INSTALLATION & OWNER'S GUIDE — THE TANK / THE TANK + THE GURU — PUBLIC DOCUMENT. NO PURCHASE REQUIRED.
THE MANUAL
READ IT BEFORE YOU BUY. HAND IT TO YOUR PLUMBER FOR A QUOTE.
This is the support. All of it. There is no phone number at the end. We put the whole manual out in the open so you know exactly what you're signing up for before a dollar leaves your pocket — and so your plumber can quote the job off this page, word for word.
THE 5-MINUTE VERSION
QUICK-START
For people who don't read manuals. We get it. Here's the whole thing in 30 seconds. Then go read the real sections anyway.
1. WHAT YOU BOUGHT
2. BEFORE YOU START
- →Shut off water at the street. Confirm nothing comes out of any tap.
- →Read Section 0 (one page of homework). Or hand it to your plumber.
- →Have a plumber's number ready if you're not one.
3. THE INSTALL IN 30 SECONDS
Mount bracket → Hang tank → Plumb pre-filter (THE BOUNCER) inline before THE TANK → Plumb THE TANK into your main line → Commission (soak 1+ hour, flush until clear) → Done.
THE GURU buyers: same thing, plus hang the second housing after THE TANK. Keep it in FULL BYPASS until THE TANK is commissioned.
4. AFTER THE INSTALL
5. IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG
Read the relevant section below. Every answer to every question is in this manual. If it's genuinely not: readthemanual@nomoredirtywater.com. Read the address twice.
SECTION 00 — READ FIRST
SHUT THE WATER OFF AT THE STREET BEFORE YOU CUT ANYTHING.
Find your main shutoff at the street-level curb stop and turn it off completely before cutting into any pipe. Then open a faucet inside the house and confirm nothing comes out. If water is still flowing, the water is not off. Do not proceed until it is.
SECTION 0 — BEFORE YOU BEGIN
DO THE HOMEWORK. IT'S ONE PAGE.
COUNT THE WATER, NOT THE DOORS
These systems are rated for homes with up to 5 bathrooms — but bathroom counts are shorthand. What actually matters is how much water you run at the same time. A 5-bathroom house where nobody runs more than two showers at once behaves like a 3-bathroom house. A 3-bathroom house running all three showers plus the dishwasher and the washing machine behaves like a 6-bathroom one. If your household regularly runs water like a hotel — several simultaneous showers on top of laundry and dishes — this system may be undersized for you. Undersized filtration means water racing through the media faster than the media can work, and we're not selling you something that can't keep up. Congratulations on the big house. Go talk to AION WATER — as far as we can tell, the only other outfit doing filtration at this level, and they build custom systems for big homes and estates. They'll test your water, size the hardware to your flow rate, and answer the phone. Weird business model, but it takes all kinds.
KNOW YOUR PIPE DIAMETER
Before you buy a single fitting, figure out the diameter of your home's main water supply line. Most homes are plumbed with 3/4" pipe. Bigger homes are often on 1". Big places (5+ bedrooms) may be larger than that. If you're not sure, ask a plumber or whoever built the house.
Every fitting in this manual is described by type only — elbow, tee, valve, adapter — never by size. Buy every fitting in the diameter that matches your pipe. That's the whole trick. We don't know your house. You do.
COPPER VS. PEX
Whatever is inside your walls, you can use either copper or PEX for the exposed runs between components — as long as the diameter matches. Copper looks intentional. PEX looks like PEX. Both work.
Copper is easier than it used to be thanks to SharkBite push-to-connect fittings — brass fittings that grab copper or PEX with no soldering, no torch, no special tools. Push the pipe in and it locks. This manual is written for a SharkBite install.
