Filtering your way to a tasty cup of water

The New Zealand rural community is to have ready access to the most efficient water filter on the market.
Matamata-based Forsi Innovations, a division of Ag-Worx and manufacturer of Filter-Pro, has announced its filtration system is now available from any outlet where Grundfos Pumps are sold.
"Any supplier in New Zealand where you see the Grundfos logo, will also stock our filter system," says Filter-Pro sales and marketing manager, Craig Hawes.
"In the past, you had to come directly to us in Matamata. Now the Filter-Pro system can be purchased, installed and serviced by agents all over the country," Mr Hawes says.
Filter-Pro was specifically designed for rural residential, agricultural and industrial situations.
In the six years it has been on the market, Filter-Pro has had great success because it delivers a flow rate seven times faster than any other available filter system, Mr Hawes says.
Forsi Innovations released its 2010 filter model at the recent Fieldays.
The new Filter-Pro model has a much deeper filtration bed which delivers superior filtration without compromising its efficiency.
"The deeper filtration bed allows more refined filtration while still maintaining excellent flow levels," Mr Hawes says.
"Any unwanted elements are filtered out to below the maximum allowable parts per million."
There are five Filter-Pro standard units on the market, each designed to cater for different situations - from general household use, to the much heavier demands of a commercial situation, such as a dairy farm or manufacturing plant. "As well as being extremely efficient, our units are solidly constructed and compact.
"They've also been designed for easy installation and servicing," Mr Hawes says.
Whatever the application, the job of the Filter-Pro system is essentially the same.
The filtration process primarily removes unwanted metal elements from the water, in particular, iron and manganese, which give the water a metallic or astringent taste - unpalatable to both animals and humans.
These elements also cause unwanted discolouration and staining, and insoluble iron deposits can create costly problems in industrial and agricultural situations.
Manganese, along with calcium and magnesium, also contributes to the hardness in water.
"Other impurities can also be removed depending on the specific situation," Mr Hawes says. "Water samples are taken and tested and if there are any ph issues or other undesirable elements, or pathogens in the water, the system can be customised to manage these too."
Every Filter-Pro unit incorporates an automatic backwash system.
"Filtered water not only tastes good, it is better for you. Stock will drink more if the water tastes better and this can have quite an impact on animal health and production rates," Mr Hawes says.
"A cup of tea tastes pretty good too," Mr Hawes says.