Top off/change water? RODI? Britta?

[Integracer]

I set up my tank using tap water for the first 8 months. I recently tried switching to RO/DI water but the 20 min drive through Boston traffic to get the water is a pain in my ass, and I am giving up. Can Britta filtered water be used without red slime algae blooms? My tap water usually causes diatoms and cyano to grow. If I had to choose between distilled water from the supermarket and Britta water, what would be best?

[MrConclusion]

Britta water is somewhat of a joke. The only useful thing it will do for you is dechlorinate/dechloraminate, which any carbon filter will accomplish. Trust me on this one, I run a business (non aquarium related) where I need to know about water chemistry for hundreds of clients.

 

The other things that the Britta boasts of removing aren't really a problem with municipal water, or we'd all be dropping dead. The microorganisms it removes are rare in fact, and won't live in saltwater anyway. It does not remove phosphate and silicate, which are commonly present in municipal water, and are not desirable in the reef.

 

You can use your Britta if you want to, but it's really a waste of filter cartridges. You are MUCH BETTER SERVED with distilled water, or reverse-osmosis water.

 

There is a very effective deionizer available for a good price. It removes as much waste as most RO units, it's cheaper, but the cartridges only last for 50-150 gallons. However, even at 50 gallons per $18 cartridge, that's cheaper than distilled. MAny RO users sneer at this filter, but I have tested the output water and it's extremely high quality. It's also quite fast.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...d=6&pCatId=4484

 

You can get a simple but effective RO unit for $100-$150:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...d=6&pCatId=4467

 

Or even:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=2346719997

 

Or a more sexy name-brand RO unit such as:

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp...dproduct=KM1431