Electrical type to soften the water

[ChienHsu]

Hi!

I have a crazy thought. Since the hardness of the water is casued by the metal ions, can I put the electrodes in the water to attract the ions. My ideal is to put two electrodes connected through a 9V (or 1.5V) battery. Then put the electrodes into the water of the storage tank to form a weak electric field to attract ions. Is it possible? does anyone have tried?

Chien

[flogger426]

no it won't work - the metals in the water will simply act as a conductor for the current flow from the battery.

what you need is something that will attract the metals in the water, like cation and anion resins (deionizer).

[ronrca]

I think John is correct! All you would be doing is completing a circuit thru the water, not actually removing anything.

[brewmaster15]

Hi Chien,
In a sense using Peat in your filter would act as an Ion exchange resin. I believe the peat exchanges hydrogen Ions for calcium/mg ions in your water.


The cell walls function as ion exchangers. They rapidly absorb cations, such as calcium and magnesium supplied by rainwater, and, in exchange, release hydrogen ions into the water.source....http://www.botanik.univie.ac.at/pershome/temsch/basics.html

This is why people often use Peat to soften and acidify their water.

hth,
al

[sumptnfshy]

Good thiking but the resulting current through the water would produce hydrogen gas which is highly flammable. It is a fun experiment though. ;D

[ronrca]

HOw does current thru water produce hydrogen gas?

[Smokey]

Ron, your the electron whiz kid... isn't that what happens when you put an eclecrtical current through water,
the atoms split[ or something] ??????

I can operate a lite switch!!! lol.

Smokey

[sumptnfshy]

I would have to agree with smokey. Im not a chemist so the exact process taking place that produced hydrogen is unknown to me. But i do know it works ..


Mad scientist's unite!!! ;D

[ronrca]

First Ive heard of it but then again, its been awhile!

OK! Found something!
http://www.hydrogenappliances.com/hydrogengeneration.html

Cool! Not much detailed info though!

[Smokey]

Interesting,,,very interesting

[ferfra]

:( sorry guys, as a biochemist, let me tell you it is not gonna work, what you are trying to do is known as electrolysis. Depending on the kind of electrodes you use, you will generate different products on them.

eg, if you used platinum electrodes (which I am sure you don't have due to their high cost) you would get H2 and O2 as final products. On the other hand, if you used other metals, you would take the risk of oxidizing them and the water would become toxic.

In addition, this method is not economic at all. So I'd suggest to use a RO system or at leats ion exchange resins. Peat moss is ok but its capacity is lower than those of the system mentioned before.

As usual, it depends on the purpose, budget, etc.

Good luck and take care!

Fernando

[daninthesand]

There is a product on the market called CLEARWAVE HD that claims to soften water without adding chemicals. It does it electronically. It sounds like a gimmick to me , but there's a member on this forum with very hard water who uses this and appears to have great succes in breeding and keeping discus depite his water parameters. (700ppm) He says the scale that used to form on his plumbing fixtures is no longer there since installing this gadget. So it must be doing something...? All I know is his water analysis says he should not be able to breed discus, but he does....

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=5;action=display;threadid=8090

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=8133;sta rt=0 reply #3

[ronrca]

Thanks Fernando! Looking deeper into detail, I was beginning to have my doubts! Its like finding the lose thread! You pull it and everything comes undone!