Order of aeration and calcite neutralization.

[Hatsuwr]

My water treatment system is currently aerator>Katalox Light>softener>1 micron filter.

Incoming water is a bit acidic, so I was going to add a calcite neutralizer before the Katalox Light. I'm wondering if I should add it before the aerator too, but thought I'd post here in case I'm missing anything. Main contaminant in the water is iron.

A few considerations:

1. There is iron oxidizing bacteria in the well that has resisted elimination so far. I don't expect that to change. This causes buildup in areas where air from the aerator collects. I'm thinking that putting the neutralizer first would reduce fouling of the calcite.

2. Aeration of iron and manganese would be more efficient by first raising the pH.

3. The aerator uses a bonded silica Pentair Sweetwater diffuser. This warns of a shortened life above pH of 9. That's quite a bit higher than I would expect to see from calcite though.

 

[Bannerman]

You didn't specify your water pH, but pH of 7.0 or slightly higher, will increase the effectiveness of most iron reduction systems.

While any of the various iron bacterias do not pose a health hazard, to effectively neutralize bacteria, chlorine is the disinfectant that is most commonly recommended. To remove any chlorine and disinfection by-products, a backwashing filter containing granular activated carbon is most commonly utilized, located directly before the softener.

A 1-micron cartridge filter is not generally recommended for point-of-entry filtration, due to significant flow restriction through the tight media. You didn't specify the tank size for your Katalox Light filter, but the larger media tank size will reduce the amount of flow restriction while providing <3-microns filtration through the KL media bed.

 

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[Hatsuwr]

pH was 5.6 from a lab test a few years ago. My test strips are indicating slightly higher now, but they are expired and not necessarily accurate. I'll definitely be doing the neutralizer before the Katalox Light, just considering if I should put it before the aerator too.

The only downside I can think of is that aerating to remove dissolved CO2 first might make neutralization after more effective, although my neutralizer will be a bit oversized anyway, and I'm not sure how much dissolved CO2 there actually is in my water.

 

[Bannerman]

Aerating will add oxygen to the water which will oxidize the ferrous iron that is dissolved in your raw well water, converting it to a ferric state which the KL media will filter out. Unfortunately, aeration will also cause the iron bacteria to proliferate, which is why chlorine was mentioned.

Since aeration is your first stage of the iron removal process, the appropriate location for the acid neutralizer will be before the aerator.

A drawback in utilizing calcite for acid neutralization will be an increase in hardness, so your softener's capacity and hardness settings will need to be modified appropriately.

 

[Hatsuwr]

Aerating will add oxygen to the water which will oxidize the ferrous iron that is dissolved in your raw well water, converting it to a ferric state which the KL media will filter out. Unfortunately, aeration will also cause the iron bacteria to proliferate, which is why chlorine was mentioned.

Since aeration is your first stage of the iron removal process, the appropriate location for the acid neutralizer will be before the aerator.

A drawback in utilizing calcite for acid neutralization will be an increase in hardness, so your softener's capacity and hardness settings will need to be modified appropriately.

I've avoided using chlorine so far to spare my softener. The buildup from bacteria hasn't presented a significant issue in the current configuration, except for needing cleaning every year or so. The media seems unaffected.

I'd think that the benefits of aeration in regard to the Katalox Light would persist even if the neutralizer came after, but I suppose the full picture will need a check of how much CO2 there actually is.

 

[ditttohead]

Aeration and katalox light tend be potentially problematic. From WatchWater.de website. Their translator must have been off the day they wrote this LOL.

Warning: Do NOT exchange pressure vessel media from one pressure vessel to another. Reason for inadequate sanitation during the exchange of media. Wet media will absorb nitrogen and oxygen in the air which will immediately kick of the bacteria growth. Biofouling on surface of media an other contaminates are present during the exchange. Media is designed only for iron manganese, hydrogen sulfide and other heavy metals. Media containing biofouling cannot be reused as it is harmful for drinking water. Replacing new media is highly suggested.

And one of my favorite pictures of aeration systems without ozone...