Why do I have 3 tanks

[Littletmv]

hi, I was wondering if someone could explains this: my water softener system has 3 tanks.
The first tank it eneters is controlled by a fleck 5600, then is goes into fleck 9000 dual tank. I know the fleck 9000 dual tanks use resin beads, but tank #1, doesnt have resin beads in it. What is the function of this tank this first tank? Its driving me crazy...

 

[Reach4]

First tank could be there to deal with iron and/or sulfur, pH, chlorine, whatever.

How is your water?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Bannerman]

Posting your water test results is the best place to start. If sourced from a municipal system or water company, you should be able to obtain test results from your water supplier, often directly from their web site.

The first tank I suspect is as R4 mentioned, to treat a specific water condition prior to softening. While you state that the tank doesn't contain resin, do you know what it does contain or is it empty? Is there a removable plug on the side near the top of the tank so that media maybe easily added? Are there any other pumps or chemical injectors connected to the system before the first tank?

I expect that connected to the Fleck 9000, there is a brine tank in which you add salt? If so, that would be the softener.

Without knowing what's in the 1st tank or your water conditions before treatment, all anyone here can do is guess.

 

[Littletmv]

First tank could be there to deal with iron and/or sulfur, pH, chlorine, whatever.

How is your water?

Its well water, we have alot of iron. The plumber told me its not chlorine, and no resin beads. So im confused. It was packed with iron deposits

 

[Littletmv]

Posting your water test results is the best place to start. If sourced from a municipal system or water company, you should be able to obtain test results from your water supplier, often directly from their web site.

The first tank I suspect is as R4 mentioned, to treat a specific water condition prior to softening. While you state that the tank doesn't contain resin, do you know what it does contain or is it empty? Is there a removable plug on the side near the top of the tank so that media maybe easily added? Are there any other pumps or chemical injectors connected to the system before the first tank?

I expect that connected to the Fleck 9000, there is a brine tank in which you add salt? If so, that would be the softener.

Without knowing what's in the 1st tank or your water conditions before treatment, all anyone here can do is guess.

It doesnt appear to have anything in it, just a tube going down. No plug on side. The 5600se is attatched to this tank. And yes, the twin tanks use a salt brine.

 

[Reach4]

Its well water, we have alot of iron. The plumber told me its not chlorine, and no resin beads. So im confused. It was packed with iron deposits

[Your water is] well water; you have a lot of iron.
The plumber told you that the [first tank ] is not chlorine, or that [the purpose of the first tank is not to remove] chlorine?
[The first tank] was was packed with iron deposits, or [Your water is] packed with iron deposits

It doesn't appear to have anything in it, just a tube going down.

[The first tank] doesn't appear to have any media in it-- just a tube going down?

It could be that that first tank contained a media that got consumed-- such as what might be used to raise the pH (to treat acidic water). You should probably get a good water test done on your raw water. http://www.ntllabs.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=NTL&Category_Code=Homeowner Well Check test would be good. Pay attention to the directions.

It it is possible that that first tank could be filled with an appropriate amount of new media that could help a lot with the iron and some other things. Look for a sticker on that controller that says GPM or DLFC. What are the numbers?

I suggest you post a photo or two... 800 pixels max and under 500 KB if you want to upload, or post a link to photos that reside elsewhere.

 

[Littletmv]

[Your water is] well water; you have a lot of iron.
The plumber told you that the [first tank ] is not chlorine, or that [the purpose of the first tank is not to remove] chlorine?
[The first tank] was was packed with iron deposits, or [Your water is] packed with iron deposits

[The first tank] doesn't appear to have any media in it-- just a tube going down?

It could be that that first tank contained a media that got consumed-- such as what might be used to raise the pH (to treat acidic water). You should probably get a good water test done on your raw water. http://www.ntllabs.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=NTL&Category_Code=Homeowner Well Check test would be good. Pay attention to the directions.

It it is possible that that first tank could be filled with an appropriate amount of new media that could help a lot with the iron and some other things. Look for a sticker on that controller that says GPM or DLFC. What are the numbers?

I suggest you post a photo or two... 800 pixels max and under 500 KB if you want to upload, or post a link to photos that

Ok as soon as i get home ill post pics

 

[Littletmv]

 

[Littletmv]

Thats the dirst tank It was only allow a straw size of water to pass through

 

[ditttohead]

Agreed, it is time for an updated water test. You likely have some fairly nasty water that will require some treatment beyond the standard softener.

 

[Littletmv]

Agreed, it is time for an updated water test. You likely have some fairly nasty water that will require some treatment beyond the standard softener.

[Your water is] well water; you have a lot of iron.
The plumber told you that the [first tank ] is not chlorine, or that [the purpose of the first tank is not to remove] chlorine?
[The first tank] was was packed with iron deposits, or [Your water is] packed with iron deposits

[The first tank] doesn't appear to have any media in it-- just a tube going down?

It could be that that first tank contained a media that got consumed-- such as what might be used to raise the pH (to treat acidic water). You should probably get a good water test done on your raw water. http://www.ntllabs.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=NTL&Category_Code=Homeowner Well Check test would be good. Pay attention to the directions.

It it is possible that that first tank could be filled with an appropriate amount of new media that could help a lot with the iron and some other things. Look for a sticker on that controller that says GPM or DLFC. What are the numbers?