DO YOU NEED A PLUMBER?
| SYSTEM | PLUMBER | WHY |
|---|---|---|
| THE TANK | Recommended, not required | Non-backwashing. No drain line, no electrical, no controller. Bypass valves and inlet/outlet connections — standard plumbing skills. |
| THE TANK + THE GURU | Same answer | The conditioner tank is also non-backwashing. No drain, no electrical, no salt. It's THE TANK's install, twice. |
Neither system backwashes. Neither needs a drain line or an outlet. If you can cut a pipe, push a fitting, and read the rest of this manual, you can do this in a weekend. If the word "bypass" scares you — or if you're asking yourself whether you need a plumber, because that usually means you do — get a quote from a local plumber before you buy. This manual is all any plumber worth his salt is going to need. (Yes, we know. No salt. The joke stays.)
SITE-SPECIFIC WARNING — DON'T GUESS
DON'T FILTER THE HOSE BIBS
One more thing about the cut point: the system should sit before every fixture in the house, but after the hose bibs — the outdoor spigots. Your lawn does not need commercial-grade filtered water, and every gallon that goes through the garden hose is media life you paid for running into the flower bed. Have your plumber confirm the cut lands PRE-fixtures, POST-hose bibs. The grass won't know the difference. Your media will.
EXISTING LOOP? LUCKY YOU
Many homes — especially newer builds — have a pre-installed "loop": two pipes the builder ran out of the wall specifically for water treatment equipment. This guide assumes you're creating that access point from scratch. If you have a loop:
- →Figure out which pipe is the INLET (water coming FROM the street) and which is the OUTLET (water going TO the house).
- →Loops can run vertical (down from the ceiling, up from the floor) or horizontal (side to side along a wall). Doesn't matter — the bypass in Step 3 works either way; just orient it to match.
- →Label both pipes with a permanent marker before you start. INLET. OUTLET. Once water is flowing you can't test by hand, and mistakes are a pain to unwind.
- →Can't tell which is which? Turn the water on briefly with a faucet open somewhere in the house and feel which pipe goes live first. That's your inlet. Turn the water back off.
A WORD ON MAKING IT LOOK RIGHT
Plumbers are experts at making systems work. They are not always thinking about how the install will look in ten years. Before anyone cuts anything, have two conversations:
Wall access and repair. Getting to the main may mean cutting a hole in the wall. Drywall repair is a separate trade. Sometimes the smart move is two days: Day 1 — cut the wall, access the main, run the pipes out with a temporary bypass so the house has water, patch the wall. Day 2 — install the system once the wall is repaired and dry. Once tanks are standing in front of that wall, nobody is plastering behind them. Plan the patch before the cut.
Pipe routing. Ask for pipe runs that are tight to the wall, parallel, and level in visible spaces. Five minutes of planning gets you a system that looks designed instead of improvised. You paid for commercial-grade hardware. Let it look like it.
SECTION 1 — YOUR SYSTEM
KNOW WHAT YOU BOUGHT. OR WILL BUY.
The filter tank is a 13" × 54" Enpress Vortech™ pressure vessel — a commercial-grade tank with a vortex distribution plate that spins the water through the media bed every minute of every day. It is big. Bigger than anything the residential brands ship. Designed for a peak flow of 2 simultaneous showers plus normal household draw — a dishwasher, a running tap. Every tank ships with its own bypass assembly, so any tank can be isolated for service without shutting down the house.
WHY THESE TANKS NEVER BACKWASH
THE TANK
$2,500 — SINGLE TANK WHOLE-HOUSE FILTER
One 13" × 54" tank holding 83 liters of media: BLACK IRISH catalytic carbon and THE FLUX STAGE zinc-copper redox — two powerful medias blended in a proprietary method to maximize the effectiveness of both in a single tank. Non-backwashing — no drain line, no electrical, no controller, no app. It stands there and works hard, like you.
THE TANK + THE GURU
$4,500 — THE TANK FILTER + SALT-FREE CONDITIONER
THE TANK, plus THE GURU — a 4.5" × 20" black housing (Big Blue) running salt-free NAC anti-scale conditioning media, manufactured in Germany by Watch Water — not the unnamed commodity TAC most US brands run. No brine tank, no salt bags, no slimy showers. Replace the cartridge every 3 years. That's it. The GURU bolts right onto The Tank's line with its own bypass. Non-backwashing. No electrical. No maintenance between cartridge swaps.
