Biofilm/Algae infestation in Softener

[Kevin Craig]

Hi all, I recently started noticing my water smelled musty, so I started to troubleshoot. I determined that my whole house carbon filter was not the culprit, so I ordered a replacement softener tank pre-filled with 10% resin and this solved the issue. However, I would like to know if anyone has insight into how I can avoid this in the future?

Here are the facts:
- I am on city water which feeds first into a whole house carbon filter. The media was replaced last year. I opened up the tank and inspected - no issues with the carbon.
- This of course means no chlorine is entering the softener. Good in the sense that it does not degrade resin. Bad that it appears this may have become a bacteria breeding ground.
- Valve is Fleck 5810 XTR2, it was set for upflow regeneration by the plumber
- At the time of infection, the 8% resin was about 7 years old
- I did not regularly sanitize the softener resin
- I live in Florida and the tank is outside and it does sometimes get direct sun. I am gone for two months in the summer so the water is not moving during that time

Questions
- Should I be regularly sanitizing the softener with bleach or something like res care? If so, how often?
- Should I be "summer-izing" my system somehow before leaving each summer?
- One idea I had was to occasionally have the carbon filter set to bypass mode so city water with chlorine is flowing through the softener?
- I have since adjusted the settings to regenerate using downflow with 2 backwashes. Is this better than the upflow? I am not so concerned about efficiency, more concerned with keeping green sludge out of our water.
- Any other tips?

Sorry in advance for the gross pictures but I am hoping someone else can learn from my mistakes. Luckily, I have an RO filter for drinking water so we were not consuming any of this. Just kind of gross that we were showering and washing clothes in it.

 

[Bannerman]

Algae growth inside the softener, is a common issue due to sunlight exposure passing through translucent walls of the media tank(s).

In addition, two months of no flow will result in the water within the tanks to warm and become stagnate.

While the plastic resin itself does not support bacteria growth, usually advisable when using a carbon filtration system to remove chlorine prior to a softener, to periodically (ie: 2X per year) bypass the carbon system for 1-day each time. This will permit chlorinated water to flow through the softener to sanitize not only the softener, but also downstream plumbing lines to fixtures. While constant chlorine exposure will negatively impact the longevity of any resin, 2-days exposure per year at the diluted strength supplied from a municipal water system, should have minimal effect.

To reduce the potential for algae growth, you could paint the outside of the media tank(s) to make the tank walls opaque, but a better solution would be to build an enclosure such as a 3 side + roof shed to enclose all of the equipment. Not only will an enclosure prevent sunlight exposure on the tanks, but will also prevent UV exposure on the control valve, brine tank and exposed piping.

Suggest programming a Day Override setting in the softener's controller. In this manner, the softener will undergo regeneration every xx days even when there has been no soft water use within that time period. While a softener should normally be regenerated and a carbon system backwashed at least 1x per month, due to your equipment being placed in an unconditioned location, likely advisable to ensure regeneration/backwashing is performed at least 2x per month during extended periods in which no water will be utilized.

Here's a photo showing algae growth within a sun exposed cartridge filter utilizing a clear housing.

https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?attachments/dirty-filter-jpg.64266/

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Kevin Craig]

Algae growth inside the softener, is a common issue due to sunlight exposure passing through translucent walls of the media tank(s).

In addition, two months of no flow will result in the water within the tanks to warm and become stagnate.

While the plastic resin itself does not support bacteria growth, usually advisable when using a carbon filtration system to remove chlorine prior to a softener, to periodically (ie: 2X per year) bypass the carbon system for 1-day each time. This will permit chlorinated water to flow through the softener to sanitize not only the softener, but also downstream plumbing lines to fixtures. While constant chlorine exposure will negatively impact the longevity of any resin, 2-days exposure per year at the diluted strength supplied from a municipal water system, should have minimal effect.

