Sulfur bacteria

Here's a picture of sulfur bacteria growing in a toilet bowl tank. This helps illustrate the difference between sulfur (which typically has no visual effects) and sulfur bacteria.
Sulfur is a gas that smells like rotten eggs and there are several ways to treat it. The most common (and cheapest) is with a greensand filter. Here, water flows through a media called greensand which oxidizes and filters the gas. Another option to remove sulfur is with an aerator. Basically, the water is forced through nozzles that sprays the water into a mist. During this process, the gas is released and the water collects in a retention tank. The third popular option is a chlorination system, which is also the most expensive. Here, chlorine is added to the water, then the chlorine/ water solution must sit to allow sufficient contact time, then the chlorine is removed. The problem with bacteria bearing sulfur is that the only option available is a chlorination system. Why? Because the bacteria needs to be eliminated and the neither the greensand filter nor the aerator will do it. So can you get away with ignoring the fact that your sulfur breeds bacteria? Not at all. If you ignore the sulfur all together, you're ingesting sulfur bacteria. If you treat it with another option, the sludge that you see in the picture will grow in the greensand tank or in the retention well of the aerator. One of the things that makes water treatment confusing is that each option I discussed here is affected by other contaminants in your well such as iron, methane or hardness. But if you have specific questions, feel free to post it and I'll try to address it. Good luck!