ADD-ONS COVERED IN THIS MANUAL
THE BOUNCERThe 4.5" × 20" pre-stage sediment filter included with every tank. Works the door so THE TANK doesn't have to deal with sand, silt, and rust. Bracket, housing, and one cartridge in the box; $20 replacement cartridges every 6 months. Its steps are below.
THE FLUSHRegeneration kit for THE TANK's carbon, every 6 months. Covered in the Owner's Guide section at the back.
THE MULEInstalls under the kitchen sink, on its own, with its own instructions. Not part of this install. Don't plumb it into the main line. Please.
That's the catalog. There is no UV chamber, no structuring device, no crystal that realigns your water's chakras. Water doesn't have chakras. It has contaminants, and we remove them.
SECTION 2 — WHAT'S IN THE BOX
OPEN IT. LABEL IT. PREP IT.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX — THE TANK
Open the box. Confirm everything's here. If something's missing, email us before you start cutting pipe.
| ITEM | NOTES |
|---|---|
| 13" × 54" tank | The big one. 83 liters of media inside. Lifts like it. |
| Clack control valve (head) | Pre-mounted on the tank. Do not remove it. |
| Bypass assembly | Clips onto the valve head. No ball valves — the bypass IS the valve. |
| 4.5" × 20" pre-filter housing + Bouncer cartridge | THE BOUNCER. Mounts on the wall before THE TANK. |
| 2 × 1" NPT nipples (for pre-filter housing) | Thread into the housing's inlet and outlet ports. Wrap with PTFE tape first. |
| Wall-mount bracket | For mounting THE BOUNCER housing to the wall. |
Not included: ball valves, SharkBite fittings, flex hoses, pipe, or anything else in the hardware store list (Section 4). The bypass is built into the valve head — you don't need separate ball valves for it.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX — THE GURU
THE GURU ships separately. Same drill — open it, confirm everything's here.
| ITEM | NOTES |
|---|---|
| 4.5" × 20" Big Blue housing | The conditioner housing. NAC cartridge pre-installed inside. |
| 3-year NAC cartridge | Pre-installed. Replace in 3 years. That's the only maintenance. |
| Wall-mount bracket | For mounting the housing to the wall, inline after THE TANK. |
| 2 × 1" NPT nipples | Thread into the housing's inlet and outlet ports. Wrap with PTFE tape first. |
Not included: same as THE TANK — ball valves, SharkBites, flex hoses, and pipe are in the hardware store list (Section 4).
TANK IDENTIFICATION (THE GURU ONLY)
Your tanks ship labeled TANK 1 (filter) and TANK 2 (conditioner). Telling them apart is easy: Tank 1 is the big 13-incher with 83 liters of media in it, and it lifts like it. Tank 2 is the smaller of the two, and it feels almost empty.
If Tank 2 feels empty, it isn't. The conditioning media inside is a crystallization technology imported from a lab in Germany, and it is extremely expensive per liter. It doesn't work by volume — it works by giving the minerals space to crystallize as the water passes through. Packing that tank full would make it work worse, not better. Less is more. Do not email us asking if we forgot to fill your tank. We didn't. We measured.
Install them in the wrong order and your system will underperform and we will both be sad. Do not remove the labels until the install is complete and verified.
CONTROL VALVES — PREP BEFORE MOUNTING
Each tank ships with a valve head, a bypass assembly, and two elbows. Before any tank goes near a wall, for every tank:
- 1.Attach the bypass assembly to the valve head.
- 2.Press the two included elbows onto the bypass assembly ports (inlet and outlet).
- 3.Confirm the bypass assembly is in the SERVICE position — not bypass — before installing.
