# Raising ph of rodi water for a semi/fully automatic system



## fishfisher (Apr 1, 2016)

Hi,
Thanks for the interest! I am trying to set up a rodi drip system that is at least partially to fully automatic and I'm trying to figure out how to remix the water for the malawi tank. My tap has ~3.3 ppm chloramines and I have already killed a tank of fish trying to get around it so tap is out. My goal is to control nitrate levels but I know I'll need to vac on occasion for waste.
Tank: 55g
Ph: 8.2
Malawi cichlids
Lots of African rock in tank
Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate ~30
MTS....
29 g tetra tank
20 g zebra danio

So far I have the filter flowing into a 32 gal brute trash can with an auto shut off valve to stop the filter when trash can is full. Then a pump in the trash can that is on a timer to fill the tank with a check and shut off valve to control incoming tank water. Then a basic pvc overflow in the tank to return it to the sink.

My problem is how do I raise the ph and other levels in the water for malwi cichlids? I have access to quite a bit of African lace rock and was thinking of putting it in the trash can and letting the water circulate but I don't know how long it would have to sit for and may be hard to control the levels. I could let the tub fill, treat the water, and then fill the tank, but I would like it at least a little more automated than that.

Another option that I'm not sure would work would be an automatic doser with rodi water both going straight into the tank. But would only work if I could find a doser relatively cheap.

I am fully open to new ideas and suggestions. Also please ask if you have any ?'s on the setup. If something is a little more expensive but makes this far easier than I'm willing to consider it. 
Thanks for your time!


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## Biciclid (Jan 27, 2016)

Is the issue with your tap-water just the chloramine or does it have other issues such as nitrates? If it is just the chloramine then would it not be feasable to neutralize it with sodium thiosulphate without having to strip everything from the water to then have to remineralize it? Ciao


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## fishfisher (Apr 1, 2016)

My tap runs through my rodi filter so it is already stripped of everything. It's the rodi water that is want to re-mineralization. My question is how to get rodi water to proper levels. 
Thanks for your reply!


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## daviddj (Sep 30, 2016)

If you know the amount of Ro water your auto topping up on a daily basis you could easily make up a buffer solution and automatically dose the appropriate amount over the day to compensate for the Ro addition. Even 4 channel dosers can be had quite cheap now. Alternatively you could run the Ro water through a remineralisation cartridge which will add calcium, magnesium and increase ph. Or contact a local water treatment company for a ph neutraliser media which will do the same thing but cheaper in the long run. These options will not produce "rift valley" water but may be enough to allow a finer tweaking of the tank once a week.


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## Pdxmonkeyboy (Oct 17, 2016)

I thought I would chime in on a thing or two as some of the above info is incorrect. I am a professional hydroponics grower and know quite a bit about treating water from various sources.

1. the first important thing is that an RO filter does NOT, I repeat, DOES not remove chloramine. The chlorine is chemically bonded to amonia. The only way to remove chloramine is through long contact time filtration through a carbon filter, preferably KDF carbon filter. This will eliminate the chloramine but leave you with water with amonia in it. Quite a lot of amonia actually. In portland we have excellent clean water.. 14 PPM from the tap!! However, stripping the chloramine yields amonia counts around 2 ppm. 
2. Bottom line, don't think RO system will remove chloramines. 
3. I use drip systems and it took me some fiddling to get them right. The amonia I am adding to the tank just get cycled like all amonia. It's not a huge amount as I replace about 5-7% of the tank daily. 
4. I don't use a pump or anything, I have a four stage filter.. one pre filter and three carbon filters that lead to a 1/4" drip hose and adjustable dripper. the dripper just drips into my tank...about 7 gallons a day. I have a hole drilled in my sump that empties the extra water into my flower bed outside. 
4. I have a doser that releases a baking soda solution and a malawi salt solution twice a day. it's 2.2 ml a day. that keeps my hardness and PH right where it wants to be. the tricky part is determining the strength of your dosing solution. 
5. while I don't have my big tank fully stocked yet, strong currents and low canister returns have kept the substrate really clean! 
6. I wish I had never finished my basement because I would have drip systems on all my tanks!!!


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## Biciclid (Jan 27, 2016)

All I read confirms what pdxmonkeyboy has written, a regular ro/di filter will not remove the chloramines, actually the membrane will be damaged by the chloramines that are not removed by a regular charchoal filter. It may be possible to use activated charchoal prefilters that are designed specifically to remove chloramines. If my tapwater contained chloramines I think I would pretreatvit with ascorbic acid to remove the chlorine then meadure how much ammonia is left in the water and remove that with zeolite, ammo-lock or similar.


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## Pdxmonkeyboy (Oct 17, 2016)

there is a great and very informative post somewhere from the owner of spectrapure filters about chloramines, amonia and the removal of them and the effects of different ph values, hardness, etc on ro membranes.

the most important thing is what is the ph of water coming out of the tap? over a ph of 8.0 you are dealing with monochloramines which are troublesome to say the least, the high ph will also cause the expansion of your RO membrane.. not good.

to the original poster, we need to know your initial water PH. If it is higher than 8, you may have to put the water in a trash can or whatever, lower the ph, and then send it through your RO/DI system.

DI systems CAN remove amonia.. they will not break down chloramine. I just ordered a DI cartridge to see how much amonia it takes out after I break up the chloramine.

For those with chloramines the path to clean water would go: carbon block filter, RO system, then DI cartridge. that is IF your starting ph is below 8.

you can skip the RO if you have really soft water like I have. I don't run RO systems because they just waste so much water, even the efficient ones.

adding minerals and adjusting ph based on new water is the easy part with a simple dosing pump.


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## CeeJay (Aug 16, 2016)

If you would add the SilicaBuster to your R/O unit it would get rid of the chloramine. I have used it but I'm on well water and don't have that problem. Lace rock won't have much of an effect on PH. But crush coral filter thru your trash can would. You also try just putting about 20 pounds in the bottom and letting the water set for 24 hours to see how much it would raise it. Hope this helps. I really like the drip method for water changes.


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## fishfisher (Apr 1, 2016)

Hello thanks for all the feedback and sorry for the late reply. I've decided to do a semi auto wc system. I filter into a trash can with an auto shut off float valve, treat the water, and pump into tank through a garden hose. Then the water flows from a tank into a pvc overflow and then to the sink. I can now keep the can in one place rather than wheeling it around the house.


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