Small water softener for garden hose? Constant refilling of pond increasing GH?

[lmbauer2017]

Howdy,

My small patio pond (~55gal) looses at least 1 inch/day during the summer time. I realize now I should be measuring how much that actually is and will do so this weekend! Anyways, I use a BoogieBlue garden hose filter for removing chlorine/chloramine. The fish and plants have never seemed to mind the buildup of GH, but I'm curious if they make a water softener filter that can just be connected through a garden hose.

The GH (according to just test strips) last year was consistently maxed out. I do have a liquid GH test kit now which I'll be using periodically, but as of last month (I will test again this weekend) it's already at 10 (179ppm). Is there a point in which I'll need to start either doing light water changes or look into getting some sort of softener or would that be overkill? Like I said, the fish and plants never minded in the past 2-3 years I've had the pond, but maybe they actually did and I just didn't notice lol...

Thanks!

(edit) Or I could get something like this lol...

5 Stage Reverse Osmosis System - Drinking Water Filtration System - RO Water | eBay

(Provides up to 99% reduction rate of bacteria & chemicals.). Full Set RO Drinking Water System, All Filters, Faucet, Installation Accessories. Drain Saddle. Removes chlorine, tastes, odors, VOCs and other common chemicals.).

www.ebay.com

 

[JRS]

RO would work for your purpose or you could dilute mineral build up by doing partial water changes occasionally. I like to divert rain water into my ponds to freshen the water.

 

[lmbauer2017]

So fun fact, my GH has not changed since last month! We’ll see what it’s like in the heat of the summer when I really have to start topping it off daily, but this is still really good to see. Maybe this little filter does more than I think it does.