To reduce the potential for algae growth, you could paint the outside of the media tank(s) to make the tank walls opaque, but a better solution would be to build an enclosure such as a 3 side + roof shed to enclose all of the equipment. Not only will an enclosure prevent sunlight exposure on the tanks, but will also prevent UV exposure on the control valve, brine tank and exposed piping.

Suggest programming a Day Override setting in the softener's controller. In this manner, the softener will undergo regeneration every xx days even when there has been no soft water use within that time period. While a softener should normally be regenerated and a carbon system backwashed at least 1x per month, due to your equipment being placed in an unconditioned location, likely advisable to ensure regeneration/backwashing is performed at least 2x per month during extended periods in which no water will be utilized.

Here's a photo showing algae growth within a sun exposed cartridge filter utilizing a clear housing.

https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?attachments/dirty-filter-jpg.64266/

Thanks for taking the time to respond in such a detailed way. I replaced the tank with a black tank, and am building a structure around it.

I was also wondering if changing the regeneration cycle might help. It's currently set to upflow but the valve can be reconfigured for downflow. Any thoughts here?

Thanks

 

[Reach4]

Note with upflow regen, the injector would be a lower-flow unit. Also the BD time is set longer. If BD is 60 minutes, that is a bad sign. I am not sure where you would draw the line.

A blue or white injector would be too big for a 10 inch tank. Red maybe. I would have preferred violet or brown for upflow. What is your BD time? What is your injector color? And confirm a 10 inch tank.

Also protect your brine tank from the sun. That can grow stuff too.

 

[Reach4]

Note with upflow regen, the injector would be a lower-flow unit. Also the BD time is set longer. If BD is 60 minutes, that is a bad sign. I am not sure where you would draw the line.

A blue or white injector would be too big for a 10 inch tank. Red maybe. I would have preferred violet or brown for upflow. What is your BD time? What is your injector color? And confirm a 10 inch tank.

Also protect your brine tank from the sun. That can grow stuff too. The brine tank can be sanitized, perhaps with about 2 tablespoons of chlorine bleach.

 

[Kevin Craig]

Note with upflow regen, the injector would be a lower-flow unit. Also the BD time is set longer. If BD is 60 minutes, that is a bad sign. I am not sure where you would draw the line.

A blue or white injector would be too big for a 10 inch tank. Red maybe. I would have preferred violet or brown for upflow. What is your BD time? What is your injector color? And confirm a 10 inch tank.

Also protect your brine tank from the sun. That can grow stuff too.

Hi, the injector is purple and yellow. The BD is 60 minutes. Confirm the tank is 10 inches. The valve has a blue dot, for upflow?

New problem! The draw cycle does not work. Instead of drawing water, it's filling water. I took apart the main components, cleaned, and lubricated, but it did not help.

I think I need a new valve rebuild kit. Would now be a good time to get a downflow valve and injector? I am not sold on the upflow. I am hoping I could just replace the valve/injector and not have to adjust anything else (other than the settings). Please let me know your advice!

If this is not viable, I would be looking to get a new head unit completely. Maybe the 5800 SXT?

Thanks

 

[Reach4]

Hi, the injector is purple and yellow. The BD is 60 minutes. The valve has a blue dot, for upflow?

A violet #00 injector should not have had a BD=60 for a 10 inch media tank. I would go 95 , but at least 81 to 109 would be OK. The symptom of too-low BD might be a bit of a salt taste in the water after a regen. That is not going to cause your symptoms.

If converting from upflow to downflow brining, see the bold note on service manual page 16 bottom.

I am not a pro, and while I suspect switching to the white-dot downflow brining piston and moving positions as page 16 says, and changing to RF=dF2b ; Downflow, Double Backwash may be enough, I cannot be sure. https://www.softenerparts.com/fp61956-01.htm It is possible that just changing the seals would fix your current situation.

Do lube the piston and seals with Dow Corning 7 Release Compound or Chemplex 862.

 

[Kevin Craig]

Algae growth inside the softener, is a common issue due to sunlight exposure passing through translucent walls of the media tank(s).

