regular tap water or water softener. which is better?

[kilofey]

im asking the question for my mom. she has a water softener in her home and is currently using tap water from outside. however, i just brought up the point to her that when the weather changes, the water from the faucet outside is going to get very cold. i was just wondering if there was any reason she should not use her water softener. should the fish be acclimated over time to the softer water or is it okay to switch them over a period of 2 weeks (50% changes weekly), will that send them into shock? i think the fish need the soft water because the temperature can be regulated, i just dont know if the water chemistry will be okay for them.
thanks

[J-P]

In my experience (which is limited) water softner water is ok for fish BAD for plants.

The water will have higer salt content in it that the fish can tolerate but plants can't.

The best sol;ution for both is to have a tankless water heater with a bipass valve on it. Warm high nutrient water

[kilofey]

well they dont have plants anyway, just plastic decor, so maybe it will be fine... i was just worried since i never used soft water, didnt know if the ph or whatever would be different. will the salt in the water act like aquarium salt and help keep them healthy?

they are just like me in the sense of being "anti buckets" lol. we refuse to use buckets when changing water. my mom has a muscle disease where her muscles eat away at themselves, which leaves my dad doing all the work which he is opposed to lol. and im just plain lazy and hate carrying buckets so external heaters would probably be out of the question, and ive always just made sure to match the temp with the tank temp by feel... never had a problem

anyway, just thought id check and make sure it would be safe before giving them the "all clear". thanks!

[J-P]

wait till others reply... because it also depends on the fish.

some are more sensitive than others.

what is being kept in the tank?

[kilofey]

mostly tropicals... some barbs some tetras a catfish.... ummm, i dont remember them all off the top of my head.... oh there is an electric blue jack dempsey (on the other side of a divider of course) heres a pic if youve never seen one, they are gorgeous!!!!!!!!! http://www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/f ... _blue3.jpg i know rite??? hers is just a baby ATM and hasnt colored up like that yet, but hes still gorgeous and will look like that one day. im trying to think of what else, oh there is a kribensis, 2 small angel fish

..... i kno some of her fish may not typically go well together, but they do seem to get along... and i cant convince her to get rid of any lol... i tried to get her to get rid of the angels though... but they seem to be fairly docile

[pufferpuggirl]

Well when I lived with my mother in Florida she had a water softener unit, and one of the things that sticks out in my mind is what goes into that unit = salt and permanganese permanganate (not sure if I spelled that right, or if that's the right chemical, but I know it was something other than just water softener salt). So I would be very reluctant to use any water from a water softener. So that tap water will be cold, mine is nearly ice cold right now, and I just add some hot water to equalise it, that's all, and it's fine.
At least that's my take on it, but I could be missing something I suppose.

[J-P]

I would be conscerned with the scaleless fish ... but even my loach didn't mind.

no probs with a softner

[SammyDee]

If you did use the soft water it prolly woldnt hurt to let the fish get used to it over a period of time atleast. If i were you I would test both waters to see first. You never kno there may be a large jump or drop in something that may not make it worth it. IMO Or maybe try to find here an r/o unit I see them cheap on CL(craigslist) all the time

[Nick]

I'd use JUST enough softened water to get it up to temperature. Interestingly, "soft" and "hard" are terms which refer to how easy it is to get soap to foam and work, while as far as fish go, those from water considered hard deal with softened water better that fish classically considered to prefer soft water. Really "low ph, soft water fish" should be considered "low total dissolved solids, lower carbonates" fish and "high ph, hard water fish" should be considered "higher totally dissolved solids, high carbonates/dissolved minerals" fish. Or at least, that is somewhat closer to accurate.

[pufferpuggirl]

But Nick, wouldn't the added salt that goes into a water softener unit hurt the fish at all? Or the other stuff that's added to the unit to make it work? That's what I've been thinking.

[J-P]

my fish were never hurt by the salt ... only the plants

[Nick]

It's probably not good, overall to change the basic water chemistry of their changes on them because it is a change from what they are used to, but fish used to dealing with more dissolved minerals("hard water/high PH" fish) will do better than fish which are used to water with less("soft water/low PH" fish) - even though the new water is softer, in laundry terms, than the water they are used to.

However, if you only used enough softened water to get the temperature up to acceptable, I doubt there would be a problem with any of them.

[J-P]

too add to Nick's comments,
Most water softners had a "hardness" level that is adjustable and may or may not play a factor.