Home system water-softeners - and water experts?

[Al]

I am interested in knowing if any people here are getting their aquarium water from a complete home water softening system, like Culligan that utilizes a resin bed and salt for regeneration. Reason I ask is currently, I am on a well system that requires a water softening system. I have always bypassed the water softener for my aquariums and have my hard well water feeding a separate water heater for my aquariums, only. I have begun to keep fish that would be better in softer water (although seem OK in the harder water) and was wondering if I would use my softened water without any ill effects. I know the softener removes Ca and Mg from the water but otherwise I believe the pH is relatively similar. I tested my water way back and before softener the water was 381 ppm CaC03 or GH and alkalinity was 177 mg/L or ppm. After the softener hardness as CaC03 was less than 1 and Ca and Mg went from 90 and 38 mg/L to less than 1. I might have to add back some hardness??
If I could run all the water from my home system and shut down the additional water heater, there would be some substantial savings.
Thanks for your thoughts/suggestions.

[Pyrrolin]

I don't have any first hand experience but I have used both city water and very hard well water.

I believe a water softener would make the ph lower and provide less minerals for plants.  So dosing ferts if you have plants would most likely be very beneficial.

I would do the change slowly from the well system to the softener system.  each week when you do a water change, just replace with the softened water assuming you aren't doing more than 20 percent at a time.  More might be safe but I would prefer to play it safe without more info.

Hopefully an expert can give more definite info.

[wolfiewill]

I am looking after a tank in North Gower with hard water: KH and GH are both in the mid teens (degrees of hardness) usually with a total hardness of 25 to 30 degrees. The tank uses the 'softened' water and is doing very well. And as I understand it, water softeners just replace the calcium and the magnesium with sodium. This worried me as I use City of Ottawa water which is very soft, but I worried needlessly. I used plants that like hard water and have a list of them if you want, but almost every plant will adapt eventually (apparently). I've planted tenellus (now called tenellum), dwarf Sagittaria, Bacopa caroliniana, Staurygn repens, Crypt. wendtii, C. parvula and C. retrospiralis. Everything is doing very well.

PS. To convert degrees hardness to ppm multiply the degrees hardness by 17.9 (the last time I tested his water the hardness was 519 ppm).