In addition, two months of no flow will result in the water within the tanks to warm and become stagnate.

While the plastic resin itself does not support bacteria growth, usually advisable when using a carbon filtration system to remove chlorine prior to a softener, to periodically (ie: 2X per year) bypass the carbon system for 1-day each time. This will permit chlorinated water to flow through the softener to sanitize not only the softener, but also downstream plumbing lines to fixtures. While constant chlorine exposure will negatively impact the longevity of any resin, 2-days exposure per year at the diluted strength supplied from a municipal water system, should have minimal effect.

To reduce the potential for algae growth, you could paint the outside of the media tank(s) to make the tank walls opaque, but a better solution would be to build an enclosure such as a 3 side + roof shed to enclose all of the equipment. Not only will an enclosure prevent sunlight exposure on the tanks, but will also prevent UV exposure on the control valve, brine tank and exposed piping.

Suggest programming a Day Override setting in the softener's controller. In this manner, the softener will undergo regeneration every xx days even when there has been no soft water use within that time period. While a softener should normally be regenerated and a carbon system backwashed at least 1x per month, due to your equipment being placed in an unconditioned location, likely advisable to ensure regeneration/backwashing is performed at least 2x per month during extended periods in which no water will be utilized.

Here's a photo showing algae growth within a sun exposed cartridge filter utilizing a clear housing.

https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?attachments/dirty-filter-jpg.64266/

Which service manual are you referring to?

 

[Reach4]

Which service manual are you referring to?

I was referring to https://www.pentair.com/content/dam...k/manuals/44019-fleck-5810-5812sxt-manual.pdf

 

[Kevin Craig]

I was referring to https://www.pentair.com/content/dam...k/manuals/44019-fleck-5810-5812sxt-manual.pdf

Oh thanks! That's a great tip, and very important lol. I always wondered what that other injector slot was there for!

Question: do you know why most people replace the entire piston assembly? It seems like the O rings could be replaced but I can't find any information on people doing this.

On my piston, the o rings seem really worn out, they don't "stick up" which probably means it's not sealing properly for each stage in regeneration.

 

[Reach4]

I am thinking Pentair/Fleck decided to bundle/kit piston+seals... sell more stuff, fewer stocking units for dealers ???

The seals are a unit, and do not have replaceable o-rings. One thing that could work is to reverse the unit end for end.

I went back to a Fleck parts publication from 2016.
Here is an excerpt....

5810, 5812
61956-01 KIT, PISTON, SEAL AND SPACER, 5810, DOWNFLOW
61956-02 KIT, PISTON, SEAL AND SPACER, 5810, UPFLOW
61956-03 KIT, PISTON, SEAL AND SPACER, 5810, FILTER
61960-01 PISTON SEAL ASSY, 5812, D/F
61960-02 PISTON SEAL ASSY, 5812, U/F
61960-03 PISTON SEAL ASSY, 5812, FILTER

Seems to be different for 5810 vs 5812, but kit only.

 

[Kevin Craig]

I am thinking Pentair/Fleck decided to bundle/kit piston+seals... sell more stuff, fewer stocking units for dealers ???

The seals are a unit, and do not have replaceable o-rings. One thing that could work is to reverse the unit end for end.

I went back to a Fleck parts publication from 2016.
Here is an excerpt....



It would seem to say that the seals are available separately. But what really surprises me is that it seems to imply that the seals are different for upflow, downflow, and filter. Are the 61960-* parts actually different? I don't know. I had assumed that the seals were the same for the different pistons.

Very interesting. I was planning to take the piston to ace to try out different o rings but if they are not removable, then I guess that's not an option!

 

[Reach4]

Musing...

I wonder if somebody could machine grooves into a seals unit, and fit softer or slicker sacrificial replaceable o-rings.

https://rubberproducer.com/2024/05/14/how-to-achieve-low-friction-for-o-rings/

PTFE o-rings would seem to offer lower friction, and could prevent the piston from breaking.

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