SouthWest Florida Well Water System advice needed

Dear Water Experts,

I’m a do-it-yourselfer, but Know nothing about treating water, but seemed impressed by budgetwater’s website. However I’ve been reading this blog and noticed some do not care for budgetwater. So decided to ask your advice before making the buying decision, since combined it’s over $1,000.00 investment and don’t want to do it wrong and then have to fix it again, like I’ve been reading about also.

My water is located in NE Lehigh Acres, in Southwest Florida 33972 just moved here a month ago. House is 5 years old on a private well of same age. All old water treatment equipment was stolen, with exception of pump in well. Sulfur in the water here really smells bad, stinks very badly and frankly stinks up the whole house if you don’t keep the bathroom door shut and fan on after just flushing the toilet and washing your hands in sink. Washing dishes is like trying to keep water to a minimum. That actually is my primary concern, other than there is also some color to the water (tannins?), sometimes some black comes out when first turning on the bathtub/shower full blast. But it doesn’t seem to be continuous. I’ve been on wells before in other states and never used a softener, but suppose I will have to use one if we want clean clothes here. Presently using outside coin-laundry and may continue to drink distilled water as have the last 17 years from WalMart, so also take vitamins and minerals daily.

However here in SW Florida the standard system appears to be an aerator tank, (Home Depot and Lowes even sell them here) which holds water with a secondary pump, a second pressure switch, and second pressure tank then needed to service the house. I was hoping to eliminate (not have to purchase) and spending electric again to move the same water twice. Hence my initial interest in budgetwater’s Terminox iron filter $549. and chlorine injector $398..

However the neighbor has one of these aerator systems and they hang a basket with a swimming pool chlorine table in it under the sprayer. They also have a softener and RO under the sink. The water out of the RO tastes good enough to me to quit buying bottled water. They say they replace the filter every 6 months. So I do know that the aerator system does work. They also said this eliminated the smell in the house. However they still use the stinky water to irrigate and budgetwater recommends their Terminox filter for irrigation water. I don’t know anyone with well water here that uses what budgetwater sells. There are some local guys that do sell both systems, (not the terminox brand though), but they say they are not sure how long the media will last and it’s a few hundred dollars to replace it. On the positive note here, budgetwater seems to be sizing their Terminox ISM filter based on available flow-rate which makes sense.

My question is does this budgetwater Terminox ISM filter system with a mild chlorine injector unit eliminate all the sulfur as budgetwater claims??? I read somewhere, there is still some sulfur smell in the house afterwards through water usage? If this true, then I would want the aerator system, which eliminated it for my neighbor. Therefore should I just go with the conventional aerator system? $1099. And a second pressure tank $400. I like the larger one to make the pump last longer.

I was told by budgetwater that their TERMINOX system will backwash for 14 minutes each day. How much water will that take? And I don’t understand how backwashing with raw untreated water is going to clean out without making it dirty again at the same time? Or does it then forward backwash after reverse backwash?

It is a much simplier system, no double pumps, double pressure switch and double pressure tanks. Therefore less things to go bad, or need service. Budgetwater also said plain old Clorox bleach works fine in their chlorine injection system. My flow-rate per budgetwater’s directions is 6 gpm. I do not have any orange/reddish coloration around the home nor inside toilet tanks, or on or in other water devices. The water tests using a pool tester are over 1000ppm hardness, pH is over 8.4 , and over 180 ppm alkalinity. There is some smooth film feeling inside the toilet tank below the water line. Some black comes out when first turning on the shower full blast but it doesn’t keep coming that I’ve noticed. The plumbing is all overhead pex pipe. They only used copper to the outside faucets being it’s a concrete block house.

I hope that is enough information to get a system recommendation and some explanations on the various questions. As this is all new to me. Hope I didn’t overwhelm you with too many questions.

Thank you in advance. Harvey

FYI- this site is hosted by a filter supply company, FiltersFast, who may be displeased to discuss another company in the same business.

> I was hoping to eliminate ...and spending electric again to move the same water twice.

Two motors, true; but not really pumping twice. More like pumping in two stages.

You have to lift water from the bottom of the well _AND_ raise it to useful pressure.

My well is 90 feet. It takes 45psi to raise water 90 feet, so it barely spills in the cellar. To get "good pressure" at the taps I need an additional 30psi-50psi.

One-stage: my well pump must raise 45psi+50psi= 95psi. That's heavy pumping.

Two-stage: well pump lifts against 45psi-50psi, just enough to run into storage. Easier job, pump may last longer. Then house-pump raises another 45psi-50psi for good tap pressure. A second pump, but not so very expensive, and much easier to replace than an in-well pump. The sum of the electricity for two pumps at 50psi each is not very different from one pump lifting 100psi; possibly less since 100psi implies a lot of pump-loss.

I too am resisting using two pumps, so I can run a no-pressure settling tank between, but if that's the best treatment the second pump isn't a big deal.

> I don’t understand how backwashing with raw untreated water is going to clean out without making it dirty again at the same time?

I don't know their specific scheme. I'm a crude guy. I have brown water. I have an old bathtub. Fill the tub with sand. Dribble brown water on top. Get cleaner water out the bottom. But after a while the sand is covered with brown scum, flow stops. Now I force (brown) water up from below, and let the brown scum rise and flow over the rim. Yes I get some brown in the sand, but I can rinse a LOT of accumulated brown scum crust with a little water. (I guess then I would drain that rinse-water to waste, before going back to normal operation.)

> stinks up the whole house ...after just flushing the toilet and washing your hands... Washing dishes is like trying to keep water to a minimum.

Wow. I never want to meet water like that.

Sulphur can be fully dissolved, like the flavor in lemonade; or sulphurous gasses that un-dissolve when released from underground pressure, like the fizz in soda-pop.

You say the toilet stinks after a flush, but not when just standing?

It does sound, to me, like you have sulphurous gasses which escape when pressure is released. Which suggests you DO want to bring your water to "zero pressure", open to the air, blow-off those gasses, even though that does mean two pumps. There will probably be residual stink, which may warrant further treatment; but pressure-dissolved gasses are best released before they overwhelm any sealed-tank treatment system.

I'd be guided by what is working for your neighbors.

I tend to be wary of marketing like "we are the ONLY Company with 'Terminox'".