This is something I don't believe.

I have never had issues with spring run off dooming a tank. Who is spreading this crud around????

You wont lose your reef. I never have.

Geez.

Usually my sediment filter lasts 6 - 8 months before I change it, but this time only about 4 months, and it was really dirty. Not sure why, as I never noticed anything different with the tap water.

That's quite the bold statement! :) You're right, spring runoff likely won't cause any issues other than increased tannins in the water. And maybe lots of animal droppings. And the oil hillbilly Bob dumped upstream from the reservoir. But you're probably ok. So far you haven't lost your reef, so the chances it would ever happen to anyone on the planet are pretty slim. almost zip, I'd say. But.....for a little bit more money on top of everything you've spent, you could guarantee nothing bad would come from the water.

:twised:

Just sayin' :razz:

Just tested my tap water, and it is at 67 right now, so a bit on the high side.

Keep saying it. ha ha!

If my tank crashes in the spring due to run off, Ill eat this thread. :drinking:

K thanks.
I'll keep a eye on water. I haven't had issue yet.

Well, you probably won't have to eat any thread. Very unlikely to kill your reef with tap water. And if it did, you could just buy new corals. Sure, way more money than a RO unit, but it's probably not going to be an issue. Probably.
I'm sure that nobody in the history of water has ever tossed anything into a public source. The planet never builds aquifers near veins of copper. Seagulls make sure they don't poop in water (very polite birds). Agricultural run off only goes into non public water (well, except for that Kelowna example I gave). So I'm sure you're fine. I can almost guarantee it. almost. probably.unlikely. Not reassuring words for my coral. So for what, 5% of my total coral stock, I CAN guarantee, to much more comfortable level, that water will not introduce bad things into my tank.
I have enough chemistry going on in the reef I can't control, I'm going to make sure that I control the ones I can.
But your reef is safe. After all, it's never crashed. :razz:

My tap water has been yellow numerous times, I don't think my tank could survive without RO. Not having to treat the water prior and add things like prime, which I find disturbs skimming, is also a bonus. I also enjoy the clean drinking water, drinking tap water has now become a difficult task.

If I lived in ultra low TDS areas I'd probably not worry too much about an RO and stick with a basic sediment filter back.

While I realize beauty is in the eye of the beholder I personally haven't been overly impressed with tanks running tap water long term in areas with high TDS (while I have to admit I have seen one or two). So I think when we speak about success regarding what's needed and what's not it's a very opinionated subject. So to state you don't need something may be true but to state you'll have success depends on how one defines it.