Well Water Quality Testing and Treatment Help Needed

[22bfan]

I recently had my well water tested by a reliable local lab not associated with any water treatment companies.  The test sample is from a water source after my pressure tank but before my existing water treatment equipment.  

The results are as follows (Can any of you guys make sense of this?):

 

Total Aluminum: None Detected (EPA 200.8 R5.4 - - MRL = .01, MCL = .05)

Total Iron:  .575 mg/l (EPA 200.8 R5.4 - - MRL = .1, MCL = .3)

Total Manganese:  None Detected (EPA 200.8 R5.4 - - MRL = .01, MCL = .05)

E. coli (Chromogenic):  Absent (SM9223B-97)

Total Coliform (Chromogenic):  Present (SM9223B-97)

Total Hardness:  392 mg CACO3/l (SM2340C-97 - - MRL = 1)

Total Sodium:  3.75 mg/l (EPA 200.8 R5.4 - - MRL = .01, MCL = 20)

pH:  6.41 S.U. (SM4500H+B-00)

Specific Conductivity:  635 umhos/com (SM2510B-97)

Total Alkalinity:  284 mg CACO3/l (SM2320B-97 - - MRL = 1)

Total Dissolved Solids: 402 mg/l (SM2540C-97 - - MRL = 10, MCL = 500)

Turbidity:  .28 N.T.U. (SM2130B-01 - - MRL = .22

Total Sulfate:  44.3 mg/l (EPA 30.0 R2.1 - -MRL = .5, MCL = 250)

Total Chloride:  8.82 mg/l (EPA 30.0 R2.1 - -MRL = .5, MCL = 250)

 

To be honest, I don't know what most of this means. 

 

I'm looking at this report from the perspective of how to improve the water quality in my house for drinking, bathing, and washing as well as to make sure there isn't something harmful to my reef that could pass through my RO/DI system.  

 

Whole house water treatment:  I currently have a regular Whirlpool water softener from Lowes and a large particle canister filter for sediment that I have to replace every couple of months.

 

Drinking Water Treatment:  Lowes RO kit

 

Reef Water Treatment:  BRS 150Gpd RO system with booster pump and dual DI canisters.  I also built a CO2 off-gas system because of very pre-mature DI expiration (it works fantastically!!)

 

Thanks in advance for any help!!

 

Brad 

[Origami]

MRL seems to be the minimum reporting level for the EPA standards. 

MCL is the EPA's maximum (allowable) content level. 

The stuff up front in the parentheses look to be the testing method used. For example EPA 200.8 R5.4

 

IF this is right, then your iron looks high - above the EPA maximum. You don't have any detectable bacteria (E. coli and coliform). Your hardness (calcium carbonate mostly) is unremarkable. pH is on the low side (as a lot of well water is - probably dissolved CO2 in the water). Fairly high on the dissolved solids (possibly clay or something?). 

 

If you have high CO2, you may find that your DI resin exhausts quickly. I'm glad that your CO2 off-gassing works. Please share what you did as several of us around here are on well water with high CO2. Your success can go to benefit others.

[22bfan]

Thanks Tom. The results did show coliform present but they did not provide a count.

 

Im tempted to install a custom ozone system to once and for all eliminate bacteria and iron issues. As well the bi product of ozone dissapating into the water would be extra O2. This would be very helpful with the ph issues i have which seem to be due to lots of carbon dioxide locked up in the water.

 

Ill put together a post on how i put together my CO2 offgas system with some pictures. Its pretty simple and cheap. You just have to have the space for a pair of 44 gallon brute tubs and a stand to put one brute on top of the other.

[Origami]

I missed that. I thought that it said, "Absent."

 

I run a gallon of bleach through my system once a year. It's easy to do and I forgot where I picked up on the technique. I pour a gallon of bleach down into the well and run a garden hose over into the open well. Then, after taking my whole-house water filtration off-line, I run turn the spigot on and leave it running for an hour to circulate the chlorinated water over the sides of the well casing and through most of the plumbing. After that, I run water through my faucets in the house until I smell the bleach and turn the water off to let it sit in the pipes for another half hour. This goal is to sanitize everything in the well and plumbing. After that, I either dump a lot of water through the hose or *gasp* into my septic (I will normally re-seed with more bacteria in a week or so just to give that a boost). In the house, it normally takes a day or two for the last traces of chlorine to fade away.

[22bfan]

Thanks for that. I read somewhere about sterilizing your well and home plumbing this way. It certainly works but only temporarily. I need to figure something out.

 

Maybe I'll chlorinate the well until I can get an adequate treatment system in place.

[Origami]

Thanks for that. I read somewhere about sterilizing your well and home plumbing this way. It certainly works but only temporarily. I need to figure something out.

 

Maybe I'll chlorinate the well until I can get an adequate treatment system in place.

When I've done it, it's been because I got a hydrogen sulfide smell coming from several faucets on the cold water side that don't normally see much cold water flow. (It's probably just bacteria in the screen in the faucet, but I decided to flush the whole system anyway.) The treatment worked in my case for two or three years. 

 

Any idea how coliform bacteria got into your system? Normally wells and septic fields are kept well separated.

 

Here's a good link about well disinfection.

[DaveS]

You may want to contact the water sampling company to help read the results. I read that bacteria/chloriform is present is most systems but that the level in which they occur is what you want to know.

 

Just from my dead, seems like most of your TDS is Calcium carbonate with some sodium, chloride and sulfate. If that is correct, what are the chances you can get rid of the RODI and maybe just use a 1 micron sediment filter since all those solids are commonly found/desired in the reef tank?

[22bfan]

Maybe I could use that for ATO and reduce or eliminate the need for dosing. I could put an air stone in the ATO bucket to help raise the pH since I seem to have so much CO2 in my well water.

 

I'm afraid my water change water would be imbalanced if I used my well water with a salt mix.

[Origami]

Just watch you iron levels (or an algae bloom) if you do that as it may accumulate. Iron is needed to produce chlorophyll and, of course, chlorophyll is key to green algae growth. 

[DaveS]

I would be curious if a 1 micron filter would pull out most of the iron particles or if this is much worse than you would have if you ran GFO.

[Origami]

I would be curious if a 1 micron filter would pull out most of the iron particles or if this is much worse than you would have if you ran GFO.

Hmmm. I've never assumed the iron to be particulate, but thought it to be ionic or bound in an organometallic complex making it bioavailable. Maybe it's not.  For what it's worth, I'll note that it's above what the EPA has as the max limit for drinking water standards.

[22bfan]

Strangely, our well is only 5yrs old and the developer has to go through the normal health department process to show that it's safe.

 

Good thing Ive had some manor of water treatment in place, although not optimal.

 

As mentioned before, I'd love to go for an ozone reactor system for the whole house. But those systems are $$$$. Time to fork over some cash for good water I guess. Anyone have any suggestions for a good company/equipment to go with?