Katalox Light Questions

[RileyS13]

Installed Clack ws1 on a 10x54 tank with 1.5cf katalox light to deal with 3.5mg/l iron & 0.4 manganese with no success. Pretty sure irb (discovered after setting up this system) is the fly in the ointment. Am considering chlorine regen but have questions:

Wondering about not having enough dissolved O2. It's ferrous iron (water's clear until bleach gets added.) Thoughts?

Not sure how to set up valve with regards to fill. Have seen suggestion on this forum for 1 minute fill to clean chlorine out. Won't that dilute chlorine solution, requiring addition of chlorine for every cycle? Or, if the fill cycle is unnecessary, how do I eliminate it from the Regeneration process? Can I just set the fill time to zero? The manual makes it look there must be a fill with the regen cycle I will need.

I would also prefer to use hydrogen peroxide but it does not turn my water orange like chlorine does. Only using 3% H2O2 for experimenting, but even adding it 1:1 with water from tap, I get no iron precip. I'm taking this to mean that hydrogen peroxide won't work for me due to some other water constituent (pH, irb, ??.) Comments?

Finally, I have been using the katalox light for nearly three years despite the lack of results. I am wondering if it will still be serviceable. Any suggestions on how to rejuvenate it? Will the bacteria have coated it so badly that it's toast?

I'm also on a 1000gal septic, so am concerned about chlorine.

Thanks in advance for any input or suggestions!

 

[Bannerman]

Do you have a lab test report to post? Complete water conditions should be reviewed so as to provide appropriate recommendations.

Often, KL will be effective on its own but sometimes, it requires additional assistance from an oxidizer such as air, hydrogen peroxide or chlorine. An oxidizer may need long contact time to react to your high quantity of iron and so may require injection prior to a contact tank.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[RileyS13]

Do you have a lab test report to post? Complete water conditions should be reviewed so as to provide appropriate recommendations.

Often, KL will be effective on its own but sometimes, it requires additional assistance from an oxidizer such as air, hydrogen peroxide or chlorine. An oxidizer may need long contact time to react to your high quantity of iron and so may require injection prior to a contact tank.

Here's the test I originally worked from. Don't have full results from recent test yet, but verbal confirmation that Fe and Mn are about the same.

 

[ditttohead]

Chlorine injection should be considered if you have iron bacteria. A contact tank would also be advisable since chlorine requires some contact time. What is your system design? I prefer a metered design rather than the more common on/off design based on the well pump switching on and off. Properly controlled chlorine injection should almost eliminate residual chlorine. You could also consider a carbon post treatment system.

 

[RileyS13]

Chlorine injection should be considered if you have iron bacteria. A contact tank would also be advisable since chlorine requires some contact time. What is your system design? I prefer a metered design rather than the more common on/off design based on the well pump switching on and off. Properly controlled chlorine injection should almost eliminate residual chlorine. You could also consider a carbon post treatment system.

Since we are putting the house up for sale in a few months, I don't think I want to do a chlorine injection system for a number of reasons. If the general concensus from you knowledgeable folks here is that chlorine regen is not likely to work, I probably won't bother with that either and will just offer a credit for the buyer.

 

[Reach4]

I cannot read your water test, but I have no reason to think it would tell me much. I would try an effective sanitizing of the well, water heater, media, and plumbing. I am not a pro. https://terrylove.com/forums/index....izing-extra-attention-to-4-inch-casing.65845/

 

[RileyS13]

I cannot read your water test, but I have no reason to think it would tell me much. I would try an effective sanitizing of the well, water heater, media, and plumbing. I am not a pro. https://terrylove.com/forums/index....izing-extra-attention-to-4-inch-casing.65845/

Thanks. I've done that a few times. The effects are short lived. I've never actually checked post-filter iron levels immediately after. Maybe I should to see if a chlorine regen would be effective, but like dittohead's comment above, I think it will ultimately take chlorine injection to get the iron out. A local Kinetico rep wants to sell me their Powerline Pro system which would be the same as my setup with the addition of an oxidizing/sanitizing regen and their proprietary media. I can choose chlorine, H2O2 or for extra $ ozone. I'm skeptical and for the equipment I would get, it seems significantly over priced. They offer a money back guarantee, but only for 30 days. Seems like a foot-in-the door tactic.

If I recall correctly, you're using centaur and a chlorine regen to remove iron? What is your untreated iron level? Do you have irb?

 

[Reach4]

If I recall correctly, you're using centaur and a chlorine regen to remove iron? What is your untreated iron level?

0.4. It was advertised to handle much larger levels. I bought upon recommendation of a friend who had good results.

Do you have irb?

I have not attempted to test for that. I have normally presumed I would have had IRB and SRB if I had tested. I am confident my sanitizing gets rid of them if they there. Do they stay away for 2 or 3 years? I don't know. If they grow back, what would imply they live deep in the strata 140 ft down. I figure such bacteria, if they are there, are slow growing. I figure well working tools would have some from previous jobs. But if I went 10 years between sanitizings, would an SRB or IRB test show anything? I don't know.

 

[ditttohead]

If you are looking to keep it cheap... a chlorine tablet system could meet your needs. A mini contact tank with a static mixer can help... this would be cheaper and likely effective. Not the best but a lot cheaper.