Well water has super-fine sediment

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Our well has generally good water... if filtered. Once filtered, we don't get any sort of discoloration; the hardness is reasonable. Biggest problem? Super fine sediment.

Currently I've got a spin-down filter (with an automatic flusher) and a DGD-2501 filter (large housing, is basically a 25um prefilter and a 1um inner filter layer). With this setup, the water's great... but even with a 250 mesh in the spin-down filter (~60um), the other filter element gets clogged pretty rapidly - and the automatic flusher doesn't do a very good job of clearing off that 250 mesh, either; the stuff just sticks to the mesh. (nb - the auto flusher isn't a proper backflush, it just automatically opens the valve at the bottom of the spin-down filter for a while every once in a while).

Any suggestions?
I'm not looking for a UV treatment (there's no bio in the water) or something to deal with iron (minimal). I'm looking for super fine sediment filtration - unless this could be a problem with the well, which I'm open to exploring instead or in addition.

 

[oosik]

I would suggest that the first step is to determine what the super fine sediment is - - organic or inorganic. This would then dictate the steps necessary to remove the sediment. Simple filtration or flocculation then filtration.

 

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I would suggest that the first step is to determine what the super fine sediment is - - organic or inorganic. This would then dictate the steps necessary to remove the sediment. Simple filtration or flocculation then filtration.

I believe it's inorganic; silt or clay.

As I mentioned in the OP, I'm currently using filtration which works fine as long as the media's not clogged, but it clogs up too quickly, so I'm looking for somewhat more specific suggestions for alternatives.

 

[TheMan419]

I believe it's inorganic; silt or clay.

As I mentioned in the OP, I'm currently using filtration which works fine as long as the media's not clogged, but it clogs up too quickly, so I'm looking for somewhat more specific suggestions for alternatives.

How quickly is too quickly? We have a 5 micron filter we replace monthly on ours. If I forget the water gets smelly after about 40 days. We also have to soften our water.

Maybe a proper back flush of the initial prefiler would help.

 

[Valveman]

A larger filter or a couple of filters in parallel will give more time between cleaning. But you might try to develop or pump the well out. Sometimes it takes hours or days, but many times the well can be pumped clean or at least cleaner. Need a large valve or multiple valves open to get the pressure down and the volume up, which is the best way to pump the well out.

 

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How quickly is too quickly? We have a 5 micron filter we replace monthly on ours. If I forget the water gets smelly after about 40 days. We also have to soften our water.

Maybe a proper back flush of the initial prefiler would help.

The clogging time varies, from a few days to a few weeks. I doubt that the 2501 filter element (or any similar filter for those sorts of units) would handle backflushing, and the spin-down may handle a proper back flush but I haven't seen a system set up for that - the typica (and l how I have it) is a "water rushes by and flushes some stuff" because those are actually designed to filter heavier sediments that sink to the bottom of the housing during the spin, and my sediment is so light that it only sinks in still water.

I've seen some larger sediment filter systems which work by sending water though a tank full of stuff like sand (zeolite, actually). These are much more expensive, and I've never talked to anyone who's got one - and I don't trust the few reviews I see on most sites selling them.

 

[Zippo1]

I used one of these large, whole house sand containing filters for 10 years or so before we sold our last place. Our 130 foot deep well had high iron content. We installed a WellPro chlorine pellet dropper on the well to oxidize the iron and used the large filter to remove the remaining sediments and precipitates. The system worked extremely well and we were able to program in how often it would back flush and for how long, etc. The back flush was directed to the drainpipes that gather water from the gutter downspouts. I replaced the filter media (some kind of fine black sand) once during the time we owned it. We were very happy with the system. This is not the exact model that we used (and we don't live there now so I can't go out and look) but it is similar:

MicroTurb Premium Turbidity Reduction Filters with NextSand

 

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I used one of these large, whole house sand containing filters for 10 years or so before we sold our last place. Our 130 foot deep well had high iron content. We installed a WellPro chlorine pellet dropper on the well to oxidize the iron and used the large filter to remove the remaining sediments and precipitates. The system worked extremely well and we were able to program in how often it would back flush and for how long, etc. The back flush was directed to the drainpipes that gather water from the gutter downspouts. I replaced the filter media (some kind of fine black sand) once during the time we owned it. We were very happy with the system. This is not the exact model that we used (and we don't live there now so I can't go out and look) but it is similar:

MicroTurb Premium Turbidity Reduction Filters with NextSand

Precisely the sort of reply I was hoping for
Do you recall how much sediment you had in general? Was your water cloudy at all, or was the sediment heavier?
If I fill a bucket from the spigot next to the well (unfiltered), I get cloudy water which if let sit will settle out, about half the time. There's bursts of clear and bursts of cloudy, which makes me wonder about the sides of the well.

 

[jrsavoie]

Precisely the sort of reply I was hoping for
Do you recall how much sediment you had in general? Was your water cloudy at all, or was the sediment heavier?
If I fill a bucket from the spigot next to the well (unfiltered), I get cloudy water which if let sit will settle out, about half the time. There's bursts of clear and bursts of cloudy, which makes me wonder about the sides of the well.

We also have a fine sediment issue. Fine clay sediment. it will go through a 2 micron filter.

You only see it after it sits and settles out.

 

[TheMan419]

At our old house we had a ton of iron. We used a system similar to the above. It had two tanks though. I cannot find a link quickly for it. It back washed periodically like a water softener.

Only issue was it really killed the water pressure.