Help......Hard Water, Manganese and Iron

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mcminnville

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Hi All,

Was wondering if I could get some opinions on what to install. I have been pitched with products from Water-Right, Culligan, Kinetico to name a few. Everyone claims to have the "best" solution.

I would like to have a system that is simple, reliable, and serviceable by many (not proprietary).

Here are the water test results from an independent lab:

PH: 7.6
Hardness: 22 gpg
Iron: .3 ppm
Manganese: .125 ppm
No bacteria or other issues.

It is new construction and I have the well water pumped into a covered 1,500 gallon holding tank, then pressurized, then split into irrigation and household use. I need to treat the water after it comes out of the holding tank. Water pressure and volume for the water treatment equipment is not an issue. I would also like to achieve a normal flow rate of at least 12 gpm and a peak flow rate of 15-18 gpm.


I know I will need a water softener towards the end of the treatment cycle. I could probably run a greensand filter prior to water softener to take care of the iron and manganese but this would kill my flow rate and force me to use pot perm. Is there a better way????

Many thanks!
 

ditttohead

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There are many medias for iron removal that can be used in place of greensand. I prefer medias that have higher levels of Magnese dioxide. Your iron and mangense levels are low, a traditional softener could be used to remove these, but a properly designed chemical free iron removal system would be ideal. How may people will be in the house? How many bathrooms?
 

mcminnville

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I have 4 people with 4 bathrooms. It is a working farm so 1 of the bathrooms will be used to frequently to wash off the muddy dogs and people.
 
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ditttohead

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A standard 4 bathroom house would usually have a pipe size of 1-1/4" depending on local codes and plumbing material. Do you know the pipe size for the house (not the irrigation)?

A standard 2 Cu. Ft. softner with a 7000 head would probably be just fine. Considering the larger number of bathrooms, a 2.5 Cu. Ft. (13x54) tank would be even better.
 

mcminnville

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Pipe size is 1-1/4" throughout.

Thanks for the input on the water softener. I was thinking of going with the 2.5 Cu ft unit (80,000 grain) with the 7000 fleck head.

Was wondering how you think I should deal with the Iron and Manganese? I know the Iron isn't too high but the Manganese is high and will lead to black staining and odors. I would like to avoid the greensand and pot perm if possible. The Iron and Manganese will have an aqueous and oxidized component due to my 1,500 gallon storage tank.

Thanks!
 

ditttohead

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If the water is "sprayed" into the atmospheric holding tank, you will have plenty of oxygen in the water for a cheap birm system to work. I prefer some of the more modern medias that have higher amounts of manganese dioxide, like Katalox light. These medias are more expensive, but they should last for many years and usually require no regenerant. The systems can also be easily modified at almost no cost to include a regenerant feed.
 

mcminnville

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I'm happy to use Katalox. Could you recommend a source for this filter? Is this the same as MangOx filters? Just curious how these filters can operate with no regenerant...unlike greensand using pot perm?

What kind of regenerant would I use with Katalox?
 

ditttohead

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Katalox light can be used with or without a regenerant. Adequate amounts of oxygen levels in the water as a catalyst can be the "regenerant". It is more about a waters ORP. It may require some type of pre-oxidation to achieve its maximum ability. It is a complex process and difficult equation. Many companies fail miserably at iron removal because they try a one size fits all approach. A simple chlorine feed, contact tank, and GAC removal is the most common "one size fits all" approach that works most of the time. Other ways work very well but require a little more knowledge and a better understanding of the local water and how the medias will react. I have many customers who use nothing more than Clinoptilolite with great success, other use Birm. Mangos, Pyrolox, Filox are also used regularly without regenerants, but they are all subject to the water chemistry, pH, ORP, etc. The past year has seen some great improvements in iron removal with the introduction of the lighter weight, higher percentage manganese dioxide based medias. A simple chlorine feed, or even intermittent dosing of the media with chlorine or hydrogen peroxide are simple ways of increasing the medias ability to handle iron without the use of contact tanks.

Katalox light can use oxygen, chlorine, or hydrogen peroxide. These are the most common methods. Intermittent regeneration or dosing of chlorine through the media has shown to be adequate for most applications. Since you have an atmospheric holding tank, you can simply spray the water into the tank, this will usually add enough oxygen into the water. This can cause the tank to need to be cleaned occassionally, but this should be done anyway. I always recommend conical bottom tanks for these applications which make complete draining and cleaning of the tanks much easier. These tanks are considerably more expensive but much more sanitary.
 
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