HELP! Significant Iron Problem with Lots of Supposed Solutions

[Patrick R Wunsch]

I've got 7.5ppm iron in the water at my cottage. It's been this way for 20 years and we never dealt with it and instead opted for bottled drinking water and weekly cleaning of rusty stains on our fixtures.

After a recent remodel I'm finally ready to address the issue and have talked to 6 different companies, all claiming to have the sure-fire fix for anywhere between $2100 and $6,000! They're all convincing and believable so I'm at a loss as to who's right.

I'll begin with that a $6000 system is not financially viable at this point. Perhaps down the road. My primary goal with any system is to have water that wont permanently stain all the new fixtures. I'm okay with having to do an occasional cleaning. Our second goal is to have acceptable drinking water, but not at $6,000 as if needed, I can continue to tote 5 gallon jugs of awesome well water from our home which is 30 minutes away.

My lab tested numbers are:

Iron- 7.5ppm
Manganese - .604 (not sure of units)
Hardness - 3.5
PH - 7.0
Alkalinity - 88.4
TDS - 64.8
Tannin - 1.1

I have 5-6 gpm at an outside spigot.

I understand the tannins are kind of a seperate issue and I'm prepared to deal with that and address thst down the road if possible.

Two national companies claim that their tradtional water softeners will fix the iron problem. I really can't believe that but am prepared to hear differing opinions.

Aside from those 2 water softeners and a $4000 and $6,000 system, the one system I'm leaning towards at this point is the $1200 DIY SoftPro Iron Master (1.0 cubic foot) with AIO via online through Quality Water Treatment.com. It reportedly can handle my iron and manganese issues using Katalox Light media.

I am an absolute novice in this area and am definitely open to and certainly appreciative of anyone's input, thoughts, questions and suggestions!

 

[Reach4]

"Manganese - 6.04ppm"
Is that a typo? That is incredibly high.

The secondary MCL for Mn is 0.05 mg/L (ppm), which is 50 ppb.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Patrick R Wunsch]

"Manganese - 6.04ppm"
Is that a typo? That is incredibly high.

The secondary MCL for Mn is 0.05 mg/L (ppm).

Upon further review, it states .604. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Reach4]

Upon further review, it states .604. Sorry for the confusion.

That is still a lot. https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/secondary-drinking-water-standards-guidance-nuisance-chemicals

 

[WorthFlorida]

Potassium permanganate filters are still made. Other than oxidation in a blending tank, this is simpler. One tank. Usually after the filter add a sediment filter, then a charcoal filter. Do not rely on a water softener,

There are water conditioners that somehow change the structure of the minerals so they do not stick to the surface. It still takes a wipe down to remove spots. Pelican is the big boy in water conditioners but may work after the PP filter.

Does potassium permanganate remove iron?
Iron and manganese can be removed from groundwater by using oxidation by potassium permanganate followed by filtration which gives good results. By using doses near to half of the theoretically calculated dose, it can remove up to 100% and 90% of iron and manganese at pH=7.0 over tested concentrations.

 

[Patrick R Wunsch]

That is still a lot. https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/secondary-drinking-water-standards-guidance-nuisance-chemicals

One lab test states .594 and the other .604. Unfortunately I didn't write down whether it was ppm or what standard. It was noted I had elevated levels of iron and manganese on both reports though.

 

[Patrick R Wunsch]

That is still a lot. https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/secondary-drinking-water-standards-guidance-nuisance-chemicals

 

[Patrick R Wunsch]

.

 

[Patrick R Wunsch]

That is still a lot. https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/secondary-drinking-water-standards-guidance-nuisance-chemicals

Any thoughts on the AIO system with Katalox Light?

 

[Reach4]

Any thoughts on the AIO system with Katalox Light?

You might try adding ozone, peroxide, or h202 to some of your searches.

Treating ~6 mg/L Iron Contaminant in Well Water

Hello DIY Love Forum, My well water is high in iron and the water stinks. It stinks maybe three times a year, primarily in the hot water. I would like to treat the water so it is safe for brushing teeth, does not stain the fixtures, is not smelly, and does not clog the piping. I shock the...

terrylove.com

 

[Patrick R Wunsch]

You might try adding ozone, peroxide, or h202 to some of your searches.

