soft water ?

[reeffanatic]

just movin' into a new house and was wonderin',,,,,
can i or should i use water from my water softener or should i use water from elsewhere ??
everyone i talk to has a different opinion,,i guess that it seems to be very common that i cannot get a straight answer from anyone, (from "pros" at the local aquaria stores, or from the makers of my water softener)
some tell me that it is ok,,but i need to stablize the PH..
some tell me not to use it because that it wont be ionically balanced..
and others tell me that i wont be able to keep up my alkalinity..
i know that the size of my tanks wont make a difference,,but i'll let you know what i have..
a 110 gal . saltwater with just fish and liverock.....wetdry and a skimmer.vho tubes
a 45 gal.hex..reef,,,wetdry, skimmer ,(1)175 watt metal halide..(4) 40 watt actinic 03 tubes, w/live sand , misc.corals and inverts.
a 20 gal. mini reef,,,,wetdry,skimmer, (1)175 watt metal halide..(2) 40 watt actinic 03 tubes w/live sand ,misc.corals and inverts.
and help would be greatly appreciated..
-reeffanitic
i've got your "ionically balanced" right here

 

[dad]

well it depends on how good the system is working and how bad your original water is i would think.
pretty easy to find out though, just take a sample of the water and do your test on it.
i beleive nitrates should be o. if not i wouldn't use it. hope this helps in some small way.

 

[pufferlover]

In my area we get Lake Michigan water which does not require the use of a water softner. The house we bought has one since it was built before the city got on line for the lake water and I have used that water for 4 years with no adverse effects. I had checked with a very good lfs at the time who told me it should be ok and so far they seemed to have been right.

 

[@knight]

Thats interesting to know. doesnt the water softener break down the trace elements needed by the reef?

 

[dad]

@knight, you could be right. but what i have read about softners is: Most inorganic nutrients are anions (phosphate, nitrate,
silicate) and the usual variety of water softener (zeolite cation
exchanger) won't remove them.
i have heard both ways though.
i'm in no way an expert on softners.just going by what i have read.