I have well water. The water has iron bacteria (I have tried shock chlorination with no success). There is terrible staining on the shower/bath walls - I need to get this fixed since I am tired of cleaning it.

I just had the water tested:
pH - 8.4
iron - 3ppm
TDS - 640ppm
Nitrates/nitrites - 0
hardness - 34 grams

I already have a water softener (couple years old).

I talked to budgetwater.com and their recommendation is to get a chlorine injector which goes before the well tank, and then their Terminox filter. They say with iron bacteria, a retention tank is not needed. [Note, however, that my well company recommended to install any chlorine injection after the well tank.]

I had another water company come out who indicated that a retention tank is needed, and that some water quality association recommends the retention tank for iron bacteria. So their suggestion is what I'm gathering is the typical chlorine injector (after the well tank) with a retention tank, and then the carbon filter.

Does anyone have any experience on whether the retention tank is needed for iron bacteria? My preference would be to go with less equipment, if that solution will work. So the budgetwater solution sounds attractive, and the maintenance seems to be minimal based on what the guy said.

Thanks!

Terminox serves as a catalyst for iron oxidation and, under some water conditions, does not require the oxidizer injection upstream. No retention tank is necessary with Terminox. Terminox is, however, fairly dense so you will want to ensure you have adequate flow to backwash it.

A carbon filter, in this instance, removes excess chlorine and filters out the iron. It does not serve as a catalyst - therefore a retention tank is necessary prior to the filter.

So would the recommendation for the chlorine injection before the well pressure tank and then a Terminox filter be a reasonable solution to address iron bacteria in the water?