You need the softener too if your water tests about 7 grains of hardness or more, counting the 3 to 6 grains the calcite in the neutralizer adds as it raises your pH.

If it will stay under about 7 grains, the neutralizer alone may be all you need (Clack 1.5, $1,295). If your pH is 7 or above and the water is hard, you need only a softener. No water test yet? Our well water test kit is $199.

The acid neutralizer goes first, then the softener. From the well: the pressure tank, a sediment filter if your water needs one, the neutralizer, then the softener, which takes out the hardness the calcite adds along with the well's own hardness.

The softener handles up to about 1 ppm of dissolved iron. If your well has more iron or a rotten egg smell, an iron filter goes in too, and Aidan sets the order from your test.

This package is for 1 or 2 people at pH 6.0 to 6.9. The 1.5 cu ft neutralizer sets that limit; the 48,000 grain softener alone would carry up to about 4 people on water up to about 15 grains.

For 3 or more people, or pH below 6.0, the 2.5 neutralizer + 48K softener package ($3,295) is the usual choice. Below pH 6.0 a 1.5 can also run a calcite and FloMag mix that Aidan sets from your test, so text your test to Aidan before you order.

Both tanks ship empty: the Clack 1.5 neutralizer tank with its C1190 valve, bypass valve and 1 inch male connectors; three 50 lb boxes of calcite; the Fleck 5600SXT softener tank with its bypass pre-installed on the valve; 1.5 cu ft of resin in separate bags; the brine tank; and two funnels. The calcite and the resin are loaded into the tanks at install.

You or your plumber supply the 1/2 inch drain tubing for the softener, the pipe, fittings and adapters, and the salt. Most orders arrive together on one pallet; some arrive as two shipments a few days apart.

We recommend one, ideally a plumber who has installed water treatment before. Two tanks go in a set order, the calcite and the resin are loaded into the empty tanks through the funnels, and the softener needs its own 1/2 inch drain line with an air gap and a standard outlet; the neutralizer needs neither. Plan on about 3 to 4 hours of a plumber's time; Aidan's estimate for a two-tank job is about $700 to $1,000.

• 800-460-5810: Aidan supports your plumber by phone.
• 443-277-2204: if you'd rather do it yourself, you can; text Aidan with any questions.

About every 18 to 24 months on this 1.5 cu ft tank, sooner with lower pH or heavy water use. Check it once a year: hold a bright flashlight behind the tank and look for the shadow of the calcite. When it is about half down, add calcite through the fillport (about 1 box), filling to about 10 inches below the fill port. You never replace it; it dissolves as it works. Calcite is $145 per 50 lb box.

About 7 lb of salt and 25 to 50 gallons of water per regeneration. The Fleck 5600SXT counts the gallons you use and regenerates only when the resin needs it, usually at 2 AM, and after 14 days even if you used little water. In Aidan's house a 40 lb bag lasts about 30 to 45 days. Keep the salt level higher than the water level in the brine tank.

The neutralizer tank carries a 10-year warranty and its Clack valve 5 years. The softener carries 5 years on the control valve, 10 years on the mineral tank and 5 years on the brine tank. The Fleck 5600SXT is serviceable: years down the road it may need new pistons or a control board, and the parts are common. In Aidan's service work, 10% crosslink resin on water protected from iron and chlorine has lasted 30 to 40 years. The calcite is not replaced; you top it off.