Iron Filter or Softener

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Mtnxtreme

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Just got my well water tested iron is 2ppm. A neighbor one road over told me this heavy metal filter is what he uses and it got rid of rust stains ? I have a whole house filter already but still rust, can we add this before the whole house to hopefully stop the staining. We are not concerned with drinking just want to get rid of rust. Thought it might be a good option to a softener. We water gardens also and I’m wondering if a salt based softener will damage plants, also they need maintenance and are expensive.


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All Fug Duck

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In no way am I a water filtration expert. but to me you probably need an Iron filter of some type. whole house filters are meant to be after an Iron filter, or they may foul out quick. If your water isn't hard, you may be able to skip the softener. at my house I have a small garden too, no way do I water it through the softener.....only raw well water. will it hurt it, I'm not sure?

But from an issue I had once, the softener was not regenerating correctly, and the brine killed some of plants. I'd say it's always best to water plants with raw water as to be safe and not waste your treated water. if you do go with the link you posted, it's a gamble and you'd be changing the filters all the time. again, I'm no expert but maybe a water filtration member could lead you the right direction.
 

LLigetfa

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Iron in water can be in one of two forms, ferric and ferrous but only ferric can be trapped with a mechanical element filter. Ferrous needs to be converted to ferric in order to mechanically filter it.
 

Bannerman

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Post the lab report for the raw well water. You haven't specified hardness, pH, manganese, and other info from the report that is normally utilized to determine which treatment options will be appropriate.

2ppm iron is significant and higher than the amount usually recommended for removal by a softener. Softeners are designed to remove hardness. While a softener may be utilized to remove 'some' ferrous iron, it is not an efficient iron removal method as salt consumption will need to be increased as each 1ppm iron will be equivalent to 5 grains per gallon hardness.

Ferrous iron is clear as it is dissolved in the water. Once the iron becomes oxidized by contact with oxygen, it will be converted to ferric iron which will precipitate from the water as solid (rust) particles. When there is significant ferrous iron present, water utilized for external irrigation that comes into contact with pavement and building components, will often cause the items to become stained with rust. While the water for irrigation will often require iron removal, irrigation using softened water is not recommended, mostly due to the amount of salt that will be used.

There are various treatment methods that are effective for iron removal, but as the iron in most wells will be initially ferrous, cartridge filters will be minimally effective as oxidation is usually 1st needed so the resulting rust sediment can then be filtered out mechanically. A back washing media filter is the type of filter that is often utilized for both oxidation and iron debris removal.
 
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LLigetfa

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My water test results are as follows:
Iron 6.75 PPM
Manganese 0.4 PPM
Hardness 75 GPG
pH 7.2

As such, I apply aeration to the incoming water, two HP tanks for contact and precipitation, a backwashing iron filter with FilterAG media followed by a water softener. I draw irrigation water from after the iron filter but before the softener.

Some iron still gets past the iron filter and the softener so I am considering adding Katalox Light to the iron filter.
 
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