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Hard headed ...oops, water.



> recently moved back to a place with very hard water - the 1999
>Water 
>Quality Report lists the weighted average hardness, as CaCO3 at
>439. They 
>also state "water hardness ranged from 130 mg/L to 680 mg/L 
>(7.6 
>grains/gallon to 39.7 grains/gallon). To assist residents in
>adjusting 
>water softeners, the average hardness was 25.7 grains per
>gallon."

>I'm getting ready to set up my aquarium again and have a few
>questions 
>about this:

The LFS and myths are good at telling folks that need to soften
or not use the rock hard tap waters. Please don't blame them as
they are just trying to be helpful. 

Why use the softened water? Use the tap. It will work. My CaCO3
sits at a steady 430ppm(or mg/l). I add dechlorinator to it and
add it to my tanks. Hardness has nothing to do with anything
growing plants unless it is too low(less than 3KH/GH => to about
50ppm or mg/l). 
 CO2 does. Any notions otherwise or blaming the hardness is
well... full of poppycock. They have some other problem and are
blaming this hardness issue for their problems. My GH and KH are
pretty hard as well, much like yours. Plants don't care about
soft or hard etc. That's a myth. I'm sure if you add 1000ppm or
something or 10ppm or something or added saltwater etc well yes
then it would matter. But my point is you can grow plants as
easily in hard as soft(maybe better even in harder) if you use
CO2 gas. 

I have never seen a plant that has to be a soft water plant to
grow well.
If anyone "thinks" there is such plant **I dare** you to
respond:)

If the CO2 requirements are met then they are fine. This is
simply obtained by using a pH/KH/CO2 chart.
I find quite a number of folks that have these
items(Softening/RO/Acids/DI/snake oils/high tech filters even
cables etc) but balk at spending a dime on a good CO2 set up. 

Regards, 
Tom Barr



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