Clean water

I have a 33 gallon clear sterilite container that at the base is 1 inch of clay soil and sand mixed with 2 inches of road gravel, capped with 1 inch of pea gravel, and 1/4 in of sand.  I have the container between the windowsill and a piece of furniture so the two main sides don't bow out when filled with water.  Also, when filling the water, you would cover it with a large garbage bag and fill slowly and very slowly remove the bag until the soil gets processed or it will stir up dirt, and also fill slowly.

So the base of road gravel (1/2"-1" lowe's brown gravel) looks like a gravel bed and clay soil mixed in because it holds together better.

The container holds water, and the lid of the container is under it, so the rim points up, and the lid holds a small amount of water under the weight of the container.

The water in the main container would go bad unless you had an aquarium bubbler, but I use a syringe or turkey baster to suck the moldy water that's in the upside down lid that's under the 33 gallon container, and release it in the33 gallon container.  The moldy water "treats" the water naturally and how nature works in that water travelling towards a pond pushes grass and leaves down, which grow mold under it and treats the pond naturally.
I have a minnow in it, and I drink out of the container and it's good, but if you were to keep fish and drink out of it, you'd have to make your own food from unsalted or from the butcher and not frozen catfish.  I make my own gel food with knox gelatine.  Also, adding water from the main container to put in the moldy water in the lid under the weight of the container at the bottom also keeps the mold in check but it's an experiment to see how much moldy water to put in the 33 gallon container above(not too much, but you can taste, but if you don't use the moldy water you can get a churning stomach from bacteria).  Also I use rainwater in the container left out in the sun for a day to gas off pollution before putting in the container.  Also you can plant certain grasses or lilies if near a window or if you have a light such as a chinese box light, but my chinese box light is 2 1/2 feet above it so as not to heat the water, and I use it at very low power.

I was just going to post an update that adding moldy water to water reduces to the need for an aquarium bubbler, reducing the surface film, and in a dirted tank (gravel mixed with clay dirt and sand/pea pebbles on top/thin layer of sand on very top), no aquarium bubbler or filter means on the next water change, the water will be very clear because the bubbler stirs the dirt or anything else up which doesn't go away until the next water change if it's too cloudy.  That is you don't need an aquarium bubbler or filter if you can add moldy water from an upside down lid under an aquarium that can hold water that grows moldy under the weight of the aquarium.

I'm skeptical that this system produces safe drinking water for the general permies. I agree that you yourself can use this water for drinking, though I suspect it is because you have exposed yourself to it over a period of time and have a gut that is now adapted to it.

Where I live, catchment water is common. Most people filter and treat this water prior to consuming. But I know of many who drink this water without filtration and sanitation. So yes, it can be done if one is willing to go through the adaptation process.....which means possible nausea and diarrhea, possible long term gut inflammation.

A concern would be if one got sick from some other problem. Then the questionable drinking water might make things escalate into a serious situation. Our bodies can often deal with mild assaults, but can become overwhelmed when attacked by multiple issues.

Access to safe drinking water is an issue around the world. There is plenty of documentation about the problems associated with contaminated water. People drink contaminated water all over the world, but when given safe water, the general health situation in the population improves dramatically.

Personally, I wouldn't use this method for drinking water unless I had no other choice.

That's exactly what I'm talking about, that it was making me sick before I added the mold and turned off the bubbler.  Without using a bubbler, you don't get dirt stirred up in a dirted container, so when I did the most recent water change, the water I expect should be cleaner at the bottom the next time I do a water change because the bubbler isn't constantly stirring up dirt (stopped using it).  All the flavor of a natural creek in the woods isn't there yet, but with the dirt in the water column reduced and the mold also working, I expect to not wake up with a bit churning stomache now.  But I'll update if it is still making me nauseous in the morning, but I don't think I will, but will update in a few days to see if it's working.  I agree that filtered water doesn't taste good.