Thursday, December 27, 2012

Best Well Water Filters for Acidic Water With High Iron Levels

Dear Sir - I am looking for quote on iron filtration system for rural shallow well to be installed in pump house. I have a pH of 5.5 and high levels of iron (6.0 ppm).  I don’t have any rotten-egg odors.  What do you suggest? I am limited in space and budget.

Ben L.
Fort Worth, Texas


Hello Ben,

Based on your water analysis, which shows high iron, but also a very low pH, you would need a system that both raises the pH as well as oxidizes and filters out iron.

A low pH, or acidic water, is a big problem, causing blue-green stains from copper corrosion and pinhole leaks in pipes and fixtures.   Not only that, but a low pH can also damage and destroy iron filtration media, and keep it from working properly and actually removing iron.  Iron removal is handled using a very different kind of oxidizing media.

Typically, this treatment would mean passing the water through a calcite blend, which is used to raise pH up to neutral, and then passing it through a separate tank full of iron filtration media, meaning you would be using two filtration systems in total.

However, a better and more convenient way to accomplish this is to use a system that combines both medias into one tank.  I recommend a Birm-Blend filter:



Birm Blend Iron Filter 7000-SXT 2.5 CF

Birm Blend 7000Birm Blend iron filters are an efficient and economical way to correct acidic pH and remove dissolved iron compounds from well waters under the right conditions.

No chemicals are required for regeneration of the filter media backwash and cleaning is accomplished with raw water.

Dimensions:
Filter tank diameter= 10 inches
Height including control valve = 61 inches

Uses a bottom layer of Birm iron removal media, and a top layer of calcite and magnesium corosex to raise your pH and help oxidize the iron.

See the attached diagram showing a separate calcite neutralizer, followed by a Birm iron filter.  The Birm Blend Iron Filter combines these two systems into one acid-correcting iron filter.  This type of filter also acts a water sediment filter but has no filter cartridges to change.