Iron Filters for Well Water

Yes. A whole-house iron filter using air injection oxidation (AIO) and Katalox Light media removes up to 30 ppm of dissolved iron, plus manganese and hydrogen sulfide, in a single tank, without chemicals. It installs at the point where well water enters your house and treats every fixture downstream.

For most well-water iron, an air-injection filter with Katalox Light. It removes up to 30 ppm iron, 10 ppm hydrogen sulfide and 15 ppm manganese in one tank, with no chemicals or salt, and the media lasts about 6 to 8 years. Softener-style units sold as iron filters handle only low, clear-water iron and do nothing for sulfur. How the media compare: Katalox Light vs Birm vs Filox vs Greensand.

Yes, when the size matches the well. The usual failure is a tank the well pump cannot backwash: each size needs a minimum flow, from 5 GPM for the 1.5 to 12 to 15 for the 3.5, and a bed that is not rinsed clean lets iron through. That is why Aidan asks for your pump output as well as your iron number.

Our iron filters run $2,095 (1.5 cu ft) to $3,295 (3.5 cu ft); the 2.5 most homes need is $2,495. Iron filter and softener packages are $3,395 to $4,695. Shipping is free. A licensed plumber typically takes 2 to 3 hours; our cost guide covers plumber labor and upkeep.

Iron itself isn't toxic at typical well-water levels (under 30 ppm), but it indicates other concerns. Iron-rich water often hosts iron bacteria, traps manganese, and harbors biofilm in pipes. The EPA's secondary (aesthetic) standard is 0.3 ppm. Above that you'll get stains, taste, and stink. We recommend filtering it.

Usually, because most orange slime in toilet tanks and filter housings is clear-water iron that oxidizes the moment it hits air, and an air-injection filter removes it. True iron bacteria is rare: the signs are a musty or swampy smell and stringy slime floating in the toilet tank. For that, Aidan does not use chlorine injection; he recommends the Katalox Light filter with ozone, or the standard filter with a UV light after it. Call before you order.

Every size, 1.5 to 3.5 cu ft, is rated to 30 ppm of iron, 10 ppm of hydrogen sulfide and 15 ppm of manganese in the same tank; the size changes flow and backwash, not the ceiling. Above 30 ppm, Aidan sets up two 2.5 cu ft tanks in series, which customers run at up to 50 ppm.

Size by your home and your well; every size handles the same 30 ppm of iron. Aidan recommends the 2.5 cu ft for almost every home (4 to 10 people, or any home with 4 to 5 baths, 17 GPM). The 1.5 fits a smaller home or a well that gives only 5 GPM for backwash; the 2.0 sits between; the 3.5 is for 5 or more bathrooms or irrigation off the well and needs 12 to 15 GPM to backwash. Send Aidan your test and your pump output. The full method: Iron Filter Sizing Guide.

We recommend a licensed plumber; a plumber typically completes it in 2 to 3 hours. What ships: the empty tank, the Fleck 2510AIO valve with the 1 inch bypass already on it, the fill funnel, and the Katalox Light in separate bags, loaded at install. Your plumber brings the 1/2 inch drain tubing (not included), the fittings and shutoff valves. It needs an unswitched 120V outlet and a drain with an air gap. Aidan supports your plumber by phone at 800-460-5810. How to Install an Iron Filter.

Very little. The valve backwashes on its own, set to every day at 2 AM as it ships (a light-use house can stretch it to every 3 or 4 days). Each cycle is a 14-minute backwash plus an air draw, about 55 minutes in all, and sends about 70 gallons (1.5) to 140 gallons (2.5) to the drain. No chemicals, salt or cartridges; the Katalox Light lasts about 6 to 8 years before rebedding. Iron Filter Maintenance.

Katalox Light raises the pH on purpose. Iron comes out of the water best near pH 8, and as Aidan puts it, “you have to be around eight on the pH scale to correctly remove iron.” Some customers see a higher reading right after start-up that comes back down on its own, as the 27 ppm reviewer above describes. It does not replace an acid neutralizer: if your raw water tests below about 6.5, you need one as well, and Aidan sets which goes first from your test.