Re: water question

[Carlos Munoz <cmunoz@crystal.cirrus.com>]

>>>>> "WMG" == William M Groth <groth@rice.edu> writes:

    WMG> Hello, I have a water question myself regarding raising &
    WMG> spawning Apisto's.  We have a water softening unit which uses
    WMG> resins.  Thus the water is soft coming out of the tap and we
    WMG> have a carbon unit in the water softening system so there is
    WMG> no chlorine and I am able to do water changes from the tap.
    WMG> The water is now soft but it is still high in disolved solids
    WMG> so far as I know.  Could someone explain the exchange process
    WMG> used in water softening systems and tell me if this water
    WMG> will work for Apistos and other South Americans or do I need
    WMG> to go to RO water?

William,

"Water softeners" exchange calcium- and magnesium-carbonate ions as well
as some other heavy ions and exchange them with sodium chloride (salt).
It's easy to do, but it won't reduced the total dissolved solids (TDS)
of the water, which might bother sensitive fishes.  Sodium and chloride
ions are no biggie in soft water in the normal amounts you get out of 
these units, but if a fish is sensitive to the osmotic pressure difference
between this water and *real* soft water, you might need to switch your
water softener with a reverse osmosis (RO) unit, which will remove all
ions from the water to a high degree.  Often, RO water is TOO soft, and
you may need to add appropriate ions back to the water either from products
like "RO Right" or your own mix based on information you can get from the
Apisto group or other internet sources.

Check the Krib for more info on water softeners, RO units, and all related
subjects at:

         http://www.co.caltech.edu/~aquaria/Krib/


- -Carlos 
- --
Carlos E. Munoz                 Crystal Semiconductor Products Division
cmunoz@crystal.cirrus.com       Cirrus Logic, Inc.  Work:(512)912-3126
"Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur."