Follow up: My experiment is turning out as expected. I used radish seeds because they grow so fast and they hadn't worked out well in my garden soil the first time around. So, with 9 pots planted, 4 of commercial sunshine mix, 4 of garden soil, and 1 of 1/2 and 1/2 each, the results show that my garden soil is definitely lacking, but perhaps not full of herbicide. The radishes grew in the garden soil but not very well. They are green, though, which makes me think that it isn't a lack of nitrogen, just something else missing. I plan to remove 1/2 the soil and add lots of compost to each bed early this fall, and hope that this solves the problem for next spring. I also did the test where you put a shovel full of soil into a glass jar of water and shake it up to see the soil composition. I had lots of floating wood bits and the soil in the bottom had a sour smell. One note, after the sun finally started to shine this month, my blueberries, strawberries and raspberries took off, and my beans look pretty good, too. Everything else is still stunted, yellow, and ready to be dug out and thrown on the compost. I've added a link to photos of my radish experiment which I hope works. It's obvious which ones are in my garden soil. Here is a link that might be useful: radish experiment

We are treating our water now with a water softener which handles the iron portion of our hydrogen sulphide/iron household water. The previous owner had no such treatment system, so our copper pipes have an accumulation of black sludge. Every once and a while the hot water system will cough up the manganese sludge and it will stain our clothing in a wash, or our guests get a nasty surprise in a shower. There is much information about how to avoid these problems, ie: through a filtration system, but little info about how to solve the effects, AFTER, the installation. My options are to change the copper hot water line which is almost a forty foot run of 1/2in copper, and use the newer plastic heat/pressure resistant stuff on the market. I don't think the sludge settles in the vertical lines. I can then reuse the copper pipes by stuffing a wad into them to clean out the sludge, and if not too thin from corrosion use them again. The other option is to install a shutoff valve just after the the hot water tank then right beside it and downstream I'd put in an outside valve the type with the hose screw on. At the other end of the line I can install another valve of the same type for a drain. Luckily here the hot water lines drops a foot at the lowest point making it ideal for a drain valve. I would then put in a 40 gal drum of hot water, and in another about 5 gallons of hot water/muriatic acid mix of say 50/50 (maybe 10/90), along with some food coloring. I would with a bronze pump force the acid in the hot water lines after first closing the valve to the hot water tank, and then opening all the downstream taps, then closing them as I see the color come out. I would let it sit for 2 hours. Then I would connect the pump to my clear water barrel and force a high pressure purge through the lines once again until I get no color from the water. Then I would open the low end valve just installed to further clean out the low horizontal run, and I would then open the hot water valve and let it flow as usual for a few minutes. My concerns: 1/ Muriatic acid still in the system.(Low risk.) 2/ Acid eating lead joint material precipitating in the water in higher concentrations. (Not a problem if not ingested. Since it's hot water not a problem. After a time concentrations return to normal.) 3/ Acid removing manganese as intended, but leaving a thin wall of copper ready to break. 4/ Calcium deposits served to block some small leaks and now open to leaking again. I've just about had it with this water problem, and I would prefer to tackle the purge method as this is a huge plumbing repair involving feeding tubing in dead space and breaking drywall, not to mention all the disimilar joint connectors ie: copper/pvc. Your thoughts. AndyF

