[mike31154]

Yes, like I mentioned, an RO is a great investment either way. I make wine & beer at home, so the pure water is not only for my tank critters! Despite the comparatively high tap TDS, I'm still on the same RO membrane after close to 4 years & over 14,000 US gallons of water throughput. Yes, I've been a bit anal by meticulously keeping track of my RODI water production on an Excel spreadsheet!

I used treated tap water for the first year or so my tank was up & that was clearly not a smart way to go, especially with a BTA in there. It never looked all that great until I made the switch to pure water for changes & top ups. Below is a report (also somewhat dated) of what comes out of Kalamalka Lake. I had a quick look at a more recent report & the numbers are very close to the same. Actually some good numbers for calcium, but also traces of nasties that are cause for concern over the long term.

North Kalamalka Lake Intake Water Quality 2008
Water System: Greater Vernon Water
Source: Kalamalka Lake
Facility: Kal Lake Pumpstation
Sampling Point: Kal Lake Intake
Date: 7/14/2008
INORGANIC Results (mg/L unless noted)
Aluminum <0.050
Antimony <0.0030
Arsenic <0.0050
Barium 0.027
Boron 0.021
Cadmium <0.00010
Calcium 40.6
Chloride 5.38
Chromium <0.015
Copper <0.0030
Cyanide < 0.01
Fluoride 0.24
Iron <0.20
Lead <0.001
Magnesium 19.8
Manganese <0.0050
Mercury <0.00030
Molybdenum 0.005
Nitrate (as N) 0.069
Nitrite (as N) <0.010
Potassium 5.07
Selenium <0.0050
Sodium 18.4
Sulphate 51
Uranium 0.003
Zinc 0.011
PHYSICAL Results (mg/L unless noted)
Alkalinity (as CaCO3) 152
Colour <5 TCU
Conductivity 409 microS/cm
Hardness (as CaCO3) 183
pH 7.8
Total dissolved solids 238
Turbidity 1.0 NTU
UV Transmittance @254(%) 91%

Ha,ha & edit: my water report is bigger than yours!