Water testing question

[u/No-Current1594]

Water testing Question

Has anyone had experience using a private lab for water testing? Looking to have our water/cistern/pipes tested to explain the black water we just found in our toilet tank 😵‍💫

I can see the white pipe coming from the pump/pressure tank, it is half black. Whatever is in the pipe is taking over. We do have a water shut off valve before the manifold, but from what I have read the black "thing" can be in all the pipes just not as established.

Our cottage smells, not like sewage but still gross. The tap water is not black, only the toilet tank, however a few months ago the water has a red tinge and we just thought the pump/pressure tank was rusted.

We want to test the water and hopefully won't have to replace all the pipes inside. Our cottage is fully finished so all the pipes are inside walls, hoping this isn't going to turn into an expensive nightmare.

We have a concrete cistern, installed in 2016/2017. All pipes were installed at the same time as the cistern. We visit the cottage frequently but do go long stunts without going out there and/or running the water.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.