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Soften water with chlorhydric acid

miguelangel

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1
Location
Peru
Hi everyone! I'd like to start with apistrogrammas in my aquarium, I have a 180L tank. I live in Lima, Peru, but water in my city is very hard. TDS has a reading of 440ppm. Has anyone tried to soften water with chlorhydric acid? I know that I could use a RO system but I prefer to avoid it because of water waste.
 

gerald

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,491
Location
Wake Forest NC, USA
HCl will lower pH but it won't soften the water. Also, TDS is not a measure of hardness. You might have high TDS and low hardness, depending on which dissolved ions are present. Ca+ and Mg+ are the ions that create hardness.
 

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,449
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
Please if you do use HCl to lower pH, DON'T add it directly to the aquarium. Mix it in a separate container first. As Gerald wrote HCl will lower pH, but not lower hardness. It will also increase your electrical conductivity.
 

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