Weird plumbing problem

[aquaticjim]

There are a number of questions that need to be answered:

1. Is it a deep well or shallow?  If it is deep and the well draws water below the clay layer, then the iron content of the well could be high.  If it is a shallow well, seasonal changes and rain quantity can alter the color of the water.
   
2. Are you sure you have an ozonator and not an aerator?  Big difference.  Ozone is an oxidizer like chlorine and treats for bacteria. Although an aerator or an ozonator  can be used to precipitate iron in well water.
   
3. Are you sure the big blue tank is a filter and not a water storage tank?  If you have iron in well water and are using an aerator or ozonator, you will need a media filter to remove the red iron. 
   
4.  Assuming you have an actual filter, does it backwash to somewhere and can you confirm it is back washing on a regular basis?  I believe that once per day is recommended.  If the filter media is missing or is not back washing or is so fouled, it is channeling, you will get red water into your plumbing. 
   
5. Again, assuming the blue tank is a filter,  what is the media.  There are certain types of filters media that need changing every few years.  
   

[Howard Pollack]

Hi-
    I don't know the depth of the well, but I do know that there is iron in the water.  You can see a deposit on the shower head where the water leaves the head.  And yes, it is an ozonator it uses a uv bulb.  And the Big Blue is a filter with a replaceable filter in it.  I need to change that but I'm waiting for a new O-ring to arrive just in case I tear the old one.  I think the medium is a general one, not one specifically to remove iron.  I will look for one of those.  I've noticed 2 types, one removes iron and manganese the other iron and lead.  Do you happen to know which type is more effective?
     And why would the brown water appear in the toilet and the sink only episodically?
     Thanks to all for the help.  -Howard

[aquaticjim]

So the filter is a cartridge type.  I would make sure there is no hole in the filter.  Over time, if the filter is heavily fouled, you can push the iron through the pores.  

As for the type of filter, the ones that are designed for iron and manganese are very expensive and they are not for higher iron levels in the water.  The idea of the ozonator is to precipitate the dissolved iron so it can be filtered out.  

First confirm it is iron.  It is more noticeable in the toilet because it has volume and a white background.  Take some of that water and in a clear glass jar and see if you can see the brown color.  It will help if you place a white piece of paper behind the jar as you look at it.  Reducing the pH of the water will dissolve the iron and the brown will turn clear.  Vinegar is a mild acid that should work.

You see it periodically in the toilet during the first flush because the water flowing into the tank on the back has time for the dissolved iron to react with the air, and more iron precipitates out.  If this is the case, the pretreatment is not working. How old is the UV light bulb.  I bet there is a replacement schedule for those lights just like in a tanning bed.  Do you know the ozonator still works?  I think they inject ozone into the water stream so there must be an injector.  I am surprised the filter is not a large sand filter.  

I personally use a traditional green sand filter with potassium permanganate regeneration.  I prefer this method but I have the experience to work with the system and the chemicals.  I installed a different system for my parents that use a mysterious sand that takes iron out but is back washed every day and the media needs changing every few years.

[Howard Pollack]

Thanks.  This gives me some place to start looking and to start thinking.  I will go over the system in detail and see if I can find the problem.  -Howard

[EightFingers]

Sterlite recommends the light be replaced once a year. The newer models have a countdown timer on them to remind you to change the light.

[Snipe Hunter]

I've noticed 2 types, one removes iron and manganese the other iron and lead.  Do you happen to know which type is more effective?
     And why would the brown water appear in the toilet and the sink only episodically?
     Thanks to all for the help.  -Howard

You need to test your water to answer that. 

Read this. It will help you understand the different types of iron in well water and the different remedies.

What you have isn't going to do much. The filter won't do much of anything except catch particulates and your iron is probably not particulate. Particulate iron would settle to the bottom of the well and not much if any will get picked up by the pump. The magic light bulbs do a little to change the form of the iron but they don't remove iron from large volumes of water. 

Not sure about the 2 types of removal system you noted. The ones I'm more familiar with are Potassium-Permanganate/Greensand systems (this is what's in my house) with backwash functions and Chlorine injection systems. Again, without knowing what kind of iron you are dealing with, none of this matters yet. The PotPerm/Greensand systems can handle large volumes but do require maintenance. But it isn't ridiculous maintenance.

1st step is testing your water. Then there's no guesswork,

[Snipe Hunter]

Dissolved iron will turn brown when it hits oxygen and it takes a while of oxidizing till you notice it. That will happen in the toilet tank or in the water heater. But you don't notice it from the water heater because it isn't sitting in a white bowl but you might notice stains on dishes, laundry, in your tile grout etc. You don't see it at the faucet because it hasn't had time to turn brown yet.

[Snipe Hunter]

This is our system. The 3 filters on the right were my attempt to use filters...  based off of guesswork. It didn't do anything.

The 1st tank to the left of the filters is to control PH. It's full of crushed marble. I add some about every 2 months.

The tank on the far left is a Manganese Greensand filter. It removes the iron. The iron collects on the greensand in the btank and then it sucks up Potassium Permanganate into the greensand from the little black tank to the lower left and flushes out the collected iron down the drain. It works great and I like using the Fleck products because they are easy for me to maintain and service and parts are readily available. 

It is sized to meet our iron level and our well flow rate. I set the timer in the head unit based on our projected water usage. Based on your description, I suspect you have a "Ferric" iron (Red Water) problem.

This is my iron removal system: Fleck 5600SXT Electronic Timer Manganese Greensand Plus Filter 1.0

[Howard Pollack]

Thank you.  This gives me more to work/think with.  I appreciate it.  -Howard

[EightFingers]

Snipe, what type filters are in your blue units? All I use are 25mu and 5mu.