THE BOUNCER PREP
Thread a brass male NPT nipple into the inlet port and the outlet port of the housing. Wrap all threads with plumber's tape (PTFE) first. Hand-tighten, then snug with a wrench. Do not gorilla it — the housing is plastic, your forearms are not.
SECTION 3 — TOOLS
TOOLS
| TOOL | NOTES |
|---|---|
| Pipe cutter | For copper. |
| PEX cutter | For PEX. Obviously. |
| GrooveLock-style pliers × 2 | One holds the fitting, one holds the nipple. You need both hands and both pliers for THE BOUNCER's connections (search: IRWIN VISE-GRIP GrooveLock 2078709). |
| Socket set with 3/8" socket | For the strut mounting hardware (3/8"-16 hex bolts) if you're wall-mounting THE BOUNCER. |
| Level | Tanks and strut go in level or they go in twice. |
| Drill with bits | Lag screws into studs. |
| Stud finder | Finds studs. |
| Permanent marker | For labeling INLET and OUTLET like we told you to. |
SECTION 4 — PARTS TO BUY
THE HARDWARE STORE LIST
Buy everything below in your pipe diameter (see Section 0). Buy the full quantity listed and return what you don't use — a second trip to the hardware store mid-install is how weekends die. If your home has an existing loop, you'll need fewer fittings.
| PART | QTY | WHAT IT'S FOR |
|---|---|---|
| SharkBite elbows | 6–12 | Turning corners. |
| SharkBite tees | 2 | The 3-valve bypass. |
| SharkBite couplings | 4–6 | Joining straight runs. |
| SharkBite-to-female-NPT threaded adapters | 2–4 | Connecting pipe to THE BOUNCER's nipples and anywhere else pipe meets threads. |
| Full-port ball valves (SharkBite) | 3 | Inlet isolation, outlet isolation, bypass bridge. Full-port. Don't cheap out and choke your own water pressure. |
| 12" braided stainless flex hoses | tanks + 1 | THE TANK: 2. THE GURU: 3. Get 18" only where 12" won't reach. |
| Reducing flex hoses (1" × 3/4") | as needed | Only if your pipe and valve sizes differ. |
| Brass nipples | 2+ | THE BOUNCER inlet/outlet (see Section 2). |
| PTFE plumber's tape | 2–3 rolls | Every threaded connection. Every one. |
| Pipe (copper or PEX) | 10–20 ft | The runs between everything. |
THE BOUNCER STRUT HARDWARE (IF WALL-MOUNTING)
| PART | QTY |
|---|---|
| Half-slotted strut channel, 2 ft (e.g., Superstrut — Home Depot SKU 308637577; stainless: Zoro Select 304) | 1 |
| 3/8" nylon cone nuts (the gold galvanized ones) | 2 |
| 3/8" zinc washers | 2 |
| 3/8"-16 × 1" hex bolts | 2 |
| 3" lag screws | 4 |
A 2-foot strut is plenty for one housing. Mounting it on strut means you can slide it side to side to the perfect position instead of drilling new holes when you're off by an inch. You will be off by an inch.
THE INSTALL — STEPS 1 THROUGH 11
WATER OFF. FAUCET DRY. LABELS ON. COFFEE MADE. LET'S GO.
MOUNT THE BOUNCER HOUSING
Do this before the tanks go in. Once the 54-inch tanks are standing in front of the wall, your drill isn't getting back there.
- 1.Find your studs. The housing is light empty and heavy full — it must anchor into studs, not drywall.
- 2.Cut the strut channel to length if needed.
- 3.Lag-screw the strut into at least two studs with the 3" lag screws. Check it with the level. Level. Not "close."
- 4.Drop the two cone nuts into the channel.
- 5.Mount the bracket to the cone nuts with the washers and the 3/8"-16 × 1" hex bolts. Snug — don't overtighten the nylon nuts.
- 6.Hang the housing on the bracket and confirm it's level.
THE BOUNCER ships with every tank. It catches sediment at the door so THE TANK doesn't burn through its media doing a doorman's job. Mount it. It earns its wall space.
