slow sand filters and sulphar

Good evening All. I have high tannin, sulphar and iron counts in my well water. Typical for shallow wells in north florida. The well Guy came out and quoted $5k for a filter that would take it all out and leave drinking water. My cheap skate mind went to slow sand filters..

I now have a ferro cement tank that holds about 1000 gallons and a welded steel stand next to it that holds 3 55g drums, food grade. The theory is that the well feeds the barrels at 4g/hour each and filters the water into the tank, I then pump out of the tank into the house (Pressure switch and pressure tanks and all that stuff). I had the water tested at the local health department from various parts of the system and it was working great for about a month. It then started to slow down significantly and built up a black algee slime. I found out this is a sulphar eating bacteria that thrives in this enviroment. The schmutzdeck or bio layer was totally backed up with this scum.

Ive tried different earators to dissipitate the sulphar, Ive tried no earation, Ive put in a uv filter(and nearly blinded my self, They reallly truely mean it when the label says DO NOT LOOK AT THE LIGHT in big letters) The UV filter slowed the growth but only temporarily.

Im just about to give up on this and turn it into a rain barrel. Its not a bad back up plan but I dont want to give up on the sand filters yet.. Does any one have experience with dealing with sulphar and snad filters???

I appreciate any input.

Thanks, Randall

I thought the black slime layer is the bio layer that eats the nasties. Did you get your water tested after the slime layer formed?

I have a well with similar issues. I tried Carbon but it doesn't last. I have used kdf85 (zinc copper alloy media) successfully. I binds and precipitates the hydrogen sulfite/sulphur and iron. However my system is just cartridge filters and cannot backwash.

Aereation works with properly sized tanks and pumps. Hydrogen peroxide(nit you diluted pharmacy type) will oxidize and sanitize the water. Lastly, chlorine will oxidize the iron and kill the bacteria.

Are you able to backwash your filters?