Softening Water

[itiwhetu]

The way I like to do it is. Driftwood, peat, lots of plants and small water changes. Then it will go soft and acid with time.

 

[NannaLou]

I buy RO water from Maidenhead aquatics and mix that 50/50 with my tap water from my Betta. For the amount I need it’s not a huge outlay and probably not much more than the cost of all the wasted, metered water that gets produced in making the RO water.

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

Thank you all for the advice, I'm gonna weigh everything out and sort out what best suits my situations. Thanks again! Will update this thread if there's anything substantial to note.

 

[GaryE]

I bred some very difficult rainforest dwarf Cichlids and killies in both snowmelt and rainwater - within view of the highrises in my city. If I were "just" keeping fish because I liked them, I wouldn't do that - but I enjoy breeding difficult fish.
I did no special filtering. I waited to collect rain til I figured the bird poop had washed off the roof.
The system wasn't good because very soft water is unstable, and so a regular water change schedule is needed. If it didn't rain for a few weeks, yikes. It was also physical work to carry in enough to do the job. Water's heavy.
I also suspect the wind directions, etc, could have mattered. In my new set up I will have sea breezes, and I'm not sure if salt air would be an issue. Hmmm. you never stop learning in this hobby.
Once I got an RO unit, all I needed was a reservoir and a sink that could be used for that slow steady process, and life got easier.
I moved and discovered the tapwater was soft in the new house, and never looked back.
In general, I agree you let your water source decide what fish you can keep. If you really get into breeding, things change, but for day to day

Ps I sent this yesterday but the site update seems to have put it on hold, so I hit send this morning anyway.