I like Pyrolox as an iron treatment method. However, it has one major drawback. One cubic foot allows only 5 gpm service flow, while at the same time requiring 25-30 gpm backwash flow rate. You don't have that flow rate. Greensand works well for iron and manganese, as well as hydrogen sulfide. I needs to be regenerated with potassium permanganate, a powerful oxidizer and nothing you likely want to mess with. It's a mess and a hazard. If you are comfortable working with chemicals, it remains a viable option. Manganese dioxide: Does a nice job on all three contaminants, but requires high levels of dissolved oxygen in order to work - air injection would be required. Birm will remove iron/manganese but not hydrogen sulfide to it will not take care of your problem. Redox is too heavy for you to backwash adequately. Terminox, similar to Pyrolox, will likely also required more backwash than you can provide. It is proprietary - you would have to ask the company for details about backwash requirements. If it will work with the flow you have, it would be the most convenient solution, requiring very little attention from you once it is operational. Rotten egg smell - This is most likely coming from your high sulfur content and will be eliminated with treatment. Something else to consider: You have very high hardness as well and would benefit from a softener. While, technically, a properly sized softener could remove the iron and manganese, your iron levels are high enough that the system would tend to be problematic and you would still be left with the sulfur compounds. If I were you, my first choice would be Terminox (provided your flowrate can backwash it) to remove iron, manganese, hydrogen sulfide, follwed by a softener to remove hardness. Second choice would be synthetic greensand. It is lighter than natural greensand and you wouldn't have a problem with backwash. Also followed by a softener.

At the very least, they should recommend an acid neutralizer. As to the iron, treatment depends on whether it is ferric (particulate), or ferrous (dissolved). You'll need a dedicated iron/manganese removal unit. If any vendor recommends a softener for your iron removal, show them the door. A little light reading about various iron removal options: Oxidation/Filtration: An oxidizer such as ozone, air, or chlorine may be used to react with the iron and force it to become particulate iron that can then be removed via filtration. This will also remove most sulfur compounds. A typical setup would involve the oxidizing unit, a holding tank, then a media filter. This type of system works quite well, but takes some expertise in sizing - you would want a water treatment pro that you trust to help you with this option. Oxidizing filtration media: This type of treatment consists of a sealed tank filled with one of several media. Water passes through and is oxidized and filtered by the media. Most will remove sulfur compounds as well as iron. These are relatively easy to operate and what I would recommend for the average homeowner. There are several different media that can be used: Manganese greensand: water runs through for treatment. The media must be regenerated with potassium permanganate. Care must be taken with dealing with potassium permanganate as it readily dies organic material, such as your skin, a purple-brown color. Some people are quite comfortable dealing with the chemical; others are not. Synthetic greensand: This is essentially the same as option (a) but consists of a coating of greensand on a silica sand core so does not require as much backwash flow. Service flow rate is 2 - 5 gpm/sqft. Backwash flow rate is 12 gpm/sqft. Birm: This media acts as a catalyst to force oxidation of iron. While it does not need to be regenerated, it does need fairly high dissolved oxygen in the water. If your water does not have adequate dissolved oxygen (and it probably doesn't since it is well water), air injection would be necessary prior to the birm. Additionally, birm requires a minimum pH of 6.8. Service flow rate is 3.5 - 5.0 gpm per sqft. Backwash flow rate is 11 - 20 gpm, depending upon water temperatures and desired bed expansion. Pyrolox: an ore that oxidizes then filters the iron out. It does not need regeneration, but needs to be backwashed (to rinse out the iron) at a high rate. pH range is 6.5 - 9.0. This type of filter works very well, but backwash is critical. Service flow rate is 5 gpm/sqft. Backwash is 25-30 gpm/sqft. Backwash daily. Terminox: Similar to Pyrolox, but a proprietary formula . It does not require as much backwash flow rate and is more resistance to a low pH. The particulars are only available from the company that sells it - this means you have to rely entirely on the vendor for proper sizing. Backwash daily. Filox: Also similar to Pyrolox. pH range 5.0 - 9.0. Backwash flow 12-15 gpm/sqft. Service flow 6 gpm/sqft. It must be backwashed daily. Pro-OX: Essentially the same as the previous three. Requires 12-15 gpm/sqft backwash. As with Terminox, specs are lacking information so you'll have no way of knowing if the unit you get is sized appropriately. Katalox-light: Similar in action to the previous four, but is comprised of zeolite, manganese dioxide and hydrated lime. It should be designed for 6 - 12 gpm/sqft service flow atnd 8 - 10 gpm/sqft backwash. For well water, it's a good option as it requires lower backwash. In all cases, media ought to be replace somewhere between 5 - 10 years. If any vendor tells you their media lasts forever, walk away - they aren't trustworthy.