Question about Water Softeners

[ccsuzy]

We are in the market for a new water softener. Hubby has found one that doesn't use salt, it uses citric acid to soften the water. It has a canister you replace about every 6 months. It also says it will clean up your already gunked up faucets and water heaters. My question is, would this be safe to use with a reef tank? We have a 4 stage ro/di system for our tank water but I wanted to get opinions on this type of softener before having a negative impact on the reef tank. Thanks.

Sue

[disc1]

The typical water softener uses a method that exchanges calcium and magnesium for sodium, effectively removing the calcium and magnesium from the water. Citrate can bind metal cations, especially iron, and so does not remove the ions from the water, it simply makes them soluble so they won't precipitate out and cause scale. It can also help to remove scale that is already built up, although there are other compunds that are much better suited to that task. EDTA comes to mind.

The RODI will take the citrate out of the water almost completely. If any makes it through, it will be a miniscule amount and will cause no harm to your aquarium. Citrate is a naturally occuring compound and is an integral part of the process of respiration.

How expensive is that citrate media compared to the regular water softener? Just for my own curiosity what is the aversion to traditional water softeners? Do you also have an issue with iron?

[ccsuzy]

The softener itself runs around $699 and the cartridges are about $70 each. I don't think he has an aversion to traditional softeners, I think it is an aversion to carrying salt downstairs to the softener! It is also supposedly ecofriendly since it doesn't cycle but works constantly.

So if I understand your explanation it would seem that since it doesn't remove the ions from the water like a traditional softener it would be harder on the ro/di membranes, correct?

[ccsuzy]

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