hard water but the sodium is burning the gills dont use a softener for fish period

[@TH-oh8cw]

You didnt mention your KH? Why don't you find a happy middle ground by mixing you resin filtered water with an appropriate amount of tap or well water, which ever you have. You say your GH is at zero. I think you might need a different test kit. Plant need magnesium, by the looks of it your plants are thriving. As for your sharks I'm sorry that they probably died soon after the video. I suggest stop buying fish that you know for certain will die in your tank. That's just not right to do to them. I had 6 fish die. I didn't figure what was wrong with my water so so bought 3 more. Wow.

[@DanHiteshew-oneandonly]

This is an old video. I don't even remember what I said in it.

[@harrywright8677]

Boring

[@jeromes6058]

Harry Wright ok

[@harrywright8677]

Jerome Saverimuttu you trying to suck him off

[@jeromes6058]

Harry Wright sometimes thing are above are level of understanding so we think there boring

[@mitchellzurick4220]

Nah just beyond what your little brain can comprehend ;)

[@jeromes6058]

Mitchell Zurick lol