--- product_id: 48869752 title: "API Aquarium Canister Filtration Water Softener Pillow" brand: "api" price: "€ 20.43" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 category: "Api" url: https://www.desertcart.gr/products/48869752-api-aquarium-canister-filtration-water-softener-pillow store_origin: GR region: Greece --- # Softens hard water effectively Reusable after salt recharge Fits most canister filters easily API Aquarium Canister Filtration Water Softener Pillow **Brand:** api **Price:** € 20.43 **Availability:** βœ… In Stock ## Summary > πŸ’§ Transform your tank’s water quality β€” because your fish deserve the best! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** API Aquarium Canister Filtration Water Softener Pillow by api - **How much does it cost?** € 20.43 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.gr](https://www.desertcart.gr/products/48869752-api-aquarium-canister-filtration-water-softener-pillow) ## Best For - api enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted api brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - β€’ **Universal Fit & Forget:** Pre-dosed pouch designed to fit most freshwater canister filters seamlessly - β€’ **Mineral & Metal Defense:** Removes heavy metals and prevents crusty mineral buildup for crystal-clear water - β€’ **Eco-Friendly Reusability:** Recharge with salt solution for multiple uses, reducing waste and cost - β€’ **Precision Water Softening:** Treats up to 75L, enabling fine-tuned GH levels for thriving aquatic life - β€’ **Effortless Hardness Control:** Lowers calcium & magnesium to perfect aquarium balance ## Overview The API Aquarium Canister Filtration Water Softener Pillow is a pre-dosed filtration pouch that effectively reduces water hardness by lowering calcium and magnesium levels in freshwater aquariums. Compatible with most canister filters, it removes heavy metals and mineral deposits, improving water clarity and fish health. Rechargeable with salt solution for multiple uses, it treats up to 75 liters per pouch, offering an eco-conscious and precise solution for maintaining optimal aquarium water conditions. ## Description Product Description API Water Softener Pillow is a chemical filtration media that reduces general hardness found in tap water for aquarium use. Works to lower calcium and magnesium levels. Removes heavy metals and reduces white, crusty mineral deposits on aquarium surfaces. It can be reused after it is recharged in a salt solution. Use when starting or maintaining an aquarium when testing indicates water hardness above the desired level. This pack treats up to 75 litres of water. Ingredients Resins To Remove Calcium, Magnesium, And Soluble Heavy Metals, Including Iron And Copper. . Does Not Add Harmful Chemicals. P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); Directions Instructions for use, charging and maintenance of the water softener. Box Contains 1 x API Aquarium Canister Filtration Water Softener Pillow See more Review: worked great in London's hard water - My water hardness was off the chart, followed instriction, worked great. It also helped to balance pH and KH. Althought initial charge of this pillow lats 48 hours (recharge needed with API salt, purchased seperatly), but my desired level was achived within 2 hours, therefore PLEASE CHECK EVERY HOUR, otherwise water will become too soft. πŸ‘‡πŸΌπŸ‘‡πŸΌπŸ‘‡πŸΌEDIT: Few points in relation to the bag/size: - The bag is a bit big for someone like me, so, i purchased them small mesh bags with zip (very fine mesh made from plastic meterial and MUST have zip, not string lock), search for: [ZEYIYER 10PCS Aquarium Mesh Bag]. - - If you are unable to fit the bag in your filter ( path of water flow in the aquarium filter), then you can just drop the bag in the aquarium. But this way will be slow to achive the desired level of GH, but it will work. As i said above, you must check hourly where possible, and not to leave it overnight as water may become very soft. (Ideal is 100-200ppm in comunity tank) - You can buy a seperate cheapest filter (may AliExp/Temu etc) and just use this bag, or your own bag inside the filter and drop the filter anywhere in the tank as this is work faster. Recharge / salt: As directed in the packet, you will need to use salt to recharge, and it does last long application after application. If you are worried about salt, worry not, as small amount of salt in freshwater tank will not harm fish/plant. But if you are really worried, after recharge, you can rinse the bag in tap water for 1 to 2 minutes. General Hardness: What i learned that the ideal level of GH is 100-200ppm in comunity tank. But i live in London, and I realised almost ALL aquarium shop the GH in their tank is very high, so most fish are bread/born in hard water. So check the water GH when you buy fish (you can test the water in