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Whole-Home Carbon Filtration Tank
A full-size carbon tank for city water that tastes or smells like chlorine — including the shower, not just the kitchen.
The short answer
- Installed price: A whole-home carbon filtration tank is $1,150 installed, or $1,450 with catalytic media, all-in with equipment, installation by a licensed plumbing professional, taxes and a lifetime parts warranty.
- Which media fits: Catalytic carbon is the media suited to a chloraminated supply such as Cedar Rapids or Robins, while Marion and Hiawatha use plain chlorine, where standard activated carbon is right.
- Pair with softening: Carbon targets chlorine taste and odor; a softener removes the hardness minerals behind spots, scale and soap film. Compare both stages for whole-home improvements.
- City water only: This is a city-water product; a private well normally brings hardness, often iron and sometimes sulfur, and the answer there is a dual-tank well build.
- Plan for media care: This tank uses a carbon bed rather than cartridges. Media life depends on the selected equipment, water and use; the published future tank-swap price is $1,000.
- Where it goes: The tank sits near where the main line enters the house and ahead of the water heater, needing a drain for the backwash and an outlet nearby.
Enjoy less chlorine taste and odor at every faucet with a full-size carbon tank on your main water line. Kind’s main Des Moines and Marion / Eastern Iowa teams help you choose the media for your city-water supply and coordinate professional installation. Standard carbon is $1,150 installed; catalytic carbon is $1,450 installed. Des Moines homeowners can see whole-house water filtration in Des Moines.
Whole-home filtration without cartridge changes
The system is one tall pressure tank holding a bed of carbon media, a control head on top of it and a bypass valve. Water from the street passes through the bed on its way to the rest of the house, and on a set schedule the head reverses the flow to rinse the bed and sends the rinse water to a drain. That is the whole machine: no cartridge to buy, no housing to unscrew, nothing under your sink.
Bed depth is the reason this is a tank and not a cartridge. Whole-house flow moves fast, and a media bed deep enough to work at that flow rate will not fit in an under-sink canister. It is also why the media choice below is the real decision here.
Standard media or catalytic media — your supply decides
Cedar Rapids disinfects with chloramine rather than free chlorine, and Robins has no wells of its own and buys City of Cedar Rapids water, so both sit in the same category. Catalytic carbon is the media suited to a chloraminated supply; ordinary activated carbon works on chloramine, but less thoroughly. On those two supplies we quote the $1,450 build.
Marion and Hiawatha use chlorine, where standard activated carbon targets chlorine taste and odor. We review your supply before selecting the media. The catalytic option adds $300 to a standalone tank or $150 when selected within the standard city-water package; the quote identifies the configuration.
Worth saying out loud about Cedar Rapids: the utility lime-softens the supply before it reaches you, and the city’s own FAQ describes the finished water as moderately hard at 6 to 9 grains per gallon. Plenty of households there want carbon and nothing else, and that is a legitimate answer.
Included in $1,150 and $1,450
| Standard carbon tank | Catalytic carbon tank | |
|---|---|---|
| All-in price | $1,150 | $1,450 |
| Media | Activated carbon | Catalytic carbon |
| Suited to | Plain-chlorine supplies (Marion, Hiawatha) | Chloraminated supplies (Cedar Rapids, Robins) |
| Water type | City water | City water |
| Softens water | No | No |
| Installation by a licensed plumbing professional | Included | Included |
| Taxes | Included | Included |
| Parts warranty | Lifetime | Lifetime |
| Media warranty | 5 years | 5 years |
| Labor warranty | 1 year | 1 year |
| Media replacement (tank swap) | $1,000; timing depends on the equipment, water and use | $1,000; timing depends on the equipment, water and use |
The installed price includes the equipment, professional installation, taxes and lifetime parts coverage. Published coverage includes five years on media and one year on labor. We explain the components and care for your selected system. Ask about financing and the military/first-responder discount. For Des Moines, call (515) 709-4674; for Marion / Eastern Iowa, call (319) 319-6566. Scheduling and any travel charge are explained before booking.