CUT THE MAIN (SKIP IF YOU HAVE A LOOP)
- 1.Confirm — again — that the water is off at the street and a faucet runs dry.
- 2.Mark and cut out roughly a 12" section of the main supply line at your chosen access point.
- 3.Deburr both cut ends. SharkBite fittings seal against the pipe surface; a burred edge is a future leak with your name on it.
- 4.Fit an elbow to each cut end pointing out of the wall — one becomes your inlet stub, one your outlet stub.
- 5.Label them. INLET. OUTLET. Marker. Now.
BUILD THE 3-VALVE BYPASS
This is the heart of the install. Three full-port ball valves arranged so your house can run on street water any time the system needs service. Build it once, build it right.
We like a full system bypass because it gives you options for life: flip two valves and the whole house runs on plain tap water any time you want. Doing a FLUSH regen (about an hour, every 6 months) and somebody needs to run the dishwasher? Flip to tap. Nothing about a regen holds your house hostage. It's not mandatory — but it's the difference between owning the system and the system owning you.
- 1.On each stub (inlet and outlet), push on a 4–6" piece of pipe, then a SharkBite tee with the open port facing toward where the system will live.
- 2.Between the two tees, run pipe with a full-port ball valve in the middle. This is the bridge — the bypass itself.
- 3.Off the inlet tee's open port: an elbow, a short pipe, and a full-port ball valve. This is your inlet isolation valve.
- 4.Same off the outlet tee: elbow, pipe, valve. This is your outlet isolation valve.
The no-frills version: if all of this reads like more plumbing than you signed up for, you can literally just cut into the main, push a SharkBite fitting onto each cut end, and run stainless flex hoses straight to the system's elbows. That works. You give up the flip-to-tap convenience, but every tank still has its own bypass assembly, so you're never without water.
KNOW YOUR SEQUENCE
Water flows in this order. Tape this to the wall if it helps:
The conditioner tank always goes downstream of the filter tank. Not negotiable — the Owner's Guide explains why in extensive detail.
CONNECT THE BOUNCER
- 1.From the inlet isolation valve, run pipe toward the housing.
- 2.Connect pipe to the housing's inlet nipple with a SharkBite-to-NPT threaded adapter and a 12" flex hose.
- 3.Do the same from the housing's outlet nipple toward THE TANK.
- 4.Use both pairs of pliers — one holds the fitting, one holds the nipple. This is the connection people leak. Don't be people.
CONNECT THE TANK(S)
- 1.Stand each tank in position, in labeled order, on a firm, level surface. Shim if needed. Check with the level.
- 2.Confirm each tank's bypass assembly is in SERVICE position with the two elbows pressed on (you did this in Section 2).
- 3.PTFE tape on every threaded connection. Hand-tight, then snug with a wrench.
- 4.Connect the incoming run to THE TANK's inlet elbow with a 12" braided flex hose.
- 5.THE TANK: run the outlet flex toward the outlet side. Done.
- 6.THE GURU: run TANK 1's outlet flex to TANK 2's (conditioner) inlet, then TANK 2's outlet flex toward the outlet side. Tank 1 first, Tank 2 second. The labels agree with us.
CLOSE THE LOOP
Continue the run from the last tank to the outlet isolation valve and connect it. That's the whole loop: street water in one side, filtered water out the other, bypass bridge in between. Stand back and admire it for exactly one minute, then keep going.
FINAL CHECK BEFORE WATER
Walk the whole line and verify, out loud if you have to:
- Every SharkBite fitting fully seated to its depth mark
- Every NPT thread taped with PTFE and wrench-snug
- Every flex hose hand-tight plus a snug
- Bypass bridge valve CLOSED
- Inlet and outlet isolation valves OPEN
- Tank 1's bypass assembly in SERVICE
- THE GURU: Tank 2's bypass assembly in FULL BYPASS — it stays there through the soak and flush (Steps 10–11)
- THE BOUNCER cap hand-tight, cartridge seated
- Tanks standing level
RESTORE PRESSURE. SLOWLY.
