Alex Stone
New Member
We have lived in this 4 BR, 1.5 bath ranch west of Eau Claire, WI for over 25 years . Our three kids have moved out. (Not necessarily because of the water though). We have a well and when we bought the place in 1990, it included a Culligan water softener and a Culligan neutralizer which have worked only okay, minimizing our iron problem up until a year ago when I couldn't buy "O" rings or spacers for a valve rebuild, and the brass valve bodies are now pitted. The major problem is clear water iron (FE2) leaking through and staining plumbing fixtures, clothes and also a hydrogen sulfide smell.
We do not have any high use water fixtures, only a dish washer, front load washing machine, two ea. 1.25 gallon toilets and two bathroom sinks, a kitchen sink, a laundry tub and a low flow shower head. We don't use much water, especially since my wife has been washing clothes in town for months.
I initiated a water test from an independent lab in Michigan (KAR). The pertinent results are:
Iron (FE2) 7.99 mg/l
pH 6.5
Hardness 3 gpg
TDS 88 mg/l
Manganese 0.357 mg/l
No Nitrates
No E coli or coliform bacteria
Well delivers 19 gal/Min.
I was thinking about putting in a calcium carbonate neutralizer (1.5 cf) first, then followed by a 1.5 cf Katalox filter, both with Fleck 7000 valves and Vortech distributors.
Will the normal flow rate of 4 gpm of the 1.5 cf neutralizer inhibit the back flushing requirements of the Katalox filter which would follow down stream?? Both would be 10" X 54" tanks.
Do you think this would be the best solution? I would like to have minimal back flushing and as low a maintenance system as possible.
There is also a thin brown coating on the inside of the toilet tanks which might be iron bacteria. There is no snotty, phlemmy buildup, though. I've read that this could foul up the Katalox media. The relatively low hardness seems to preclude the need for a a water softener. I would like to avoid chlorine or hydrogen peroxide injection if possible.
Thank you very much for your consideration!!
Dave M.
Eau Claire, WI
(Eau Claire is the French word for 'Clear Water' which we have found NOT to be the case. What a bunch of kidders, those French!)
We do not have any high use water fixtures, only a dish washer, front load washing machine, two ea. 1.25 gallon toilets and two bathroom sinks, a kitchen sink, a laundry tub and a low flow shower head. We don't use much water, especially since my wife has been washing clothes in town for months.
I initiated a water test from an independent lab in Michigan (KAR). The pertinent results are:
Iron (FE2) 7.99 mg/l
pH 6.5
Hardness 3 gpg
TDS 88 mg/l
Manganese 0.357 mg/l
No Nitrates
No E coli or coliform bacteria
Well delivers 19 gal/Min.
I was thinking about putting in a calcium carbonate neutralizer (1.5 cf) first, then followed by a 1.5 cf Katalox filter, both with Fleck 7000 valves and Vortech distributors.
Will the normal flow rate of 4 gpm of the 1.5 cf neutralizer inhibit the back flushing requirements of the Katalox filter which would follow down stream?? Both would be 10" X 54" tanks.
Do you think this would be the best solution? I would like to have minimal back flushing and as low a maintenance system as possible.
There is also a thin brown coating on the inside of the toilet tanks which might be iron bacteria. There is no snotty, phlemmy buildup, though. I've read that this could foul up the Katalox media. The relatively low hardness seems to preclude the need for a a water softener. I would like to avoid chlorine or hydrogen peroxide injection if possible.
Thank you very much for your consideration!!
Dave M.
Eau Claire, WI
(Eau Claire is the French word for 'Clear Water' which we have found NOT to be the case. What a bunch of kidders, those French!)