the bag the fish came in). Most i tested was well above 400-600+ppm. So, it is important, in my openion, not to lower your ppm directly to, for example, 200ppm, but slowly day-by-day. Therefore, use the Softener Pillow bag, take it out, let the fish settle, and try again after a day or two to get the water level to 100-200ppm which will keep fish/plants healthy. Review: It works - Simply, it works after 1 Day with only one in my filter cartridge it nearly halved my GH from over 600ppm (30 degrees) to 350ppm (17 Degrees). Considering this treats only 70L of water and my tank is 110L and it was only in there for 24H im very impressed. After adding another one and after 48 Hours it went down to 142ppm (7Degrees) Only reason for 4/5 Stars is its kinda expensive considering you have to replace it after 3 uses but honestly the most expensive part is the salt you have to buy to recharge em. Kinda wish API would do a little kit with the pillow and the salt for a small discount ## Features - Causes serious eye irritation. - Contains one API Water Softener Pillow Aquarium Canister Filter Filtration Pouch 1-Count Bag - Softens hard water - Reduces general hardness by lowering calcium and magnesium - Easy-to-use pre-dosed pouch fits most canister filters on the market for freshwater aquariums ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | ASIN | B002DW0GQQ | | Allergen Information | Apple Free | | Batteries Included | No | | Batteries required | No | | Best Sellers Rank | 14,007 in Pet Supplies ( See Top 100 in Pet Supplies ) 157 in Aquarium Filter Accessories | | Colour | No Color | | Compatible Devices | Marina i110 and i160 internal filters | | Customer Reviews | 3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars (3,281) | | Date First Available | 27 Jan. 2010 | | Item Form | Granules | | Item Weight | 23 g | | Item model number | 49A | | Number of Items | 1 | | Pet Life Stage | Adult | | Pet Type | Fish | | Product Dimensions | 11.43 x 2.54 x 18.75 cm; 23 g | | Quantity | 1 | | Size | 1 Count (Pack of 1) | | Special features | Easy to replace | ## Product Details - **Brand:** API - **Item form:** Granules - **Item weight:** 23 Grams - **Manufacturer:** API - **UPC:** 317163001493 ## Images ![API Aquarium Canister Filtration Water Softener Pillow - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91G+jnGLYEL.jpg) ## Questions & Answers **Q: I have a 5 gallon tank and a small filter that the pillow wont fit in , what do I do ?** A: Put it inside the tank, just drop it in the water and use something to hang it from the top of the glass, it doesn't need to be submerged completely, it is going to work as long as the granules are soaked. **Q: Can i put in externall filter ?** A: You could but it depends on what canister the allpond solution small one the flow comes in the top so you could place it in the middle but otherwise try to get a small internal and put that in it I will become full after so long so you need to recharge it. also, I tried this for a 450 tds and it does work but it's not a true way to sustain a ph or keep tds at a certain place I tried over a long period of time wasted a ton of money. cut tap water with RO to a desired tds or RO and remineralize works. I had a ph of 8.4 at times due to plants I cut the water to 300 tds and that keeps it around 7.6 to 7.8 with small fluctuations because of plants. but has solved some issues with certain fish. sorry for a long answer but if that was the reason save your money and look into perhaps finding a way to use Ro . **Q: Can you leave this in your filter after the 48-hour period** A: Absolutely, you can leave it for weeks, it doesn't really matter. At some point, the content gets darker because it starts losing absorption capability but nothing to worry about. **Q: I have an 80l tank, can i pop this straight in with my carbon filter as my gh is too high?** A: I have a 40L tank and placing this in my filter for 24hrs drops the GH from off the scale to mid level on my testing strips. I then keep it in a salt water solution until the next time the levels go high which for me is about every 3 partial water changes. My guess is this will do the job on your 80L tank but may take a little longer, remembering to monitor levels daily and remove when desired level is reached. