Evening all, i have been frustrated for a long time with having really hard water. Aside from having scaled up taps, kettle etc it really reduces the options of suitable fish when using it in large aquariums (not to mention water lines from evaporation!). In a small aquarium im happy to cut with RO but when talking about 150ltrs a week RO gets pricey and its very tedious having to 'prep' for a WC. The obvious option is to add an undersink water softener that doesnt produce waste like RO and keeps the cost down.
So i have been reading around a bit and as always there are 101 different opinions on water softeners, ranging from 'its no problem at all' to 'the salt that replaces the calcium will cause grainy pimples and death to fish that cant expel it quick enough'.
As such i thought id ask the question to people who's opinions have seen me right up til now.
So is salt softened water an option? or have i just got to suck up the fact ive got hard water and stop crying about it?
Id also really like to know a little more about the physiology of fish and what effects soft and hard water have on them, from the little ive read it's to do with how the fish manage to excrete the minerals via slime coat?
thanks
So i have been reading around a bit and as always there are 101 different opinions on water softeners, ranging from 'its no problem at all' to 'the salt that replaces the calcium will cause grainy pimples and death to fish that cant expel it quick enough'.
As such i thought id ask the question to people who's opinions have seen me right up til now.
So is salt softened water an option? or have i just got to suck up the fact ive got hard water and stop crying about it?
Id also really like to know a little more about the physiology of fish and what effects soft and hard water have on them, from the little ive read it's to do with how the fish manage to excrete the minerals via slime coat?
thanks