Reverse Osmosis For Make Up Water

[JoyfulNoise]

Thanks Joyful Noise.

I took a sample to a water "specialist". He tested 1.5ppm before softener, and "trace" 0.3-0.2ppm after softener. So I can purchase a kit with lower resolution.

Awesome! I was going to suggest going to an independent lab. Growing up, my parent's home had well water and we just lived with it for years and years (municipal supply line was too far away to connect to). The well water tasted so much better than the city water so I was sad to see it go when my parents finally made the switch years after all the kids moved out. They would regularly test their well water through an independent lab and the local water authority would reimburse them for a portion of the cost.

1.5ppm in the input side is not that bad. I still wouldn't fill a pool with it but I thought you'd be a lot higher. Getting down to trace levels is great. I wish I had a water softener on my auto fill to take out some calcium (fill water CH > 280ppm) but that's not in the cards for us anytime soon.

Enjoy.


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[JoyfulNoise]

So my water is less than 1.5ppm both pre and post softener. What I don't know is the breakdown between ferric (treatable with filter) or ferrous (treatable with softener). I have a water "specialist" coming out Tuesday to review the situation. Without seeing the staining yet he isn't ruling out the source as MANGANESE. I will say that he is pretty familiar with the water breakdown in our area, as he been in business since 1977.

Well, there is a super expensive Taylor test kit that measure ferric iron, total iron and ferrous iron. But I'd let the expert tell you.


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[Swampwoman]

Good morning, MCT. Your iron level is fairly close to mine on both sides of the softener Our water guy would tell you you don't need an iron curtain at that level, just the softener (which is what he told me, and I regret listening to him) but our water guy doesn't have a pool.)

I will note that the green sand "iron curtain" systems do treat both iron and maganese, just FYI, and reportedly a good deal better than softeners.

Either way, with repect to the staining, my hunch would be that your auto fill has periodically filled while your softener was regenerating. Those trace amounts of iron that get in can also accumulate over time if you don't have a lot of splash out or backwashing...because evaporation just concentrates it. PH swings (as in high) also seem able to make un-sequestered iron stains even with trace amounts.

Let us know what the water guy says. Maganese usually turns up a purplish or blacksh hue...iron more brown/rust.

Ps just so you know, there are home maganese testing kits if you find that's something you need to monitor...but they're about $125.

 

[MCT]

Either way, with repect to the staining, my hunch would be that your auto fill has periodically filled while your softener was regenerating.

Let us know what the water guy says. Maganese usually turns up a purplish or blacksh hue...iron more brown/rust.

Here's what I found out.

My water softener is a two tank system, where water flows through both tanks normally, and switches to one tank during regeneration. So regeneration shouldn't be the source of the staining.

We have evidence of slight iron bacteria.

Our water guy sent a water sample to a lab for detailed analysis. We should have the results in a week.

I think the stains are a blackish hue. But when I wiped the spa walls with a sock filled with ascorbic acid, the sock had a slight reddish stain.

I'm also wondering if due to the low flow rate of the autofill valve, if "channelling" through the water softener isn't occurring? But channelling usually occurs when you have a plumbing leak, which is a much less flow rate than the autofill?

 

[Swampwoman]

Iron bacteria will, I suspect, trigger a well cleanse/chlorination, depending on test results. I don't know, but in the pool, I'd expect the chlorine to nuke it...but perhaps said nuking actually causes stain. My water guy might be turning up at a pool party for biz associates we're hosting tomorrow night. If so, I'll see if he has any theories to contribute