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View Full Version : If You Own A Water Well- Don't do This !!



Eddie Wells
07-27-2011, 10:21 PM
Hi SD Friends,

I live in central Texas, in the country and have my own water well. Like a lot of wells in Texas we have HYDROGEN SULFIDE ( Rotten egg smell) and some iron, not iron bacteria just iron. We have a sand filter and a liquid chlorine injector on the well to help take care of this problem. Well last week chlorine injector and the filter had a major malfunction at the same time, well this lets hydrogen sulfide enter the hot water heater, along with excess amounts of iron. I usually use a mixture of cold and hot water when I fill my tank that I let sit and use an airstone for the following days water change. Has worked great till yesterday. Not thinking I put my Safe in the aquarium and started pumping water back into the aquarium like every day. Well noticed holding tank water was pretty dark. Hadn't even finished filling the aquarium when the fish were starving for air. Added 2 more airstones and filled my holding tank with cold water and waited for it to heat
up a bit. About 45 minutes later drained tank, added Safe (2 times normal dose) and filled aquarium back up. Left the extra air in and was sure all my new Red Turks would be dead this morning. To my suprise they were a little better and by this afternoon after
work they look really good and even have eaten twice. I dodged a big one I think. So if your on a well that has iron and hydrogen sulfide in the water, do not use water from your hot water heater if you have a well malfunction. Use cold
water ( in your holding tank) after you have corrected the well problem, and use the heater to raise the temperature to match your aquarium water. Hope this helps someone to avoid a disaster like I almost had.


Eddie Wells

Second Hand Pat
07-27-2011, 10:25 PM
Wow Eddie, glad you were able to dodge the bullet on this one. That could have hurt.

Northwoods Discus
07-28-2011, 08:37 AM
What was different about the water from the hot water heater vs the cold water?

Eddie Wells
07-28-2011, 09:34 AM
Iron builds up in the water heater and the heater has to be drained and flushed out to get rid of the iron that has been stored there.

Thanks Pat! !

Northwoods Discus
07-28-2011, 10:11 AM
I'm confused. Does your cold water line not go thru your filters, thus avoiding the malfunction? Why would Iron cause breathing problems. Was it too high chlorine since you said both malfunctioned? Or do you think it was Iron toxicity? Just interested because I have a well with high Iron. No hydrogen sulfide issue and I do not add chlorine. I thought the chlorine was for Iron bacteria? You mentioned no iron bacteria.
Bill

Eddie Wells
07-28-2011, 07:20 PM
Northwoods I really don't know if it was the iron or hydrogen sulfide that depleated the O2. My chlorinator quit injecting so it wasn't chlorine that caused the problem. The filter had quit it's daily clean out , thus the accumulation of iron in the filter and spilling over into the house water. Really don't know which one caused the problem but if I get off colored water in my holding tanks again it's not going into the aquarium. Doing some more checking when I have a quiet time.

Eddie Wells

Northwoods Discus
07-29-2011, 08:18 AM
Glad you averted disaster. It is always good information to learn about possible things that can happen in the fish room. Hope all continues well for you Eddie.
Bill

Keith Perkins
07-30-2011, 07:53 AM
...Hope all continues "well" for you Eddie.
Bill

No pun intended I'm sure. :)

Really glad you dodged that bullet Eddie...and I hope you guys get that rain you so badly need.

Northwoods Discus
08-01-2011, 08:29 AM
Well ya. I was going to say hope all goes well for you with your well water issue Eddie Wells but I thought it was a bit much.
Bill

b0red04
08-12-2011, 01:24 AM
I don't know if you know this but hot water heaters come with a magnesium anode rod inside which is used to collect ions in the water to prevent corrosion. The reaction of the ions eating
at the rod creates the rotten egg smell. So if your cold water doesn't smell then its your hot water heater creating problems. The magnesium rod can be removed and stop the rotten egg
smell.