Do you need RO/DI?

[krandall at world_std.com]

>I would like to put a 100 gallon plant tank in my office.  I would rather not
>use untreated tap water as the San Diego tap water is considered moderately
>hard; i.e. Carbonate hardness of 160 ppm, Total hardness of 325 ppm, and Total
>dissolved solids of 567 ppm.  Because of the commercial office setting
>installing an RO unit is not feasible.  This is because the low water pressure
>and the 65 degree F tap water temperature reduce the efficiency of RO units to
>about 40% of rated capacity per a phone call to the people at SpectraPure.
>Thus, even a 160 gpd RO unit would take almost two days to fill the tank.
>Hoses running in and out of the office for almost two days, even on the
>weekends, is not acceptable.

I would not expect to have to do _anything_ to successfully use tap water
like yours for the purposes of a planted tank.  My general hardness is a
little lower than yours, but my KH is 150.  Sure, there are a few very soft
water plants that won't do well in my water, but there are many more
species than I can fit in all of my tanks together that do just fine.
Particularly in an office setting, where I assume you are looking more for
a beautiful display than a "toy" to tinker with, I suggest using your tap
water, adding supplemental CO2, and designing the aquascape around some of
the many plants that will do just fine.  

I can see going to RO or DI if you have liquid rock for water (maybe) and I
can definitely see how people with high levels of phosphate and nitrate
from agricultural runoff would get fed up and want to process their water.
But for most people, in most areas of the country, tap water works just fine.

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