create the Pure Water at home
This depends on the hardness of the water in your area.
If you live in a soft water area, you should be able to get away with just de-ionizing resin. This costs around £60 - £80 for a 25litre bag.
You'll need to buy or build a vessel to house it to allow the water to flow through it while not leaving any of it dry. It is probably easier to buy a vessel (see gapswater link below).
If you live in a hardwater area you will need a reverse osmosis unit
as well. These are not cheap, and are notoriously slow compared to DI only systems. So its not uncommon for more than 1 RO unit to be connected in parallel so as to increase the output rate.
The RO membrane is quite delicate and requires sediment and carbon pre-filters. Most RO units come with these, as well as a DI 'polishing' vessel to bring the TDS down to 0ppm.
It is not really possible to "make" an RO unit as these are manufactured to house a particular brand of membrane, usually the DOW FILMTEC or HYDRONAUTICS range.
Peter stocks a good range, and could probably tailor a system to your needs
His website is
http://www.window-tools.comanother supplier is
http://www.gapswater.co.ukTropical aquatics use RO filter systems, so you could look on ebay or classifieds for a second hand one, though they are usually of limited output (around 50 gallons per day. You will need about 200gpd)
Silly