# Water softener system and fish



## lkmalawilvr (Jul 29, 2013)

I have a whole house water softener. I have only had my tank since May and live in south Texas. I have been bypassing the system and using untreated water. Now that the temperatures are colder, I can't add straight cold water. I can't use hot water because it has the soft water in the hot water heater. How do others handle this? I thought about getting a Rubbermaid tub, filling it up with water and putting a heater in it to warm water but I need approximately 100 gallons to refill. What do others do?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Since you are doing 50% water changes you need a 50G holding tank so the water can come to room temp inside your house and it will be ready for use.

Or you could do an automatic water change system, change 10% daily and the cold water will be OK.


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## cich2it (Jul 23, 2012)

I don't quite understand your bypass system not able to provide heated water.. Did you have this system installed by a professional? If so this person(s) should of been able to accomplish what your specific needs are for your tank.
I have a tankless water system, filtered well water. We had a plumber install a t-bar and also not use copper tubing. Inside the house (under bathroom cabinet) have a lever that is labeled, I can switch to hard water. It then bypasses filtered system, yet continues to another filter (for any other sand, etc) and flows thru to a faucet with hot and cold water. 
Beforehand, I had well water tested, (filtered and non-filtered. along with maintenance testing of filtered soft water on a regular basis.

Believe me I used to fill up tubs from (1) outside faucet, because all other outside had salted water. It was quite a drag, literally :lol: So please if you can try to get someone to take a look at your systems, it will be well worth it. 
Just my 2 cents. Good luck..

Suzy


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## lkmalawilvr (Jul 29, 2013)

Both ideas sound awesome. How can I find more information about the automatic water change systems. This is for a freshwater tank, 215 gallon.


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## skurj (Oct 30, 2011)

If you aren't changing 30% or more at a time I don't think I'd worry about it. To be safe measure the temperature of your 'cold' water vs tank. I think you would have to add a considerable amount of 'cold' to drop the temperature in that tank before it would have any effect on the health and happiness of the residents.


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