Treating ~6 mg/L Iron Contaminant in Well Water

Hello DIY Love Forum, My well water is high in iron and the water stinks. It stinks maybe three times a year, primarily in the hot water. I would like to treat the water so it is safe for brushing teeth, does not stain the fixtures, is not smelly, and does not clog the piping. I shock the...

terrylove.com

Gotcha, so you would recommend ozone or hydrogen peroxide injection if using AIO with Katalox Light?

 

[Bannerman]

Ozone would be injected instead of air in an AIO system.

Similar to AIO, the ozone will accumulate as a gas bubble at the top of the tank directly above the KL media, but the Ozone will soon break down and revert back to its original form as oxygen shortly after the ozone generator is shut off, thereby resulting in a bubble of oxygen remaining at the top of the media tank.

 

[Patrick R Wunsch]

Ozone would be injected instead of air in an AIO system.

Similar to AIO, the ozone will accumulate as a gas bubble at the top of the tank directly above the KL media, but the Ozone will soon break down and revert back to its original form as oxygen shortly after the ozone generator is shut off, thereby resulting in a bubble of oxygen remaining at the top of the media tank.

I think I understand. Is having the ozone necessary or recommended because of my #'s. I'm presuming that AIO with Katalox isn't sufficient? Thanks, I'm just having difficulty understanding all of this.

 

[Patrick R Wunsch]

I've got 7.5ppm iron in the water at my cottage. It's been this way for 20 years and we never dealt with it and instead opted for bottled drinking water and weekly cleaning of rusty stains on our fixtures.

After a recent remodel I'm finally ready to address the issue and have talked to 6 different companies, all claiming to have the sure-fire fix for anywhere between $2100 and $6,000! They're all convincing and believable so I'm at a loss as to who's right.

I'll begin with that a $6000 system is not financially viable at this point. Perhaps down the road. My primary goal with any system is to have water that wont permanently stain all the new fixtures. I'm okay with having to do an occasional cleaning. Our second goal is to have acceptable drinking water, but not at $6,000 as if needed, I can continue to tote 5 gallon jugs of awesome well water from our home which is 30 minutes away.

My lab tested numbers are:

Iron- 7.5ppm
Manganese - .604 (not sure of units)
Hardness - 3.5
PH - 7.0
Alkalinity - 88.4
TDS - 64.8
Tannin - 1.1

I have 5-6 gpm at an outside spigot.

I understand the tannins are kind of a seperate issue and I'm prepared to deal with that and address thst down the road if possible.

Two national companies claim that their tradtional water softeners will fix the iron problem. I really can't believe that but am prepared to hear differing opinions.

Aside from those 2 water softeners and a $4000 and $6,000 system, the one system I'm leaning towards at this point is the $1200 DIY SoftPro Iron Master (1.0 cubic foot) with AIO via online through Quality Water Treatment.com. It reportedly can handle my iron and manganese issues using Katalox Light media.

I am an absolute novice in this area and am definitely open to and certainly appreciative of anyone's input, thoughts, questions and suggestions!

I should've summized my long winded question, but essentially, all I'm asking is if the AIO system with Katalox Light would work for my water? Thanks!

Quote Reply

 

[Reach4]

Not sure, but you would seem to be the target. Now there is AIO3, which incorporates some ozone (O3), and that may offer added benefits.

Other choices are to inject H2O2 or chlorine bleach solution. Two of the ways of doing that is to inject before the pressure tank, and use a fixed-rate injection pump. More expensive, but better, is to inject after the pressure tank, and use a sensor plus a proportional injection pump. Injection should be followed by a contact tank with a blow-off valve to get rid of sediment that settles. You may need to follow that with a GAC tank to remove the residual H2O2 or chlorine.

Injecting after the pressure tank is better, because it does not gunk the pressure tank with sediment.

