Why you NEED RO/DI!!!

[michika]

I've seen a few tanks that actually look spectacular on just tap water + conditioner.
Regardless that is quite the photo comparison! Did you happen to measure the TDS in both buckets?

[Cameron]

Sorry don't have a TDS meter.

[Cameron]

I think if everyone filled up a 5 gal bucket of their tap water...it would have a tint to it.

[Zylumn]

One thing nice about the tint in the Calgary tap water is you just have to add sugar and ice to make ice tea.
188 to 205 tds

[scsi]

On a more sinister note........
I live in Slave Lake.
Apparently, the natural water table runs down from Swan Hills to discharge in Lesser Slave Lake.... I don't know if anyone here has seen it, but it's a massive lake.

We all know what's located in Swan Hills, AB......
Well, if you're an Enviromentalist......
This can't be good for my tap water.

[bv_reefer]

-a facility that disposes tonnes of PCBs, pesticides, paint thinners and other toxic chemicals every year...yup probably wouldn't hurt to have a RO water purifier there would it-

[fkshiu]

All this discussion over what colour tap water should or should not be is the exact reason why you should be using RO/DI even if your tapwater is usually OK - consistency.

RO/DI will always be the same beautiful blue water and you know exactly what is in it. All it takes to destroy your entire reef system is a sanitation crew outside mucking around with the pipes and stirring up a bunch of crap just when you're changing your water. Visually you may not even notice, but your system sure will.

This is coming from someone who lives in the GVRD where we routinely get ~10 TDS coming straight from the tap. I probably could get away with using just tap, but the 2 weeks of brown water we got last winter completely justified the RO/DI investment. My pre-filters were nasty after that incident - filled with stuff that could have otherwise gone into my tank.

And you don't need to "waste" any water with RO - collect it and use it to wash your clothes or water your garden.