Built whole house setup for well water.. Added spin down but clogs immediately

[Dis360]

I have well water, the well is ~250ft deep and provides ~6GPM. I shock the well about every 6 months. I purchase my home about a year ago and noticed immediately that the water needed to be filtered, as there was no filtration whatsoever and there was staining in the shower and toilets, light brown staining that I assumed was iron at the time. I could also fill up a water bottle and while the water looked very clean and clear initially but if sits for 24 hours+, it develops a hazy tan color and would have clumps of brown sludge on the bottom. I also noticed what I identified as iron bacteria in the back of the toilets.

That's the background, so I built a whole house filter setup, with three 10" filters and a UV filter. As a starter I used filters obtained at home depot, generic carbon, string and poly and have used a combo of them over the past 9 months, that seems to work alright, I was not expecting a lot out of those. I am planning to get more suitable filters, like a dedicated sediment filter (20 micron) and smaller and smaller in the other two pods. Although the water is cleaner, I still have the hazy water with tan clumps in the bottom. I also test my water every few months and there is nothing out of range of normal, no iron.

I decided to install a spin down filter with a 50 micron stainless steel screen yesterday to help prolong the filter life and capture larger particles. My next step was to get three proper subsequent filters but I was stopped in my tracks once I saw how fast the spin down filter became clogged. It clogs in minutes with what I assume is clay, when I say it clogs, the entire screen is covered and there is a significant pressure drop at the taps, the screen is covered in clay, although there are black and red larger particles but they sink. Now I'm rethinking everything and no longer think this staining in the toilets is iron but rather this clay and don't know where to go from here, if I get a higher micron screen this clay will just pass through and continue to clog the filters down stream and apparently some clay is still making its way through hence the staining.

Additional thoughts, my refrigerator water filter produces 100% clean and clear water, so even though it's not a whole house filter, all sediments can be completely filtered out, probably a membrane in there or something. Another interesting topic, I once sanitized my well, flushed all chlorine out, water ran for 4-5 hours, about and hour after this I filled up a small pool with about 450 gallons of water and to my surprise it was crystal clear and stayed that way. I filled it up again a couple of months later and the water appeared hazy, tan/brown and cant see through it, its interesting how clear it was after flushing the well.


I need advice on 2 things:

1. How do I get rid of this clay and is that what's in the bottom of a water samples and causing the haziness?
2. What spin down filter size do I need and what should I use in the three 10" pods?
(1.) 20 micron sediment / (2.) 10 micron carbon block / (3.) 1 micron pleated


***
The pictures are of, three water bottles, water from tap few days old (left), tap 10 hours old (middle), sealed bottled water (right). Sediment in left bottle. Spin down filter after a few minutes. Water bucket I toss used filters in, can see sediment in bottom

Video of spin down: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YENLQ17KVja_1w0cDtesZzZ_la1mMDnU/view?usp=sharing


Thank you for your time and help.
Daniel

 

[Valveman]

Anytime a well is making that much crud it is probably best to spend some time developing the well. Just like your last well treatment and hours of pumping, that usually cleans up a well. You just need to do it again. Some wells need regular cleaning. Other wells use a pellet chlorinator that treats the well with every water use. It is hard to filter that much crud, it needs to be pumped, blowed, or bailed out.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Fitter30]

With so much dirt first step is to talk with a well driller or pump service in the area. Y strainer, uv light ,spin filter and 3 - 10" filters pressure drop could be 35 lbs plus. If dirt ends up being a permanent problem and large washable bag filter larger pipe size with gauges to show pressure drop. Dirt would shorten the pumps life.

 

[Dis360]

Thanks for the help guys..

I took valveman's advice and decided to purge the well. I bypassed the filters and ran a garden house at full blast for about 3 hours and 45 mins. I didn't realize at the time but when I installed the spin down filter I created a leak during install and had to shutdown the power to the well pump, I think this caused the water to flow back down as like it had no check valve. This is just a guess because after purging I reinstalled the 50 micro spin down and it looks a lot better, especially after 24 hours of use, there is still some of what appears to be clay but only a fraction and its not coating the screen. I am going to check if the pressure tank has a check valve installed, I'm also going to see if I can find any details from the pump installer , as it was replaced about 2 years before I purchased the home.

Here is a picture of the spin down after 24 hours, post purging ~750 gallons

Also a picture of my number 1 filter and pod after about 1.5 months, that looks like clay to me

Daniel