acidic well water

[farmerpsv]

Hey all,

the ph of my well water is 6.1, decidedly acidic. this is a new farm, my last one also had the same ph. i also have a very high copper content, which i figure is from the copper pipes being eaten by the acidic water. the acid level also does a number on plumbing fixtures, the water wasn't all that hard in either location. i've done a little searching on the web and see filters that solve this, i've also heard of using a limestone tank, which sounds pretty smart to me. anyway, thought i'd check out the worlds most knowledgeable folks (ie TBN) and see what some of you might know /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.
thanks,
paul

 

[Currmudgeon]

The limestone tank, or a shell filter seems like the easiest way to raise pH. Of course, it will make the water hard.

Another method might be to use a chemical injector pump and inject sodium or potassium hydroxide solution into the water.

 

[heehaw]

if you decide to go the chemical injection, let me know, most places sell a chemtech model 100 injector for @ $300., but there is one location on the net that has them for $200.
i have terrible well water, hard, smelly, and with iron..i have a @200 gal, fiberglass tank i pump the water into, to aeriate(misspelled, can't find my dictionary) the water, the tank has sand and gravel to filter the water, then i pump it to the house. works great. if i had acidic water, i would add a layer of shell to the filter, or i am told thats how to handle it?? i've been doing this for years, other than the yearly tank cleaning, no problems.
heehaw

 

[farmerpsv]

thanks to both of you...looks like there aren't many out there with this problem. i've ordered a limestone tank, seems to be the easiest solution. this acid eats plumbling fixtures alive. it will add about 3-5 points to the hardness, but that's no problem since i'm at 31.
paul

 

[rockyridgefarm]

I have thae same situation. Where do I look for a limestone tank?

 

[farmerpsv]

Hi Mike,
sorry took awhile to reply, i've been on the roof, reroofing. got a 12/12 pitch and two layers of roof...whew, alota work
for one fool. anyway, that's another story. i did a search online and found a company that way. most have about the same product, big variation on prices. i bought mine from "Cordonna Associates, Inc." out of PA.
good luck,
paul

 

[herbenus]

My first well had a ph of 5.5 to 6. Tasted great actually, but was eating up the copper pipes. I bought a neutralizer injector from Sears which brought ph up. Sears really didn't authorize using the neutralizer down to my low ph, but I did it anyway. But it finally got to be too much hassle and I dug a new well. It had turned out that the first well was a "livestock" well and only went 100 feet. My new well is 300 feet and ph is fixed. I can still use the injector for putting in chlorine but I never hooked it up. If you were close I'd say come get it. You can also buy small neutralizing filters, but they would not be very effective. You can also check this site. They sell calcite filter media for neutralizing but I don't know how it works. I bought my softener from these folks. They had the best price going. You could email them for recommendations. They can fix your water.

www.ohiopurewaterco.com

 

[herbenus]

I should have also mentioned. I bought a permanganate filter (I know I mispelled that) from Sears which coats the inside of copper or iron pipes to inhibit corrosion. Last time I was at Sears they didn't have it anymore, so I don't know what the deal is. But I know Ohiopurewater also sells something similar.