Easy Iron Filter Selection Step 1: Find out your well water pH, iron, & manganese levels. Learn more about easy ways to get your water tested. Order a Free Home Test Kit Order a Low Cost Comprehensive Home Test Kit. Step 2: Select a filter based on the chart below or contact us for help. Questions? Call us now TOLL-FREE at 877-641-1839
Iron Filter Type	Removes iron?	Removes manganese?	Removes sulfur odor?		Regeneration by:
Birm	Yes	No*	No		None - backwash only
Greensand	Yes	Yes	Yes		Potassium permanganate
Greensand-Plus	Yes	Yes	Yes		Chlorine feed required
Pyrolox	Yes	Yes	Yes		None - backwash only
More Information:
Birm	Should not be used if manganese, sulfur odor, or chlorine is present. This filter is your best choice if your water has no manganese or sulfur odor and you don't plan to add a chlorinator. Because the Birm filter media requires dissolved oxygen to work, in some cases an air injector is required. *Note: Birm will remove manganese if the pH of the water is between 8.2 and 8.5. However, we dont' recommend if your water has manganese in it, because pH can be hard to control, and there are better methods to remove manganese. Works best at pH 7.0 to 8.0.
Greensand	This is proven technology that works great to remove iron, manganese, sulfur odor (hydrogen sulfide) and in some cases arsenic and other metals. No air injection is needed, but the system does require potassium permanganate powder, which is easily added to the solution tank (included in price) several times a year. Greensand filters work fine with chlorination. Works best on waters with a pH of 6.8 to 8.5. Compared to some air-injection systems, the small amount of maintenance these filters require more than make up for the excellent performance over a wide range of water chemistries.
Greensand-Plus	Improved version of greensand that also does a very job in removing iron, manganese, sulfur odor (hydrogen sulfide) arsenic and other metals. While this can be used with potassium permgananate like the greensand filter, if a chlorine feed pump is used ahead of the Greensand-Plus filter, no permanganate is required. If your water has sulfur odor and iron bacteria, then the combination of chlorine injection and filtration using the Greensand-Plus filter provides an excellent long-term, relatively low-maintenance solution. Works best on waters with a pH of 6.8 to 8.5.
Pyrolox	Removes iron, manganese, sulfur odor with no chlorine, permanganante powder or air injection required. The Pyrolox media is very heavy. The big disadvantage of Pyrolox is that a very high backwash flow rate required, using 2 to 3 times as much backwash water as other systems. For instance a 1.5 cubic foot Greensand filter requires 7 gallon per minute backwash, whereas the Pyrolox systems work best with 15 to 20 gallons per minute. Use on waters with a pH of 6.8 to 8.5.
General Iron Filter Questions Q. How do iron filters work? A. Iron filters work by oxidizing (rusting) the iron and then filtering it out. We all know that simple iron or steel will rust in the presence of air and water. Rust is one type of oxidation. When water is underground in most wells, it is in a clear, also known as 'ferrous' or clear water iron. Iron filters take this clear iron and transform it to rust or ferric iron in the process known as oxidation. These trapped particles are periodically and automatically backwashed out to drain, usually once or twice a week. Iron filter systems also remove so-called red or red-water iron, iron bacteria, manganese and in some cases hydrogen sulfide by oxidation and filtration. Q. Which is the best iron filter for my application? A. This depends on your well water chemistry. The first step is finding out if your cold water has a sulfur odor in it, or if it is just the hot water. If the water does have odor, then you need an iron filter that will remove this sulfur odor. The next step is to find out how much iron and manganese you have, and determine the pH (acidity or alkalinity) of your water. However you don't have to become a chemist in order to find out the simple parameters you need to know before selecting an iron filter. We offer a free home test kit you can use in the privacy of your own to test for pH, iron, manganese and hardness and there are many local labs that will test your water for you at a reasonable price. Q. Can't I just use a water softener? A. Water softeners will remove dissolved clear water iron by a process known as ion-exchange. However, iron, manganese and/or hydrogen sulfide gas will eventually foul and ruin the ion-exchange resin. If your water contains less than 2.0 ppm of iron and manganese combined, and no sulfur odor, then you may be able to use a good quality water softener with a special type of resin cleaner in the brine tank. The resin cleaner will help clean the resin when the softener is being regenerated with the salt water. We don't recommend this approach however, its better to use an iron filter in front of the water softener for best results. Q. My water was found to contain 2.0 ppm of iron. I have no sulfur odor, no manganese and a pH of 7.0 to 7.5, which filter is best? A. A Birm filter is usually best for this type of water. Q. I have 5.0 ppm of iron, some manganese, and slight sulfur odor in my cold water. My toilet flush tank looks orange and seems to have slimy strings of fuzzy iron bacteria growing on the sides. Which iron filter is best for my water? A. For this water, the standard greensand filter is best. However, you should sanitize your well by shock-chlorination, and sanitize your household piping periodically with chlorine or hydrogen peroxide to kill the iron bacteria that may be growing in your pipes, water heater and toilet flush tanks. Q. I use a chlorinator already to control odor and disinfect the water, but I want to use an iron filter. Which one is best? A. The Greensand-Plus type is best, and no potassium permanganate would be required. Q. I have very severe water. My iron is over 10 ppm, I have high manganese, and a terrible hydrogen sulfide problem. Which one should I use? A. For some types of very severe water, we recommend injection of chlorine or hydrogen peroxide, depending on the water chemistry, followed by a Greensand-Plus iron filter, and in some cases a water softener. Q. I have 3.0 to 5.0 ppm of iron, manganese and some hydrogen sulfide odor in the cold water. I looked inside my toilet flush, and I see the long strings or slimy presence of iron bacteria. Can I use a Pyrolox filter? A. Yes, as long as you have enough backwash flow to properly backwash the heavy Pyrolox filter media, a Pyrolox filter would work fine. If your water has iron bacteria in it, you may experience some fouling of the filter media. One advantage of the greensand filters is that the potassium permgananate will kill any iron bacteria that may foul the filter media. Q. I would like to use the Greensand-Plus or Greensand filter, with a chlorine injection system, but I don't want chlorine in my house. What can I do? A. You can use a backwashing carbon filter after the Greensand filter to remove all chlorine before it enters the house.