I intentionally ran my H2O2 dry before switching pails. After I switched, I had strong H2S odor even after I got the H2O2 back to the intended concentrations. Darn. Been here before.
I opened my big blue filter, and it was full of pink slime. Some of you may recall me posting pictures of having gallons of slime in my retention tank (after H2O2) and how I tested the slime against various concentrations of H2O2, and how they seemed to thrive in 100 ppm H2O2. You may recall that I inject H2O2 ahead of the big blue, pressure tank, retention tank, and Centaur carbon filter. I believe the slime is a combination of black SRB's and pink Serratia marcescens, but those are just educated guesses.
To get rid of the smell, I added about 1/3 gallon bleach to the big blue filter, and led it run through my system. Waited a day and the smell was worse. The next evening, I then added about a half a liter of H2O2 to the top of my retention tank and back flushed twice. I then added about 1/3 gallon bleach to top of retention tank, and I back flushed twice. After this operation, the smell was gone.
Based on this experience and others, I believe the smell happens when my carbon gets slimed. Running bleach forward through the system doesn't seem to help. It's the back flushing that fixes things. I've had occasions where back flushing with bleach alone doesn't kill them. It seems to be the combination of H2O2 followed by bleach that does the trick. I once read somewhere that bleach breaks down slime, but isn't great at killing, whereas the bleach kills, but isn't great at breaking through slime.
I continue to try to think of ways to "simplify my system because if I ever pass, my poor wife is going to pay a fortune to water guys to figure this out. In the past, when they find slime in the filter, they just replace the Centaur. She will be replacing it once or twice a year.
I was wondering if anyone has ever built a "housing" around their carbon filter, and found a way to "bake" the carbon filter when needed? Maybe there is a carbon filter that incorporates a resistive heating cable through the media? If that isn't patented, it should be
I'm not sure if the carbon tank is rated for temperature though?
I've also wondered about plumbing in a line that would allow me to back wash the carbon filter from my hot water tank. I don't think all SRB's will die at the temperature of hot water tank, but I think the serratia marcescens may. I have a lot more pink slime as compared to black, so I think that if I get rid of the pink, I may get rid of the black.
Someone invariably asks about shocking the well. I am delinquent on that. Two years since last shock. The last shock plugged the pump, and cost me $2000 to change the pump.
I opened my big blue filter, and it was full of pink slime. Some of you may recall me posting pictures of having gallons of slime in my retention tank (after H2O2) and how I tested the slime against various concentrations of H2O2, and how they seemed to thrive in 100 ppm H2O2. You may recall that I inject H2O2 ahead of the big blue, pressure tank, retention tank, and Centaur carbon filter. I believe the slime is a combination of black SRB's and pink Serratia marcescens, but those are just educated guesses.
To get rid of the smell, I added about 1/3 gallon bleach to the big blue filter, and led it run through my system. Waited a day and the smell was worse. The next evening, I then added about a half a liter of H2O2 to the top of my retention tank and back flushed twice. I then added about 1/3 gallon bleach to top of retention tank, and I back flushed twice. After this operation, the smell was gone.
Based on this experience and others, I believe the smell happens when my carbon gets slimed. Running bleach forward through the system doesn't seem to help. It's the back flushing that fixes things. I've had occasions where back flushing with bleach alone doesn't kill them. It seems to be the combination of H2O2 followed by bleach that does the trick. I once read somewhere that bleach breaks down slime, but isn't great at killing, whereas the bleach kills, but isn't great at breaking through slime.
I continue to try to think of ways to "simplify my system because if I ever pass, my poor wife is going to pay a fortune to water guys to figure this out. In the past, when they find slime in the filter, they just replace the Centaur. She will be replacing it once or twice a year.
I was wondering if anyone has ever built a "housing" around their carbon filter, and found a way to "bake" the carbon filter when needed? Maybe there is a carbon filter that incorporates a resistive heating cable through the media? If that isn't patented, it should be
I'm not sure if the carbon tank is rated for temperature though?I've also wondered about plumbing in a line that would allow me to back wash the carbon filter from my hot water tank. I don't think all SRB's will die at the temperature of hot water tank, but I think the serratia marcescens may. I have a lot more pink slime as compared to black, so I think that if I get rid of the pink, I may get rid of the black.
Someone invariably asks about shocking the well. I am delinquent on that. Two years since last shock. The last shock plugged the pump, and cost me $2000 to change the pump.