Opening a street valve fast sends a pressure wave (water hammer) through everything you just built. Don't.
- 1.Open the curb stop a quarter turn. Wait 60–90 seconds.
- 2.Walk every connection. Look. Touch. Dry means dry.
- 3.No leaks after 2–3 minutes? Open to half. Wait another 60 seconds.
- 4.Open fully. Walk the line one more time.
- 5.Found a leak? Shut the water back off at the street and depressurize before you fix it. Never work a live fitting.
LET THE MEDIA SOAK
New carbon needs to wet out before it works. Only Tank 1 soaks. Tank 2 (THE WORKS' conditioner) does not need a soak — and more importantly, it must be protected from what Tank 1 is about to shed.
THE GURU: TANK 2 GOES INTO FULL BYPASS. NOW.
- 1.THE GURU only: confirm Tank 2 is in FULL BYPASS. Yes, we just said it. It's worth two mentions.
- 2.On Tank 1's bypass assembly, close the exit side and open the entry side, so the tank fills with no flow through it.
- 3.Fill the tank as much as you can. Using your ears is fine — the fill sound changes as the water rises. When it goes quiet and high, you're there.
- 4.Let it sit a minimum of 1 hour. Some people let it soak overnight. There is no such thing as too long — but there is such a thing as too short, and it's anything under an hour.
THE SHORTCUT: SOAK IT DURING THE INSTALL
THE COMMISSIONING FLUSH
After the soak, Tank 1 is loaded with carbon fines — harmless black dust that will absolutely stain your fixtures, and worse, foul Tank 2's conditioning media if you let it downstream. Flush it out before anything else sees that water.
- 1.THE GURU only: Tank 2 is still in FULL BYPASS. If it isn't, stop and fix that before you open anything.
- 2.Open the exit side of Tank 1, so water now flows through the tank.
- 3.Run a bathtub — wide open — for 10 to 20 minutes, or until the water runs totally clear, whichever is longer. It will be dusty and black for a while. That's the fines leaving. Let them.
- 4.When it runs clear, you're live. THE GURU: leave Tank 2 in bypass for a day of normal Tank 1 operation, then flip Tank 2 to SERVICE and go live for real.
The first water out will look like weak coffee, then strong coffee, then weak coffee again. That's the fines. They're fine for the drain. They are not fine for your white porcelain — so give the tub a rinse after.
DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. AND DO NOT SKIP THE BYPASS.
YOU'RE DONE.
Open a tap. That's commercial-grade filtered water, installed by you (or your plumber, who is now free to go). No onboarding call. No account manager named Chad. Take a photo of the install — partly for your records, mostly because you earned it.
SECTION 4 — THE MULE (UNDERSINK)
INSTALL THE MULE
THE MULE comes with everything most customers need to install it in just a few minutes. It uses 3/8" line — which is what most undersink cold water connections already are.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX
Everything you need. Nothing you don't.
| ITEM | NOTES |
|---|---|
| THE MULE (dual housing, pre-assembled) | Two 4.5" × 10" Big Blue housings on a bracket. Filters pre-installed. |
| Filter wrench | For housing removal during annual filter swaps. |
| John Guest 3/8" push-fit fittings | Quick-connect. No tools, no thread tape, no swearing. |
| 3/8" tubing | Enough to connect the shutoff valve to THE MULE and back out to your faucet supply. |
| Male & female adapters | Pre-installed on THE MULE. Connect to standard 3/8" undersink cold water lines. |
TOOLS
| TOOL | NOTES |
|---|---|
| Filter wrench | Included in the box. |
| GrooveLock-style pliers or similar | One pair. For snugging the adapters. |
BEFORE YOU START
- 1.Check all adapters on THE MULE are hand-tight. Tighten them if they're not.
- 2.Confirm the tanks are screwed in tight — they may have loosened in shipping.