Who buys this tank
- City-water households whose complaint is how the water tastes and smells at every fixture, the shower and bath included — which a drinking-water system never reaches.
- Households that already own a working softener and want carbon added ahead of it.
- Anyone who wants the smallest whole-home system we sell rather than a bundle.
Build the right combination for your home
- Spots, scale and soap film: Add softening to remove the hardness minerals behind those problems. Compare a softener or the $2,500 softener-and-carbon package.
- Private wells. This is a city-water product. A well normally brings hardness, often iron and sometimes sulfur, and our answer there is a dual-tank well build — see well water treatment cost. Iron and sulfur systems we quote after your free water test rather than publishing a number, because the right build depends on the test.
- Nitrate concerns: We plan any treatment from the lab results and test again after installation. We review your water source and appropriate test results to help you select suitable equipment. Explore drinking-water options.
- Drinking and cooking water: An under-sink RO system adds a dedicated kitchen faucet, starting at $897 installed. Whole-home carbon targets taste and odor throughout the house; compare the jobs each option does.
Where it goes, and what install day looks like
The tank sits near where the main line enters the house and ahead of the water heater, so hot and cold both run through it. If you already own a softener, carbon goes in front of it. It needs a drain connection for the backwash and an outlet nearby for the control head, and most installs take about half a day.
Kind coordinates installation with licensed local plumbing professionals we vet, schedule and stand behind. We review the main water line, space, bypass and drain access, then explain any site work before installation. For a private well, start with our well-water treatment options so each stage fits the water results.
Media is a consumable, and here is what that costs
This tank uses a carbon bed rather than cartridges. Media replacement is a future ownership cost: the currently published tank-swap price is $1,000. Media life depends on your water, use and the equipment selected. We explain the care and signs to watch for, including a return of chlorine taste or odor, so you can plan ahead.
If performance changes, tell us what you’re noticing and which system you have. A diagnostic visit is $199 for an unidentified problem, or $99 plus parts for a known issue. We check applicable warranty coverage and explain service and travel charges before booking.
Choose your filtration and get a clear installed quote
The in-home water test is free and comes with a written price the same visit — no second appointment, and the price does not expire. Call or text 515-709-4674, email hello@kindwaterco.com, or start with an instant quote. Every figure above also sits on our published filtration price list; the national dealer networks route their pricing through an in-home visit instead. Kind Water Co. is family-owned, founded in 2021 by Ryan Brunton, and based in Des Moines.
- ✓Equipment included
- ✓Professional installation
- ✓Lifetime parts warranty
- ✓Taxes included
0% financing available. The in-home water test is free, with no obligation.
Straight answers.
What is included in the $1,150 carbon filtration tank?
Everything: the tank and media, installation by a licensed plumbing professional, taxes, and a lifetime parts warranty, with five years on media and one on labor. The catalytic build is $1,450. Financing is available at 0%, military and first responders take $100 off, and the price we publish is the price we charge.
How long does the carbon media last?
Media life varies with water conditions, household use and the selected equipment. This system uses a carbon bed rather than replaceable cartridges. The published tank-swap price is $1,000; we’ll explain your media-care expectations and replacement options when you choose the system.
Where does a whole-home carbon tank get installed?
Near where the main water line enters the house and ahead of the water heater, so hot and cold both run through it, with a bypass so the house keeps running during service. It needs a drain for the backwash and an outlet nearby. If you already own a softener, carbon goes in front of it. Most installs take about half a day.
Will a carbon tank work on my private well?
It is built for city water, so on a well it is rarely the right build on its own. Wells normally bring hardness, often iron and sometimes sulfur, and our answer there is a dual-tank well system. Iron and sulfur builds we quote after a free water test rather than publishing a price, because the equipment depends on the results.
Other systems we install.
Same warranty, same install standard — a different build for a different home.
Not sure which system you need?
Start with a free in-home water test. We'll test your water and recommend exactly the right fit — no pressure, no obligation.
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