It depends upon the type of acid neutralization they are recommending. Some use chemical injection via a pump. This type should typically be installed after the softener to avoid damage to the softening resin. Most, however, use a calcite, magnesium oxide bed. This will add some hardness to the water and should therefore be installed before the softener. Additionally, most of these also remove sediment. It makes sense to place sediment removal before the softener to help protect the softener. Both of the systems you are looking at are the neutralizing bed type and should be installed before your softener.

Since you're not purchasing a softener (you already have one, if I understand you correctly?) softener prices don't apply. I've seen the acid neutralizing units cost as little as $900 up to $2600 without installation. The more expensive units are fairly large, probably larger than you would require. The prices you were quoted would be reasonable if an acid neutralizer and a softener are included in the price.

There are lots of water treatment companies out there. You may want to call around and get a few more quotes.

1. If 6.5 is the acutual ph of your water, you're fine. Well water is considered safe for you and your plumbing from 6.5-8.5

2. Instead of dealing with "water treatment specialists" for your softener, deal with an independent plumbing contractor for the installation and source the softener through them. Warranty then becomes their problem rather then you having to deal with someone on the other end of the internet if the unit fails. A fair price here in Canada to supply and install a demand regeneration unit is under 2000.00

3. Culligan, and the other big names are expensive to deal with. Part of the cost of dealing with them is the commission payable to the specialist (sales person).

Re: Filtration...

If you're installing a whole house filter such as the big blue, it should be mounted upstream of your water softener.

For your drinking water make sure that either the cold side of your kitchen tap is bypassed or you have separate tap for drinking water. You do not want to be drinking softened water that started out at 17 gpg. All that calcium gets replaced with sodium

Another way of dealing with the sodium and getting neutral tasting drinking water in the deal is to get a 4 or 5 stage reverse osmosis system for your drinking water. Watts Premier (Google it, I'm tired) has pretty much the most reasonably priced residential r/o systems and supplies.

Thanks for all your input. I'm still confused on some things probably because I wasn't completely clear.
I do not have a functioning softener now so I am looking to purchase one. That's why I asked about the pricing. The ASC1 softens water and does the ph neutralizing but as per otterhead, I don't need ph balancing at 6.5. Still, the model without that is $2,000...still far from the $500 Fleck.
The filter I mentioned is a whole house filter which I feel I need because the water is quite dirty and comes up with a lot of sediment which I see especially in the bowls.
I'm not interested in drinking this water (I've just never been used to drinking tap).
So far my understanding is this:
6.5 acidity does not require a neutralizer.
In terms of where to place the whole house filter, the first reply said before the softener and the third reply said after so I'm still unclear.
Please help. I'm anxious to have decent water in the house.
Thank you very much.
John

1. If you have high Total Dissolved Solids and sediment, then you should be filtering AHEAD of the water softener. The cleaner the water coming into the softener, the less trouble you'll have with nuisance failures like plugged injectors.

2. If your water is really crappy, eg. you can see the dissolved solids, you really should look at a backwashing filter. The benefits are no real reduction in pressure and gpm flow and because the filter (about the size of a softener) automatically backwashers, there are no cartidges to replace, which you will be doing often.

3. You make reference to a $500 fleck. Do you know if it has enough capacity based on hardness vs usage vs # of people in the house? Is it demand based or timer based regeneration? If buying direct are you prepared to ship the thing to the mfg and duke it out with them if it fails? A good rule of thumb when dealing with installed anything to do with your house is take the cost of the goods and double it at minimum. The company installing has to make a profit, deal with warranty, cover overhead......The company in the link I included deals with softeners, filters, everything and the pricing will give you an idea of what decent equipment on it's own is worth. But it's worth nothing to you if it's not installed competently.

4. At 2k installed for a decent softener with warranty through the installer -- it's their baby if something goes wrong, you're not getting robbed. Can you shop it around with smaller independent plumbing contractors? Sure but make sure you can get references and feel comfortable doing business with whomever you choose, that may be worth a few hundred.

5. If you are going to go through the trouble of filtering and softening your well water, you will be a couple of hundred dollars away from not having to rely on bottled water. I mentioned Reverse Osmosis for drinking, it is cheaper in the long run vs paying for bottled and it tastes neutral. Note that the only contaminant that RO can't deal with is hydrogen sulphide (you know it if you have it, your water smells like rotten eggs). Removing hydrogen sulphide is another 2k or so.

6. Before taking the plunge with anyone, you may want to have your water tested thoroughly by an independent lab to see what contaminants are present and see what they recommend for treatment based on your intended usage. Their services aren't free. The cost here for a thorough analysis is about $80. Iron, Hardness, Sediment, TDS is a good starting point if you're not drinking it.

7. Research as much as you can, google google and more google. We moved to the country back in april and had to deal with all of this, minus sediment in the water (I'm lucky, my well starts at 130' and goes down another 30' in fractured bedrock). Being uninformed about rotten egg smell, we almost pulled the trigger on 2k worth of oxidizing and filtering equipment. Turns out that 2/3 of a gallon of chlorox killed the harmless bacteria that was the cause of the smell. -But- The water conditioning pros won't tell you that because they want to sell equipment.

Hope my late night rambling helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: backwashing filter

Although your water may be considered "troubled" it is not untreatable by a long shot.

At 6.5 pH the water is not really bothersome unless you have galvanized, copper or other metal plumbing and fixtures. Ideally, you would want your water to be around 7.2 or slightly above. If you have plastic plumbing you chances of pin-hole leaks is nil but some metal fixtures may still suffer.

This is very easy to correct as it would take much to raise the pH to more acceptable levels. I would noit recommend a standing, up-flow Calcite tank as you mentioned sediment in your water and this would not solve that problem. A backwashing neutralizer would serve both as an AN and a sediment filter. You need to make sure that your valve is strong enough to lift the bed during BW and that is determined by gpm water flow rate.

Liquid (sodium hydroxide) and powder (soda ash) neutralizers are not needed for this level of pH. Even magnesium oxide would not yet be needed. The secret is with Calcite, lime chips, marble is contact time with the water so the vessel has to be large enough at a given flow rate to let the chemical neutralize the acid to an acceptable level.

I don't care to drink water low in pH as it calls for the body to nuetralize and MAY draw calcium form the body, namely bones, to do so. It is at such a low degree that damage would not be noticed in healthy individuals, but why go in the direct away from improvement?

With a pH below 7 and hardness at 17, I wonder if your harness includeds magnesium as calcium tends to naturally neutralize water. I have seen cases with low pH and high hardness in Maryland and Virginia.

Your iron is no problem with a normal softener at the correct salt dosage and regeneration settings.

Water Right ASC-1-1054 is a self-chlorinating softener using a special resins that avoid damage due to the presence chlorine. These are normally used for bacterial infestation of waternot to sanitize your service water but to help the resin avoid colonization or certain organics. Is there a need for this technology in your water? The tank is quite large 10" x 54" and should prove adequate but larger than other models that can still handle your water problems as far as hardness and iron are concerned.

You are doing right to research and I hope you can find a solution. Take into account the aforementioned good advice and remember "going cheap can be very costly".

Andy Christensen, CWS