- 3.Have a bucket ready under the sink. There will be residual water in the line.
INSTALL (5 MINUTES)
- 1.Turn off the cold water valve under the sink.
- 2.Unscrew the supply line from the shutoff valve. (Bucket. Under. Sink.)
- 3.Screw THE MULE's female adapter onto the valve — the threads you just exposed. Hand-tight, then snug with the pliers.
- 4.Screw THE MULE's male adapter into the supply line you removed in Step 2. Same deal — hand-tight, then snug.
- 5.Turn the cold water valve back on.
- 6.Run the cold tap for 30 seconds to flush any air and carbon fines.
- 7.Check for leaks. Tighten if needed. You're done.
3/8" LINE ONLY.
MAINTENANCE
Swap the filter set once a year. That's it. Replacement sets are on the parts page.
PART TWO — LIVING WITH IT
THE OWNER'S GUIDE
THE CONDITIONER TANK (THE GURU ONLY)
THE GURU is a 4.5" × 20" black housing (Big Blue) running salt-free NAC anti-scale media. Replace the cartridge every 3 years. Three things to know:
It conditions, it doesn't soften. Your water stays technically "hard" on paper — the minerals are still in there — but they're converted so they can't form scale on your pipes, water heater, or dishwasher. No salt, no slime, no 40-pound bags.
The first 4–6 weeks are descale season. The media doesn't just prevent new scale — it starts releasing old scale that's been squatting in your plumbing for years. You may notice flakes or cloudiness at some taps early on. That's the system evicting decade-old tenants. It passes.
NEVER LET FLUSH REAGENT REACH IT.
Beyond that: nothing. No regeneration, no salt, no service for the life of the media — typically 5–7 years, depending on how hard you run your water. Fuhgettaboutit. Literally.
THE FLUSH — 6-MONTH REBOOT
About an hour of work twice a year restores THE TANK to day-one performance. Or do nothing and swap the media in 3–5 years. Your call. We're not going to check. If you're flushing:
- 1.Put the house on bypass: close both isolation valves, open the bridge. The house now runs on regular municipal water — dishwasher, laundry, showers, all of it, business as usual. This is exactly why we told you to build the full system bypass.
- 2.THE GURU only: put Tank 2 (the conditioner) into FULL BYPASS — and leave it there through the entire regen, including the flush at the end. Nothing that comes out of Tank 1 during a regen is allowed anywhere near Tank 2: not the reagent (re-read the $2,000 warning above — we'll wait) and not the carbon fines the regen shakes loose.
- 3.Introduce the reagent through THE TANK's inlet exactly as the kit instructions describe. The kit has its own step-by-step. It agrees with this manual. Read both anyway.
- 4.Let it work per the kit timing.
- 5.Bring the system back online (isolation valves open, bridge closed — Tank 2 still in FULL BYPASS) and flush: run a bathtub wide open for 10–20 minutes, or until the water runs totally clear and odor-free, whichever is longer. It'll run dusty and black for a bit. That's the point.
- 6.THE GURU only: leave Tank 2 in bypass for the rest of the day while Tank 1 settles in, then flip it back to SERVICE. Done for six months.
If some reagent reaches your home plumbing anyway: not an emergency. Run the cold taps for 15–20 minutes and carry on with your life.
Need a kit? The parts counter has them — $99 each (includes a free Bouncer cartridge — $25 value). Buy it when you buy the tank and forget about it until month six.
INCLUDES 1 FLUSH PACKET + 1 FREE BOUNCER. SHIPS TO YOUR DOOR.
THE BOUNCER — CARTRIDGE SWAPS, EVERY 6 MONTHS
THE BOUNCER is your 4.5" × 20" sediment pre-filter — it lives in the black Big Blue housing mounted before THE TANK. Its job is simple: catch the dirt, sand, and sediment before it reaches the expensive media inside THE TANK. Think of it as the bouncer at the door — nothing gets in without going through him first.
