[jjirons69]

One question...what's the hardness of your tap water? My tap water is very soft (< 1 dH) and has no alkalinity (< 1 dK). It's pretty much as close to DI as you can get. The minerals in the tap water is what plagues your setup. Crusty stuff builds up when the water evaporates. Tap water is void of that and leaves practically no residue. For my beads, I use tap water (> 1 year). Still clear and white and holds 65% on the dot. If anything, the chloramine in the water kills any "stuff" growing in it. YMMV.