Help With Decision for Water Softener System Please

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JonFromMd

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Hello, I'm new to the forum, but have been hanging around and reading for a while.

I'm looking to put a treatment system in. I've had a few bids, but cannot afford the cost. In addition, I've installed a couple systems already in the past, one for me and one for a friend.

- I'm on a well that was rated at 13.6 gpm by the driller. I've not measured it myself.
- The pH is 5.5
- The water hardness is about 5 gpg (adding a neutralizer would bring the hardness up 4-5 gpg from what I've read. That's about 10 gpg total.
- Iron does not measure, but it's verified as there minimally (see red at sinks/toilets)
- TDS is about 130 ppm
- House has 2.5 baths (just normal showers/tubs) Dishwasher & clothes washer
- I have 1 inch PVC plumbing off the well pressure tank to house. It is then reduced to 3/4 cpvc
- 5 people in the house (2 teenage daughters included) assuming 80 gal per person and hardness of 10 that's 4000 grains per day. If I understand correctly, it should backwash about every 7-9 days to keep channeling to a minimum in media. That would mean about 28k grains a week. With that said, a 32K grain softener should work. From what I've read, by going bigger less salt is used to regenerate the media in a given year, but I don't really understand the why here.

For the softener
One estimate suggested 64k grain softener 18x33 brine tank the other 48k grain softener. Neither provided details about the valve, but the 64k softener looked like a Fleck 5600sxt but I can't be sure

For the pH neutralizer the one estimate included a 2.5 cf tank with a Fleck 5600. I thought 2 cf was the max size for a 5600. The other did not specify the size/valve.


After all of that I have two questions.

1) What size tanks sound appropriate for both pH and softener?

2) I would like to lose the least amount of pressure. Also, the two I've installed in the past were very easy to setup. I was convinced a Fleck 7000 for the pH and a 7000sxt for the softener was the way to go, but after all the reading I've done I'm not so sure as it sounds like setup is more difficult as well as some problems with the valve. I am a DIYer. So maybe a Fleck 5600sxt softener and 5600 for pH or should I go with the Clack WS-1CS for the softener/pH?

I've already purchase a 1 inch filter housing to install prior to the neutralizer and softener.

I really appreciate any help provided. Please let me know if I've left something out

Thanks again,
Jon
 

ditttohead

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You are on the right track with your treatment methods and sizes. The 7000 would be an excellent choice for your application.

The ph Neutralizer tanks are typically limited to a few sizes since you usually want a tank with a dome hole. The 5600SXT would not be the best choice for the neutralizer. It has a very limited backwash and Calcite does benefit from a slightly higher backwash rate than the 5600SXT can provide.
 

Gary Slusser

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The iron is probably caused by the very acidic pH and steel well casing and/or galvanized pipe/fittings.

Using corrosex and calcite mixed bed will probably add more than 4-5 gpg, more likely 7-8 gpg. The tank should not be larger than a 12" and I would suggest a 10" (1.5cuft). For the sizing of the softener, study the sizing page on my website some more.
 
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