Hey kush, would you ever add calcium to your tank to harden the water? I
have the same situation you do and would like to get some cichlids going,
but I need to find a way to harden the water.

-Jason


"kush" wrote in message
...
All my household water comes through a domestic water softener unit and it
would be inconvenient to the point of finding a new hobby to attempt to
bypass it or substitute. The water is OK for aquarium use, pH is 8.0 out
of
the tap and no sodium issues, although, obviously, the general hardness is
now somewhat lower than I would prefer. I have seven tanks going, a
couple
dozen species each of aquatic plant and fish. I have difficulty with
finely
pinnate plants and some crypts and I cannot breed many fish.

kush

Dave M. Picklyk wrote in message
a...
Jeff, the problem with water softeners is that they do just that--soften
the
water, possibly reducing the pH to acidic properties. Some more some
less.
In our office, all of our purified water has acidic pH levels of around
4.5-5. If the water turns acidic, it is not great for a majority of
freshwater fish, and plants usually like harder water.

Plastic plants would be your choice if you don't think you will have the
time to care and nurture or appreciate real ones. However, there are a
lot
of low-maintenance plants such as the hardy java fern, water sprite, or
(as
I just found out) the anubias nana which can grow under extremely low
light
and water conditions.

Your choice.
Dave.

"Jeff Heimsch" wrote in message
...
Does anyone here grow plants in a tank that uses water that has been
processed by a water softener?

I'm being told that "plastic plants" might be my best bet.