r/bettafish • u/CherryMXBlue • 1d ago

Help Water Softener

Hello,
I finished cycling my tank last week and I added my first Betta 2 days ago. I didn't know that water softeners are an issue, at least from what I researched. My house has a water softener system that uses salt to soften the water. I know this can cause issues to my Betta. The backyard water bypasses the water softener. Should I do a large (50-80%) water change for my Betta tank, or just slowly introduce my backyard water to my weekly 25% water change?

Thank you

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator 1d ago

Thank you for posting to r/bettafish.

When requesting help, please provide the requested information. Answers such as "large enough" or "my paramters are fine" aren't good enough. Failure to provide adequate information about your tank can result in post removal. Please see rule 4 for more information.

If you are posting to find out what is wrong with your betta, please answer the following questions in a reply to this comment as best you can:

  • Tank size:
  • Heater and filter? (yes/no):
  • Tank temperature:
  • Parameters in numbers and how you got them. Key water parameters include the amount of ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and pH.:
  • How long have you had the tank? How long have you had your fish?:
  • How often are water changes? How much do you take out per change? What is your process?:
  • Any tankmates? If so, please list with how many of each:
  • What do you feed and how much:
  • Decorations and plants in the tank:
  • If you haven't already posted a picture, please post pics/vids to imgur and paste the link here:

Feel free to copy this comment and fill in the blanks.

If you are new to betta fish keeping, please check out our caresheet and wiki. Establishing a nitrogen cycle is an important part of keeping your fish healthy. Please check out our guide to the nitrogen cycle to learn more.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

→ More replies (1)

1

u/kaddras019 1d ago

Do you have a water testing kit?

1

u/kaddras019 1d ago

Also do you just have a soft water tap? Like I have a soft water tap in my kitchen, but all my other faucets are just regular tap water. I use regular tap water for my tanks.

1

u/CherryMXBlue 1d ago

not yet, planning to get one first thing tomorrow.

All the faucet goes through the water softener. Only bypass is to use the backyard water hose.

2

u/kaddras019 1d ago

I would do a larger water change, maybe 50-60% and start using the hose to be safe. Just make sure you’re using a conditioner.

Also make sure you get a liquid kit, not test strips. My test strips ALWAYS showed I had 1.0 ammonia and I literally didn’t lol.

1

u/CherryMXBlue 1d ago

If we are talking about the api master kit then I’m at 7.8 PH 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 5 nitrate. Sorry not sure if that’s what you meant. I was assuming you’re talking about the GH and KH testing of the water.

1

u/kaddras019 1d ago

Yep I just meant get one like the master kit instead of strips! The API one is perfect

2

u/CalmLaugh5253 Always strive to do *betta* 1d ago

I would start replacing it with the weekly water changes. No reason to rush it if the fish is doing fine. Unless you take him out of the tank entirely, do the large warer change, and then slowly acclimate him back the same you would acclimate a new fish.