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cwicker_gw

well water and softener

cwicker
13 years ago

We have very hard water, 11 grains. It stains toilets yellow even with a water softener - there's lots of iron. I'm setting up an aquarium for the first time in 15 years and am unsure about what to do with our well water. Use the water that's gone through the softener, or get water directly from the biolite UV filter (bacteria free but not softened). Should I treat it with anything?

I was going to pick up a bag of water from the pet shop and add it in and run the filter for a few days before adding any fish to get the bacteria started in the under-gravel filter. I used to have african cichlids (no under gravel filter for them!!! Diggers!) but this time we're just going to start with some simple tropical fish like tetras for my son.

Are some fish better adapted to the hard (or softened) water? Do I need to find out what the salinity of the softened water is, to know if it's safe? It will be easier to maintain if I use the water out of the tap instead of having to lug it from the basement. We also have an irrigation well - that water isn't treated at all, and is closer than the basement.

Sorry I asked so many questions! The last thing I want to do is kill a 6 year-olds first batch of fish ;-).

Thanks,

Carol

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