 

[Work4latte]

I have a well that produces rust water, very slowly. The slow part is an entirely different issue i have solved other ways. I have lived here for 25 years, and i can say the water quality in my house is excellent. It took a lot of trial and error and money to get to that. Here is what worked best, and was cheapest:
first , a particle filter to take out the biggest stuff. Mine is just a fine mesh that has to be cleaned out with acid to dissolve the iron buildup once a month.
then, an air injection iron/manganese filter (mine is from amazon for $700)
then, a water softener, which takes out the last of the iron.

Your well needs to deliver at least 10gpm to sufficiently run the backwash cycles.
Make sure that everything has bypasses. You will want that eventually.
Arrange things so the most maintained pieces are easily accessible.
Arrange things so that you can insulate it all and prevent freezing.
Put the outdoor watering hose connections after the air injection filter. Your sprinklers will thank you.
A softener like kinetico that automatically backwashes based on volume works but if the air filter and the water softener want to backwash at the same time it can cause issues. I have not solved this to my satisfaction.
Chlorine injection instead of air would have worked but i did not want chlorine in my water.

The biggest obstacle to this solution was the 'professionals' who came out to sell me stuff. They all wanted to remove anything that wasn't their brand. This is bs. I let the first two guys do that - one removed the water softeners and put in air injection. The next removed the air injection and put in kinetico water softeners. Eventually they all gave up and did what i asked, and it's been good ever since.

You're going to wonder why i didn't just drill a different well - i probably should have. But the iron issue would have persisted, as all the water in my area has it.

 

[Reach4]

Your well needs to deliver at least 10gpm to sufficiently run the backwash cycles.
Make sure that everything has bypasses. You will want that eventually.
Arrange things so the most maintained pieces are easily accessible.

You must have left out a piece; no normal home softener needs 10 gpm of backwash.

 

[Patrick R Wunsch]

I have a well that produces rust water, very slowly. The slow part is an entirely different issue i have solved other ways. I have lived here for 25 years, and i can say the water quality in my house is excellent. It took a lot of trial and error and money to get to that. Here is what worked best, and was cheapest:
first , a particle filter to take out the biggest stuff. Mine is just a fine mesh that has to be cleaned out with acid to dissolve the iron buildup once a month.
then, an air injection iron/manganese filter (mine is from amazon for $700)
then, a water softener, which takes out the last of the iron.

Your well needs to deliver at least 10gpm to sufficiently run the backwash cycles.
Make sure that everything has bypasses. You will want that eventually.
Arrange things so the most maintained pieces are easily accessible.
Arrange things so that you can insulate it all and prevent freezing.
Put the outdoor watering hose connections after the air injection filter. Your sprinklers will thank you.
A softener like kinetico that automatically backwashes based on volume works but if the air filter and the water softener want to backwash at the same time it can cause issues. I have not solved this to my satisfaction.
Chlorine injection instead of air would have worked but i did not want chlorine in my water.

The biggest obstacle to this solution was the 'professionals' who came out to sell me stuff. They all wanted to remove anything that wasn't their brand. This is bs. I let the first two guys do that - one removed the water softeners and put in air injection. The next removed the air injection and put in kinetico water softeners. Eventually they all gave up and did what i asked, and it's been good ever since.

You're going to wonder why i didn't just drill a different well - i probably should have. But the iron issue would have persisted, as all the water in my area has it.

Thanks for all the info but I'm stuck at 6gpm from my well pump.

 

[Work4latte]

You must have left out a piece; no normal home softener needs 10 gpm of backwash.

it's about the force needed to sufficiently backwash the iron sediment from the air injection filter. It doesn't have to go for long - it only takes about 150 gal to do the backwash. But it has to be done forcefully to prevent the media from clumping. I suspect you could find a air injection filter that would backwash sufficiently at 6gal/min, just make sure that you talk to the manufacturer and get their input.

 

[Work4latte]

it's about the force needed to sufficiently backwash the iron sediment from the air injection filter. It doesn't have to go for long - it only takes about 150 gal to do the backwash. But it has to be done forcefully to prevent the media from clumping. I suspect you could find a air injection filter that would backwash sufficiently at 6gal/min, just make sure that you talk to the manufacturer and get their input.

ah, and that thing about the kinetico and the iron filter backwashing at the same time impacts what i need in flow.