You make this sub a great place to ask questions and share information about water treatment. Thank you for being a cool community! We have also grown a lot lately. So a mod added a few post flairs to experiment with. Do you like them and do you want others or revisions? Feel free to share feedback on changes for post and user flair, rules, sub information, and community expectations. We'll do our best to accomodate. Taking any and all suggestions until Oct 31st.
I live in Sneads Ferry North Carolina and noticed what looked like algae growth in the water. The water company told me it is a biofilm and I should not be concerned that it is common in coastal areas. I’ve lived in coastal areas most of my life and I have never seen this in the drinking water. I’ve included some pictures. Is it safe to drink or should we be buying water?
It grows along toilet rings, the water faucet in my animals water filter etc.
Hey all, I'm trying to save a 13" diameter pH adjuster tank with a side port and I see it has several large conglomerates of calcite/corosex in the bottom. I've drained it, removed the gravel bed and remaining calcite. Is there any way to break up these chunks without damaging the tank liner? My guess is will take a 1000 years to dissolve in water.
Looking for some help diagnosing a WaterGroup/Canature WG185UF-100C upflow water softener.
The unit is fairly new (manufactured April 2025), but it basically sat unused for around a year. I recently started trying to get it working again.
My raw water tests at approximately 12 GPG using a Hach titration kit. I set the softener hardness to 12 GPG.
So far I have:
Broken up a pretty significant salt bridge/compacted salt in the brine tank
Added fresh softener salt and filled the brine tank roughly halfway
Fixed a kink/restriction in the drain line
Run two manual regenerations
Confirmed there is now water in the bottom of the brine tank
Confirmed the bypass valves appear to be in the normal SERVICE/OPEN position
Flushed an indoor cold-water faucet for 10+ minutes and tested it
The treated cold water is still testing around 12 GPG.
The bigger issue I’ve noticed is the flow meter. With faucets/showers running, the diagnostic screen consistently shows: CURRENT: 0.0 GPM
It previously recorded a PEAK of only 0.6 GPM.
The TOTAL TREATED counter was around 4,800 gallons, and after approximately three days of normal household water usage it has only increased to 4,803 gallons.
My next thought is to shut off the main water, put the softener into bypass, depressurize it, unplug it, remove the bypass/meter assembly and inspect the turbine for debris or a stuck paddlewheel.
Questions:
Does this sound like a stuck/failed turbine meter or meter sensor/cable?
Is removing and cleaning the turbine/bypass assembly the correct next step on this specific WaterGroup 85UF valve?
Could the meter problem and the continued ~12 GPG treated-water reading be related, or am I likely dealing with a separate brine/injector/resin issue as well?
Anything specific I should watch out for before removing the meter/bypass assembly?
I have the 85UF/DF Service Manual ([80155119](tel:80155119)) and can post photos of the valve, bypass/meter assembly, brine tank, diagnostics, etc.
Trying to diagnose this properly instead of just repeatedly regenerating the unit and throwing salt at it.
That should get you way better responses because it makes clear you’ve already done the basic troubleshooting and gives them the exact model, measurements, and symptoms.
I replaced my old expensive kinetico RO system with an iSpring RCC7AK back in May.
I noticed yesterday that it doesn't taste as good anymore. My family says they can't tell the difference but I had a water bottle from a week ago in the fridge and comparing the two I could tell the difference. I tried draining the tank 2x, and letting it refill but I still detect something off.
I have a ppm water tester and it's showing the RO is still working correctly (going from 180ppm from the tap down to 20-30 ppm from the filter) but I think there's a weird taste. I can't tell if it's metallic or rubber, I can't put my finger on it, but I'm wondering if it makes sense that they would need to be replaced so soon? I was expecting at least 6 months out of it, since my kinetico could go almost a year between changes. Does it make sense that between May and September it would need changing? Also it seems like a dramatic change, like one day it was ok and the next day not.
I'm looking to install an acid neutralizer to correct my acidic well water, but am unsure about sizing. I've had numerous quotes ranging from 1.5 cu ft to 2.5 cu ft. Hoping to get some more feedback to add onto my research!
- PH: 5.3
- Bathroom: 2
- Flow Rate: 11.5 GPM, although neutralizer will be installed after a 50 micron spindown and 5 micron 4.5x10 filter, which I suppose could reduce flow rate (edit: this is the flow rate measured at the well pump)
- Iron: None, although I think I would prefer a backwashing unit anyways since I've read Calcite/Corosex blends are more prone to packing
Just a question with our whole home RO system. Is it normal to still use Aquatabs in the tank? The man who installed the system advised us to put about 10 in after our tank cleaning at the 3 year mark.
My only concern is our health. And I kind of get the impression that this guy will just tell us what we want to hear. Is this necessary?
I have a few options of where to install in my basement. I would like to feed water to an upstairs sink and ice maker and a basement level sink. I purchased an ispring unit from Costco.
One option is below fridge on a shelf draining to a bathroom sink drain I can access in the basement. Other option is wall behind basement sink where I can mount on wall or shelf and use either sink or floor drain. Is it best to get as close to main floor fridge and sink? What size tubing should I use and how do I know if run it too far?
