I ordered a well water treatment system

[Snipe Hunter]

We just bought a house with a terrible well water problem. The water treatment system was never maintained as far as I can tell. We're currently buying water.

I ordered from Ohio Pure Water.com. I bought the system for the last house from them and was very satisfied. They won't sell to you without knowing the results of your water test and gallons per minute.

The problem with our water is high iron, It should be .3ppm, we're at 5ppm. Also the rotten egg smell in the cold water (means it's not from the water heater). That from Hydrogen Sulfide which is from decomposing iron... aka active rust. Also the PH is at 6, it should be between 6.5 and 8.5. The water is very soft, it may harden too much after the equipment is installed so we may need a water softener also but will wait on that.

I'll be installing a Fleck Vortec Resin tank/Clacite filter for the iron removal and a Fleck Vortec Manganese Greensand Filter for the stench and they should both raise the PH a bit.

I'll be relocating the pressure tank and wiring for the pump pressure switch and using Pex plastic pipe. A first for me. The equipment will arrive Friday and I'll start the install Sunday. It would be cool if I could finish the same day. I'll keep you posted.

[Cub_Cadet_GT]

Sounds exactly like the system i put in my old house which had an Iron and Sulfur problem. It worked well, we now have county water and no longer have to deal with a well.

It should work well or you.

[crokett™]

The house we sold had a high iron content. I don't think it was as high as yours but it was high enough that it caused the pool water to be a funny color when chlorine was added.

[MikeMcCoy]

That's basically what we had but we also got on the rural water system a few months ago. Kept the well water to the pasture (untreated for livestock).

[Anthony W]

Snipe Hunter said:

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We just bought a house with a terrible well water problem. The water treatment system was never maintained as far as I can tell. We're currently buying water.

I ordered from Ohio Pure Water.com. I bought the system for the last house from them and was very satisfied. They won't sell to you without knowing the results of your water test and gallons per minute.

The problem with our water is high iron, It should be .3ppm, we're at 5ppm. Also the rotten egg smell in the cold water (means it's not from the water heater). That from Hydrogen Sulfide which is from decomposing iron... aka active rust. Also the PH is at 6, it should be between 6.5 and 8.5. The water is very soft, it may harden too much after the equipment is installed so we may need a water softener also but will wait on that.

I'll be installing a Fleck Vortec Resin tank/Clacite filter for the iron removal and a Fleck Vortec Manganese Greensand Filter for the stench and they should both raise the PH a bit.

I'll be relocating the pressure tank and wiring for the pump pressure switch and using Pex plastic pipe. A first for me. The equipment will arrive Friday and I'll start the install Sunday. It would be cool if I could finish the same day. I'll keep you posted.

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You have many more problems than I. FYI, the rotten egg (hydrogen sulfide) smell is not from the iron it is from the dead iron reducing bacteria (bacteria that was feeding on the iron that has since died and then cause the hyrdogen sulfide smell).

The addition of the chlorine caused the iron to become iron oxide by an oxidation reaction.

I had my water extensively tested years ago. I have a problem with clearwater iron (actual iron particles) and iron reducing bacteria. The tests for iron, lime, and calcium (main contributors to hard water) actually come out just high of normal. But nothing that would indicate hard water or the need for a water softener. The pH and all other parameters are good. I just have particulate iron in the water along with the hydrogen sulfide/iron reducing bacteria. I installed a spin down filter to remove the clearwater iron and a 4x10 whole house filter using a calgon catalytic carbon filter element. One filter lasts 5-7 months. I get replacements through Pure Water Products in Texas.

[Snipe Hunter]

I trashed the old equipment and started from scratch. We wanted new and the old equipment wasn't maintained so it was full of sand, rust and stink. Then re-installed new stuff about 30 ft away, near the water heater. I'll eventually move the pressure tank to the right of the equipment. I didn't have the time to do it now. I'll do it when I get the new shop together. It's in the way. I also didn't use PEX like I had intended. Mostly because I felt the ID was too small for the main well line. I went with 3/4" copper and Shark Bite connectors... I never used them before. Now I'm spoiled. I also replaced the water heater. It was 30 years old with a bad lower element. I couldn't get the element out, even with an impact wrench so I replaced it. It was also full of sand, stink and other crap. I also shocked the well and installed a 50 micron filter. You can see the color of the water entering the house. The filter at least cleans up the big chunks. I'm hoping I won't need it after the well settles and I'll put it in bypass. The soil is very sandy and I think the well liner doesn't go to bedrock so we get sand in the water. It does seem to be clearing up. I ran the water for 20 hours after shocking the well and it still ran stained.

The bags on the top are full of calcite, that goes in the tank on the right. I'll have to add more in the little black bung at the top or the tank on the right about every six weeks. It dissolves and also raises (iirc) the PH. It's what neutralizes the iron. It also hardens the water. The bags at the bottom are the greensand. It removes the rotten egg smell and softens the water a little. It uses a small tank like a water softener uses but it's got dissolved Potassium Permogate (pot-perm) in it. It back flushes the greensand in the big tank on the left every 3 days. I have to dump a pound of Pot-Perm (bottles on the floor) in the tank once a month. It doesn't take much.

Over all it was a success. The water runs clear and some of the iron stains are actually disappearing in the shower we are using. I will be redoing all the bathrooms and replacing most of the fixtures anyway but at least were using good water now. You can still smell a faint "wet iron" smell but compared to where it was, it's acceptable.









You can see the water color in the filter housing. I installed it where the old water treatment system was, near the pressure tank and well line entrance so I could utilize the bypass valves. Normally, I wouldn't use PVC but it's temporary. If I decide to keep it or add more filters, I'll relocate it near the water treatment gear.