Loaded Replacement Tanks

Why Replace the Tank, Not the Whole Softener

The control head and brine tank often outlast the resin. When you replace the resin tank on your water softener, you keep the parts that still work and renew the part that does the softening. It's a smaller job and a smaller spend than starting over with a complete system.

Signs Your Softener Resin Is Worn Out

• Hard water returns soon after the softener regenerates.
• Spots, scale, and soap scum come back even though the softener cycles normally.
• Small resin beads show up in faucet aerators or fixtures.
• Capacity keeps dropping, so the system regenerates more often to keep up.

Resin beads in your fixtures often point to a cracked distributor, which a loaded tank replaces too. If your water supply hasn't changed, worn resin is the likely cause of the rest. A water test confirms whether something else, such as iron, is fouling the resin.

Preloaded Tank vs Rebedding It Yourself

Rebedding means draining the tank, removing the control head, shoveling out the old resin, and pouring new resin back in through a narrow opening around the riser. It's heavy, messy work.

A loaded tank skips all of it: swap the tank, move the head, and you're done. If you'd rather rebed your existing tank, loose softening resin is available too.

What's Included in Every Loaded Tank

Every water softener tank replacement on this page arrives ready to accept your control head:

• A mineral tank in your chosen size, with Pentair tanks on most softener options
• Resin or media, preloaded
• A 1-inch riser tube with distributor basket
• A standard 2.5"-8 NPSM tank opening
• A choice of tank color on many listings

The control head and brine tank are not included because you reuse the ones you already have.

Fits Most Control Heads

A standard 2.5"-8 NPSM opening with a 1-inch riser fits most residential control heads, including common Fleck and Pentair control heads. Before you choose a tank, confirm that your valve uses a 1-inch riser and a standard 2.5-inch tank thread. If your control head is failing too, replacing both at once restores the whole system.

Choose Your Tank Size

The simplest replacement water softener tank is the same size as the one you have now. Matching diameter and height keeps your plumbing, bypass, and brine line right where they are. Whether you run a single tank softener at home or in a small business, these are the sizes available:

Measuring Your Current Tank

Measure the tank's diameter and its height to the top of the tank opening, not including the control head. Sizes are listed as diameter x height in inches, so a 10 x 54 tank is about 10 inches across and 54 inches tall.

Sizing Up for More Capacity

Capacity scales with resin volume. The 1.5 cu ft 10% crosslink tank, for example, is rated to remove up to 48,000 grains of hardness between regenerations.

If your household has grown or your softener regenerates more often than you'd like, a larger tank may fit better. Check the softener sizing guide before stepping up, and make sure the taller tank fits your space.

Choose Your Resin

Resin type decides how long the tank lasts, what it costs, and what else it can handle besides hardness. A water test tells you which one suits your supply.

High Capacity Resin

Standard softening resin for low-cost softening of everyday hard water. It's a dependable choice for well and city water without unusual challenges.

10% Crosslink Resin

A tougher, more tightly bonded resin bead built for longer resin life. Higher crosslink resin also holds up better to chlorinated city water, so it's a smart upgrade when you want the longest time between replacements.

Purolite High Capacity Resin

High-capacity softening resin from Purolite, a well-known resin manufacturer. It's the pick when you want a name-brand resin in your tank.

Fine Mesh Resin

Fine mesh resin has smaller beads with more surface area, which helps a softener handle ferrous (clear-water) iron along with hardness. It doesn't replace a dedicated iron filter at higher iron levels, so test your water first.

Custom Loaded Tank

Have a specific resin in mind? The Custom Loaded Tank - 9"x48" is loaded with the resin you choose.

Beyond Softening: Carbon, pH and Sediment Tanks

The same ready-to-install approach works for other treatment tanks. Each arrives preloaded, so you can refresh the media without rebedding.

• Activated carbon tanks in 9 x 48 (1 cu ft), 10 x 54 (1.5 cu ft), 12 x 48 (2 cu ft) and 12 x 52 (2 cu ft) reduce tastes, odors, and chemicals.
• Loaded 1 cu ft calcite with Corosex added Tank Replacement - 9x48 raises pH in acidic water, with Corosex added for water that is very acidic.
• Air Injection Silver 10 Tank Replacement - 10x54 with 1 cu ft Sediment Media is a preloaded sediment tank for Air Injection Silver systems.

pH correction and specialty media depend on your water chemistry, so confirm with a water test before you choose.

Resin Tank or Brine Tank: Which One Needs Replacing?

A softener has two tanks that do very different jobs. The resin tank softens the water. The brine tank holds the salt and makes the brine that recharges the resin. Knowing which one has failed saves you from buying the wrong part.

• Replace the resin tank when softening fades, hardness returns soon after regeneration, or resin beads appear in your fixtures.
• Replace the brine tank when it's cracked or leaking, or its float or safety valve is damaged.

When the brine tank is the problem, a water softener brine tank replacement is the fix, not a new resin tank. Our replacement brine tanks cover that job.

Swapping In Your Loaded Tank

Replacing a resin tank is a manageable project for a handy homeowner. Loaded tanks are heavy, so plan on two people to move one. Here's how the swap goes:

1. Put the softener in bypass and turn off the water supply.
2. Relieve the pressure by running a cold water tap.
3. Unplug the softener and disconnect the brine line.
4. Unthread the control head from the old tank.
5. Lubricate the control head O-rings with silicone lubricant and thread the head onto the new tank.
6. Reconnect the brine line and power, then slowly open the water supply to let air escape.
7. Run a manual regeneration once the tank is full.

Your control head's manual covers any model-specific steps.