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ worked great in London's hard water *by S***M on 9 December 2024* My water hardness was off the chart, followed instriction, worked great. It also helped to balance pH and KH. Althought initial charge of this pillow lats 48 hours (recharge needed with API salt, purchased seperatly), but my desired level was achived within 2 hours, therefore PLEASE CHECK EVERY HOUR, otherwise water will become too soft. πŸ‘‡πŸΌπŸ‘‡πŸΌπŸ‘‡πŸΌEDIT: Few points in relation to the bag/size: - The bag is a bit big for someone like me, so, i purchased them small mesh bags with zip (very fine mesh made from plastic meterial and MUST have zip, not string lock), search for: [ZEYIYER 10PCS Aquarium Mesh Bag]. - - If you are unable to fit the bag in your filter ( path of water flow in the aquarium filter), then you can just drop the bag in the aquarium. But this way will be slow to achive the desired level of GH, but it will work. As i said above, you must check hourly where possible, and not to leave it overnight as water may become very soft. (Ideal is 100-200ppm in comunity tank) - You can buy a seperate cheapest filter (may AliExp/Temu etc) and just use this bag, or your own bag inside the filter and drop the filter anywhere in the tank as this is work faster. Recharge / salt: As directed in the packet, you will need to use salt to recharge, and it does last long application after application. If you are worried about salt, worry not, as small amount of salt in freshwater tank will not harm fish/plant. But if you are really worried, after recharge, you can rinse the bag in tap water for 1 to 2 minutes. General Hardness: What i learned that the ideal level of GH is 100-200ppm in comunity tank. But i live in London, and I realised almost ALL aquarium shop the GH in their tank is very high, so most fish are bread/born in hard water. So check the water GH when you buy fish (you can test the water in the bag the fish came in). Most i tested was well above 400-600+ppm. So, it is important, in my openion, not to lower your ppm directly to, for example, 200ppm, but slowly day-by-day. Therefore, use the Softener Pillow bag, take it out, let the fish settle, and try again after a day or two to get the water level to 100-200ppm which will keep fish/plants healthy. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ It works *by A***R on 13 September 2021* Simply, it works after 1 Day with only one in my filter cartridge it nearly halved my GH from over 600ppm (30 degrees) to 350ppm (17 Degrees). Considering this treats only 70L of water and my tank is 110L and it was only in there for 24H im very impressed. After adding another one and after 48 Hours it went down to 142ppm (7Degrees) Only reason for 4/5 Stars is its kinda expensive considering you have to replace it after 3 uses but honestly the most expensive part is the salt you have to buy to recharge em. Kinda wish API would do a little kit with the pillow and the salt for a small discount ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very effective. Delivered quickly. *by D***S on 29 December 2015* This pillow has been in the external filter of my 25 litre nano tank for only about 12 hours, and it has lowered the GH from at least 180 mg/l (the highest my test strips can measure) to approximately zero! In a normal size tank it wouldn't have quite such an extreme effect as this. As I expected it has no effect on KH: this pillow performs ion-exchange of the calcium and magnesium ions, replacing them with sodium ions, but has no effect on the carbonate and bicarbonate ions - hence the reduction in GH but no effect on KH. If your aim is to reduce KH (and hence reduce pH) then this isn't the right product for you. In future I might not keep it in the filter because I don't really want zero GH, and instead drop it into the bucket of water overnight before doing a water change. My tank is newly set up and currently doesn't have any fish in it, so I'm experimenting with my water management. The instructions say to recharge it using a salt solution (sodium chloride), but I intend to try recharging it with a solution of potassium chloride instead. I think this should work, and will result in the pillow releasing potassium ions into my aquarium instead of sodium ions - which will be good for the plants and better for the fish. ## Frequently Bought Together - API WATER SOFTENER PILLOW Aquarium Canister Filter Filtration Pouch 1-Count Bag - API AQUARIUM SALT Freshwater Aquarium Salt 36-Ounce Box - API NITRA-ZORB SIZE 6 Aquarium Canister Filter Filtration Pouch 1-Count Bag, Model:110A --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - πŸ›’ **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** β€” Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** β€” Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - πŸ’° **No Hidden Fees** β€” All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - πŸ”„ **15-Day Free Returns** β€” Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - πŸ”’ **Secure Payments** β€” Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** β€” Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.gr/products/48869752-api-aquarium-canister-filtration-water-softener-pillow](https://www.desertcart.gr/products/48869752-api-aquarium-canister-filtration-water-softener-pillow) --- *Product available on Desertcart Greece* *Store origin: GR* *Last updated: 2026-05-11*