Distilled Water & Killstrips

[cw64]

Is a killstrip really necessary when using (proper) distilled water? The mineral content of distilled water will be practically if not absolute zero, not to mention the osmotic potential. Isn't that enough to prevent algae? Or at least prevent significant growth?
Wouldn't a killstrip cause galvanic corrosion?

 

[termite]

If you sterilize every component, build your system in a closed sterile clean room and pull the distilled water from a sealed container, then sure distilled water would be enough.

There are microbes already on all of your WC components.

If you do not want to spend the money on a kill strip, put a drop or two of iodine in the water, it will do the same thing.

 

[soulesschild]

A premade silver coil is like 8 dollars and it'll last you a lifetime. Just get one already. Or just buy some silver and just make your own

 

[DeathFromBelow]

If you do not want to spend the money on a kill strip, put a drop or two of iodine in the water, it will do the same thing.

Iodine is good at killing microorganisms, not very good for killing algae. A lot of algae will actually grow faster if they have access to iodine.

You'll want to use silver or copper(II) sulfate. Silver kill coils are pretty cheap. You can buy CuSO4 premixed (PT nuke) or buy a bag of the stuff on Ebay for a couple bucks and mix some up yourself whenever you need more.

 

[King Icewind]

I use an algaecide commonly used for ponds. Bought it at Home Depot. Just need a couple drops and nothing grew for many months.