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Re: Lowering pH when adding hard water nutrients to soft water



Do some of the filter media and/or water additives available add to this 
problem? I know that AP makes a water softener pillow which reduces GH, but I 
think it exchanges sodium ions for calcium and magnesium ions. Doesn't seem 
like it would necessarily be desirable over the long term for this reason. ??

AP also makes a product called Nitra-sorb, which removes ammonia, nitrite or 
nitrate during filtration. This gets recharged in a salt solution, so I guess 
it exchanges sodium ions as well.

I've been using Seachem's Purigen in a lightly planted tank. This product 
gets recharged in bleach, i.e. sodium hypochlorite. Same problem?

Anybody know? 

Sylvia



> Salt concentrations will tend to rise over time to the point where the
>  amount of salts you remove during one water change is equal to the amount
>  you add to the tank with water changes, or between changes with top up,
>  fertilizing, feeding, medication and so on.  In my house, the older the
>  tank, the higher the salt content.
>  
>  I don't keep or breed fish that are sensitive to salt content, so I don't
>  worry about this buildup. If I were breeding sensitive fish in tanks that
>  I kept running for years -- or in tanks where I added a lot of dissolved
>  salts -- then I'd seriously consider doing the occasional very large water
>  change.  That would help offset the increase in salt content over time.
>  Just using RO for top-up doesn't do the whole job, because it doesn't
>  offset the salt that comes from sources other than water changes.