# Water Softening Pillow



## caazi (Jul 28, 2003)

Do these things work to soften water? I need to lower my ph, but the stuff says hard water won't let it work all that well.


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

There are two types of hardness... KH (carbonate hardness: responsible for keeping your pH stable) and GH (general hardness: what measures hard or soft water).

A water softener pillow is actually an ion exchange resin that takes in an ion of calcium or magnesium and releases a sodium ion. Since softness of water is basically determined by the amount calcium or magnesium in the water, the pillows WILL soften water. On the other hand, the excess sodium in the water will significantly increase the TDS (total dissolved solids) in the water which is not a good thing if you want to duplicate their natural water conditions (low in GH AND TDS).

If you are planning on adjusting your pH, you need to know your KH first. It will be very difficult to adjust pH if the KH is very high (above 120 ppm). That being said, it's better to keep a stable pH rather than playing around with it to achieve the "ideal" pH.


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## caazi (Jul 28, 2003)

I know my KH (alkalinity right?) is very very high, and the hardness is high, but not as high as the kh.


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