My house came with a water softener. Does that add sodium to my water?

[onlywei]

What effect does the sodium added from a water softener have on my fish? Are there some fish that are extra sensitive to sodium?

[lefty o]

a water softener can transfer TRACE amount of salt to the water. it is very miniscule amount, that will affect no fish or plants. what is to be considered though is a water softener does remove minerals from the water which can be desireable. if it truly concerns you, pretty much all water softeners have a bypass on the head. push the bypass valve over, run a few gallons of water out the faucet, and you now have unsoftened water. remember to put the valve back so that your house doesnt get the hard water crusty's.

[ScottieB]

Yes it will add some, how much and what else depends on the type of water softener. The Calcium and Magnesium are essentially replaced with sodium. Depends on what your keeping, those changes might be detrimental. More importantly (as Lefty just posted as I was typing this) is the the beneficial things the softener removes (Ca and Mg). 

Also there might be a bypass for water that goes out to the sprinklers or outdoor faucets? 

[onlywei]

There is a bypass but the water that comes out of that is extremely hard.

[KaitieG]

I have a water softener, and it does the whole house except cold water in the kitchen sink (and the tank my husband plumbed in for me that has its own water lines).  I fill with a mix of cold unsoftened water and softened hot water mixed to the temp of my tanks.  No problems here.  I'm not sure if it would be the same if it was all softened or not--a lot of softener systems do have cold water that's unsoftened at the kitchen sink as it's not always considered the best to drink softened water, so it might be worth checking to see if that's the case for you.  

[2000tetras]

I have to use a water softener at my country house because the well water has sulfur in it. You have to add in some minerals with products like equilibrium or replenish for most fish. Otherwise I have not noticed any detrimental effects. I have far less health problems in fish raised in softened well water at the country house than municipal water at my apartment.