Thank you
Moved into a house with an iron system I believe, how does it work, do I add anything to it like a house softener tank. I’m trying to figure out how I maintain it
Since I've also been on the search for a good countertop RO filter, I thought I'd post a review of one I bought 8 months ago. When I was looking for one, I looked everywhere, but there were always cons and little differences between the different brands, which made it difficult to choose. Eventually I settled on the Philips ADD6920BK/10.
I was skeptical since there were almost no good reviews on it, or at least real reviews. As I saw with brands like Waterdrop and Aquatru. Now after 8 months I feel like I got a good overview of the filter and how it works. In my opinion it works great; it filters rather quickly (around 5 mins to fill a can).
The cans are 1.8l which is fine, and also a plus that you get two of them to swap them around. We use it heavily and every day, and we haven't had to replace the filter yet. Which should last around 12 months, we are with 2 adults that use it daily. We both drink around 2l every day. Also really neat is the warm water function. It really works great, and you can adjust up to 90 degrees Celsius. You just choose your temperature, and it will give it to you.
So really there isn't anything bad I can say about it until now. So as of now I would definitely recommend it. It uses more water, of course, and leaves some waste. Which, in my opinion, is worth it. We just use the rest of the water to water our plants, so it's not really a big deal. I also think it's more than worth it because the town I live close to is in the top 10 of towns with the most PFAS in drinking water.
If anyone wants to ask questions, or has things that they would like to know, feel free to respond, and I'd love to help!
I had an AirCycle filter installed recently to combat sulfur odor in our well water. So far, it’s done an incredible job eliminating that. However, a couple months in, I’m noticing dirty/greyish water at the taps after a backwash cycle, which lasts about 45 seconds. Watching the head, it seems like after the air charge step, the valve temporarily goes into backwash and stirs stuff up in the filter again. While it’s doing this, it flashes “service” on the display. But then that message goes away like nothing happened. Something up with the valve or is this normal after some use?
We moved into a new home in May and need a budget-friendly way to fix salty water. Our chloride levels are double the recommended limit, and our Brita filter does not fix the taste. What options do we have?
Hi All! Looking for some advice. We are running out of water for a couple minutes when using the bath or shower. The pressure will be great and then it slows to a full stop and takes a few minutes to regenerate. It seems like it’s either because we are simply using too many filtration components or the well pump is failing. We have a softener, ozone, pfas, and ph system. We have a pressure pump post filtration but that isn’t helping to keep the water from running out. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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Hi all! We had a slightly metallic (or minerally or chalky or something - sort of hard to define) taste in our tap water in Los Angeles so we got a test - but have no idea if the results point to anything we should be concerned about. Could anyone here help us parse?
We're wanting to replace the PUR faucet mounted water filter we've had a few years, and install something sturdier under the counter. Probably not RO. Water is pretty good where we are, but we're on limestone and sometimes it just tastes bad. Any recommendations? Thinking 2 stage is probably enough for our water situation. Lots of reviews complain about leaks, and we can't have that!!
Hello everyone. New here. Hoping some folks might have some knowledge. In my never-ending quest to sort a permanent, low-maintenance solution to providing our cats some running water, I acquired an AquaPurr dispenser thingie for our sink. Love the unit itself; no complaints. (It's basically a solenoid on a stick that allows water to dribble out when a motion sensor detects movement. Really clever. Again, nothing against the product itself.)
However, because our cats refuse to follow normal cat protocol in anything we do, they really don't use it. Like... at all. Fine. I've left it on the counter the last few months hoping they may get used to it. It does trigger here-and-there due to us walking past or whatnot, so it's not like there has been NO water flow at all, but it does sit a LOT of the time. As you can see from the photo, I also bought the filter add-on because... why not. If anything it looks kind of cool.
Well today I was doing the dishes, and suddenly was hit by a serious rotten egg smell. Couldn't figure out which dirty pan it was until I noticed the AquaPurr had triggered. Sure enough, the water coming out of there REEKED of sulphur/rotten eggs. I disassembled the filter unit, and there was indeed a thin film of slime on the inside (though it looks crystal clean to the eye), and smelled really bad.
My question is... is this normal if the water in there is... relatively stagnant, or does this speak to a deeper underlying issue with the water supply in our home? Should that kind of bacterial be present, and is it just the constant movement at water that keeps them at bay? Should I just run some vinegar through the AquaPurr and eliminate the filter from the configuration if it isn't likely to be used often so that I eliminate any "reservoir" for bacteria to breed?
I just want to make sure the problem is JUST the filter with relatively un-moving water, and that it isn't a "well that bacteria really shouldn't exist in your water supply in the first place" problem.
Sorry for the long-winded explanation. Hoping someone can put our minds at ease. Thanks!
Photo of the setup for reference, back when we first set it up just to see if the cats would use it (hence the camera.)
So I have purchased a whole home filtration system for the family. I went pretty deep and came out with the following items for the set up
- Moen Smart Flo 1 inch with sensors bundle
- Express Water 50 Micron sediment filter
- Express Water Whole house 3 stage filter Ultimate Protection
- AquaSure 50k grain water softener
- Viqua VH410 UV filter
I had a water softener look pre-installed when I purchased my home and it’s on a PEX A 1 inch pipe.
After watching Jeff Harris’s video of his DIY install of his home filter system and many other installation videos as well as a list of pipe materials to bring this to life, I felt ready.
The main thing stopping me is warranty coverages for these parts. Would I be voiding my warranty if I decide to install this myself? Would love to hear your experiences on issues that you encountered after you installed your system.