I suggest you post a photo or two... 800 pixels max and under 500 KB if you want to upload, or post a link to photos that reside elsewhere.

 

[Littletmv]

View attachment 29907 View attachment 29907

 

[ditttohead]

That looks nasty. It is hard to tell from the picture. The 5600 valve is not great at backwashing, it is possible the valve simply cant clean that tank size depending on the type of media.
Anyone on this site, can you tell what is inside? I am near BW colorblind so I cant really tell.

an you empty the water out and get some more pictures?

 

[Littletmv]

That looks nasty. It is hard to tell from the picture. The 5600 valve is not great at backwashing, it is possible the valve simply cant clean that tank size depending on the type of media.
Anyone on this site, can you tell what is inside? I am near BW colorblind so I cant really tell.

an you empty the water out and get some more pictures?

You can't see anything in it. The piston was seized, not sure for how long.. I'm assuming if I didn't have the other 2 tanks, I would've noticed much sooner

 

[Bannerman]

You can't see anything in it.

Strange that the riser tube remains vertical with no media to hold it in place. The water level within the tube appears to be high although there is no water visible in the tank.

The riser tube should easily pull straight up to remove it and the bottom distributor.

You will probably need a strong solution of Iron-Out or Super Iron-Out to clean-up the tank. valve, riser and distributor.

Since the softener resin has been exposed to significant amounts of iron, the resin should now be cleaned by adding a strong solution of I-O to the brine tank followed by a manual regeneration. You may wish to extend the contact time of the brine/cleaning solution by by-passing the softener and pulling the power cord once the brine and solution has been completely drawn out of the brine tank. After 20-30 minutes, restore power and water flow to complete the remainder of the regen cycle.

Since it is a dual tank softener, each tank of resin will need to be cleaned separately as each regeneration will effect one tank only, alternating to the other tank at the next regen cycle.

The Fleck 5600 when used for filter service, is rated for up to a 10" diameter tank. Confirm the size of the tank so that recommendations on appropriate media may be made once your test results are known. Your well and pump information is also needed.

 

[ditttohead]

5600, 10" tank at 10 GPM per ft2, so it is not recommended for Filox, pyrolox, Clinoptilolite, KDF, or other heavy medias. It can work with GAC and other lighter medias.

You may want to use a stronger acid for cleaning the tank. Use caution, check with your local hardware store for some of the common acids they sell.

 

[Littletmv]

You guys are great! Let me try these suggestions!! Thank you thank you

 

[Littletmv]

Here is the tank for 5600

 

[Reach4]

Any progress toward getting water test results on your raw water? That takes time to receive the kit, do the sampling, shipping the sample back, and to receive the results. Remember to sterilize the sampling faucet and to let the water run for several minutes before taking the sample. Follow the direction carefully.

What kind of media was there originally? You might see if you could scoop a bit out, put some pieces on a piece of clean white paper and take a sharp close-up photo. That might lead to somebody recognizing the media. It will be interesting, but it will probably be less important than knowing what to do going forward -- presuming that the solution will involve replacing the media in that first tank.

What condition is it that needs treating? This is the more important item. It leads to an optimum solution. That is where the test results are critical. The amount of media you need will probably be 1.5 cubic ft.

Will effective media be able to use the existing tank and controller? Probably. That media needs backwashing. You do want to determine the backwash rate that the controller has been set up with already. If the backwash uses a 5 GPM DLFC, that might best be replaced with a 7 GPM DLFC.

What media should you use? The best guess in the absence of real info is that Katalox Light could be the best cure your problem with your existing controller and tank-- a media that was probably not even available when your current system was installed. But that has limits as to what it can do . You really need the test results to know that.

Budget: you have shown the ability and inclination to get in and do stuff. Note that 1.5 cubic feet of Katalox Light is not cheap. Unfortunately it is sold in 1 cubic ft bags and 0.5 cubic ft bags, and the 0.5 cubic ft bags are significantly more expensive per cuft. It would be nice if this was available in bulk from a reliable source. Since you can't tell what you are getting by looking, you would need to buy bags or you would need to buy from a very trustworthy source. You might be paying over $300 for just the media on top of the very important water test that will set you back about $150 with shipping. You still don't know what solution will be needed. If you knew for sure that the original system delivered clean clear water, then there is a very good chance that you will able to achieve or surpass the original result. But since you were not around he water when the system was new, you can't know how effective it was then. Plus it is not certain that the raw water has not changed significantly since that time.

Clean safe water is important. I am not a pro. The others trying to help are.

You should want to a disinfection (including the use of a "flooding volume) of your well and complete plumbing system after you have finished working on the system. You might want to do a preliminary disinfection to do a more temporary disinfection to make a temporary improvement of your raw water. But you don't want to do that before taking your water sample.

 

[Akpsdvan]

The one photo looks like an upper basket came loose and is floating just under the valve and was left behind when the valve was removed.
If there is a 1/2" laying around it might be good to put down into the tank and do kind of core sample and see what is there.
But not knowing what the water quality is like it will be truly hard to say just what was in the first tank, either iron media or calcite.
If there truly is NOTHING in the lead tank then that would in my book say calcite ....