deltasmith
New Member
It it weren't for the hardness introduced by the calcite filter that brings up my pH, I probably wouldn't need a water softener for most of the year. But since I do have hardness induced by the calcite filter, apparently I do need a softener for most of the year, and there are a few months out of the year when things change drastically, and that's where I'm wondering if SST-60 might solve the problem.
Most of the year, I get water from the main well, and its chemistry looks like this (before conditioning):
2 people in household
49 mg/l hardness from well (Plus additional hardness from acid conditioner - below)
0.15 mg/l iron
2.4 mg/l magnesium
1.5 mg/l manganese
pH is 5.2 at well, adjusted up to approximately 6.8 - 7.0 by calcite + corosex filter that I purchased last November (It works great for the pH problem. I'm told it adds hardness, but I have not measured how much).
During a dry year though, the main well may run dry, and if that happens, I have to go for between one and eight weeks with the backup well. The backup well has better pH but much higher iron. These are the numbers from the most recent test:
110 mg/l hardness from well
20 mg/l iron (it's trending down and was previously much higher, but based on what I've observed I think it may bottom out around 18 mg/l).
4.5 mg/l magnesium
0.82 mg/l manganese
pH is 6.2 at the well
So I'm wondering if there is a softener that will deal with the 10 months a year problem of the calcite filter-induced hardness, and also be able to handle the surge in iron content for 1 to 8 weeks /year without destroying the resin bed? This is where I'm thinking SST-60 might be the solution.
Does anyone have experience with SST-60 at this high a level of iron content and know if this is a good approach or not? Does anyone think that some alternate approach might be a better solution (hoping to avoid the cost and space requirements of an iron filter, unless there was a way to get the iron filter but eliminate the softener).
Thanks
Most of the year, I get water from the main well, and its chemistry looks like this (before conditioning):
2 people in household
49 mg/l hardness from well (Plus additional hardness from acid conditioner - below)
0.15 mg/l iron
2.4 mg/l magnesium
1.5 mg/l manganese
pH is 5.2 at well, adjusted up to approximately 6.8 - 7.0 by calcite + corosex filter that I purchased last November (It works great for the pH problem. I'm told it adds hardness, but I have not measured how much).
During a dry year though, the main well may run dry, and if that happens, I have to go for between one and eight weeks with the backup well. The backup well has better pH but much higher iron. These are the numbers from the most recent test:
110 mg/l hardness from well
20 mg/l iron (it's trending down and was previously much higher, but based on what I've observed I think it may bottom out around 18 mg/l).
4.5 mg/l magnesium
0.82 mg/l manganese
pH is 6.2 at the well
So I'm wondering if there is a softener that will deal with the 10 months a year problem of the calcite filter-induced hardness, and also be able to handle the surge in iron content for 1 to 8 weeks /year without destroying the resin bed? This is where I'm thinking SST-60 might be the solution.
Does anyone have experience with SST-60 at this high a level of iron content and know if this is a good approach or not? Does anyone think that some alternate approach might be a better solution (hoping to avoid the cost and space requirements of an iron filter, unless there was a way to get the iron filter but eliminate the softener).
Thanks