Easy Iron Filter Selection Step 1: Find out your well water pH, iron, & manganese levels: Well Water Home Test Kit with FREE Lab analysis only $19.95. Step 2: Make sure you know your well's flow rate. Click here to find out how to easily test it yourself. Step 3: Select a filter based on the chart below or contact us for help. Step 4: Order your system, install yourself or hire a plumber. Enjoy great iron-free water! Questions? Call us now TOLL-FREE at 888-600-5426
Filter Type	Removes iron?	Removes manganese?	Removes sulfur odor?	Back-wash Rate*	Backwash and Operation Notes:
Birm	Yes	No	No	5	Backwashes with well water, no chemicals needed. If the iron level is over 1.0 to 2.0 ppm Birm will require air injector, or an air compressor, or be installed after an open storage tank with aeration to work. The pH of the well water should be over 6.9. Media needs to be replaced every 3 - 5 years for best results. Don't use if tannins are present.
Greensand	Yes	Yes	Yes	5	Backwashes with well water and regenerates automatically with potassium permanganate, or a chlorine injection pump can be used prior to filter to minimize or eliminate the need for permanganate powder. Uses greensand-plus iron filter media, Works reliably with a small amount of routine maintenance every 3 months. Small levels of tannin present OK.
Filox (Catalox)	Yes	Yes	Yes	7.5	Backwashes with well water with backwash flow rates 5 to 10 gallons per minute. Little or no routine maintenance required. Similar to Pyrolox below, but in our experience, works more reliably than the Pyrolox media. Can be used with chlorine, peroxide, or air-injection for enhanced iron removal or difficult problem well water applications. Filox (also known as Catalox) media is very resilient and lasts for many years. Must be backwashed every 3 - 4 days regardless of water usage for best results.
Pyrolox	Yes	Yes	Yes	15	Backwash with well water but requires very high backwash flow rates (15 to 25 gallons per minute). Can be used with chlorine, peroxide, or air-injection for enhanced iron removal or difficult problem well water applications. See Filox, which is similar but works more reliably in our experience. Pyrolox media is very resilient and lasts for many years.
Terminator	Yes	No	Some	5	Backwash with well water; price includes an air injector & air tank; small pressure drop does occur.. This is essentially a Birm filter with an air injector and air-vent tank included. Will remove low levels of hydrogen sulfide gas odor, but if air injector is not maintained, hydrogen sulfide gas will quickly ruin the filter media. Air injector must be cleaned every 4 - 6 months in some applications to work correctly. The pH must be over 6.9 to work correctly. A Terminator-Plus model for lower pH levels, but additional calcite and/or corosex pH media must be added regularly to work correct. Media needs to be replaced every 3 - 5 years for best results.
* This refers to gallons per minute. For instance, 5 gallons of well water flowing in one minute. Backwash flow rate for a 10" diameter filter tank, which come with 1.0 or 1.5 cubic foot of iron filter media. A 1.5 cubic foot size is a typical size for homes with 2 - 6 people and 1.5 - 3 bathrooms. Note, these are minimum sizes, meaning your well would need to have to a flow rate of at least this much in order for the iron filter to work correctly.
More Information:
Birm	Should not be used if manganese, sulfur odor, or chlorine is present. This filter is a good choice if your water has no manganese or sulfur odor and you don't plan to add a chlorinator. Can be combined with a water softener for excellent results, because the Birm will remove rust (oxidized iron) and most of the dissolved iron, and the softener will polish the water and remove any dissolved iron the Birm didn't take out. 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. To see Birm piping diagrams click here
Greensand	Uses Greensand-Plus, an improved version of greensand that does a very good 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 iron, manganese, 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. Click here to see a chlorination system and greensand filter diagram.
Filox	Filox media is more expensive than the Birm and Greensand iron filters, but works under a wider variety of conditions and lasts for a very long time. Unless the water is extremely high in iron (over 10 ppm) no pre-oxidation (such as chlorine, ozone, hydrogen peroxide, or air injection) is required. However, these oxidizers can be used with this media for excellent results on difficult-to-treat waters. Well waters can change over time and increase in iron or manganese, or develop sulfur odor problems for a number of reasons, and this media (like Greensand as well) works with chlorination or one of the other oxidizers, and this can always be added later if water conditions were to change.
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.
Terminator	Terminator iron filters eliminate iron; odor; and turbidity without the use of chemicals. An air injection system and air contact tank is included in the price. The Terminator filter can correct rusty water stains and eliminate rotten-egg sulfur odors but does not work well on manganese unless the pH is over 8.2. The air injector works on pressure drop, so there will be some pressure loss after the system. There may be some slight amount of air left in the water after the filter, so (as with any type of air injector or air compressor) you may notice your water is cloudy with air when it firsts come out of the tap, but then quickly dissipates.. Use on waters with a pH of 6.8 to 8.5. If water is less than 6.8 pH use the Terminator Plus series, which add some hardness and alkalinity and raise the pH.
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 or Filox filter is usually best for this type of water. In some cases air injection is required if you use Birm, so Filox is generally preferred. 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 best results, a chlorination injection system followed by a Filox or Greensand iron filter would be best. Filox lasts longer than greensand and works great with a chlorine feed. 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 Filox type or the Greensand filters would work the 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 contact retention tank, then a Filox iron filter, and in some cases an additional carbon backwash filter and 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 Filox filter? A. Yes, as long as you have enough backwash flow to properly backwash the Filox filter media, it 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. You can also consider a Filox filter which will remove low levels of chlorine tastes and odors without the use of a carbon backwash filter.