Where it lives: the standalone black housing mounted on the wall, plumbed inline before THE TANK's inlet. Water enters the house, hits THE BOUNCER first, then flows clean into THE TANK.
Swap schedule: every 6 months. Same rhythm as THE FLUSH — do them in the same afternoon and you only bypass the house once. Close the isolation valves, open the bridge, relieve pressure at a tap, unscrew the housing (this is what the filter wrench is for), swap the cartridge, check the O-ring, hand-tighten the cap, restore water per Step 9. Ten minutes, tops.
Replacement cartridges are $25 at the parts counter. Buy two, do a year.
AIR IN THE LINES
After any bypass switching, taps may sputter for a few days. Run several taps for 5–10 minutes to purge. If sputtering persists past a week, something else is going on — call a plumber.
TROUBLESHOOTING
| SYMPTOM | CHECK, IN ORDER |
|---|---|
| Low water pressure | Bridge valve closed? Both isolation valves fully open? Every tank bypass in SERVICE? Flex hose kinked or obstructed? BOUNCER cartridge seated properly (a mis-seated cartridge chokes flow)? |
| SharkBite fitting leaking | Depressurize at the street first. Check the pipe was inserted to the depth mark. Pull the fitting, inspect the pipe end for burrs or scratches, re-cut clean if needed, reseat. |
| Discolored water | Normal for the first minutes after commissioning or a FLUSH — carbon fines. If it persists, repeat the flush procedure until clear. |
| Slimy shower feel | Not possible. You bought the salt-free one. Check that you're in the right house. |
APPENDIX — QUESTIONS THE MANUAL WILL ANSWER EXACTLY ONCE
QUESTIONS
Q.WHAT IF I GET STUCK?
A.Read the relevant step again. Every answer to every support call we've ever imagined is in these pages. That's why the filter costs what it costs.
Q.CAN I CALL SOMEBODY?
A.You can call a plumber near you. That's the business model. We spent the phone-guy money on better filter media.
Q.CAN I EMAIL SOMEBODY?
A.readthemanual@nomoredirtywater.com. Read the address twice. If the answer to your question is in this manual — the one you are currently reading — you will not get a response. That's not rudeness, that's the deal that made the tank affordable.
Q.WHAT'S MY PEAK FLOW?
A.The system is rated for a peak flow of 2 showers running at once plus normal household draw — a dishwasher, a running tap. If your house regularly runs more than 2 simultaneous showers, this system may be undersized. For homes that big, go see AION WATER (aionwater.co) — the only other company we'd trust with a tank, and they custom-build for large homes and estates.
Q.DO THE TANKS NEED POWER?
A.No. No electrical, no drain line, no controller, no Wi-Fi, no firmware updates at 2 a.m. The tanks contain media and resolve. That's it.
Q.HOW LONG DOES THE MEDIA LAST?
A.THE TANK's carbon: 3–5 years on its own, or keep it at day-one performance with a $99 FLUSH kit every 6 months. THE GURU (4.5" × 20" Big Blue housing): replace the cartridge every 3 years. That's it — no other maintenance. Usage determines lifespan — a full house runs through it faster than a quiet one.
Q.MY TOWN'S WATER REPORT LOOKS FINE. DID I WASTE MY MONEY?
A.Fine today. Water contamination is a moving target — new stuff shows up in supplies that tested clean the year before. You bought the thing that's standing there working either way.
DIRTY WATER CO — EST. THE CHARLES RIVER, PERFECTED IN TEXAS.
THIS MANUAL IS THE CUSTOMER SERVICE.
YOU JUST FINISHED THE SUPPORT CALL.
You've now read more about your future water filter than most people read about their mortgage. If it still looks doable — it is. If it looks like a plumber's afternoon — send him this page.
SOMETHING GENUINELY NOT IN HERE? READTHEMANUAL@NOMOREDIRTYWATER.COM. IF IT IS IN HERE, YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. NOTHING.
READ IT AGAIN.