Three oxygen atoms bound together. That is all ozone is, written O3, and WaterCare describes it as one of the most powerful natural sterilizers there is. WaterCare puts that to work inside the Ion Pro® filters we install on Hill Country wells: an ozone generator that takes the air the filter is already drawing in and converts it into ozone before it enters the tank, so the media gets cleaned with every regeneration and nothing chemical is ever added to your water.
Where it lives: the Ion Pro filter
The ozone generator is not a stand-alone unit. It is an option built into WaterCare's Ion Pro water filters, the iron and sulfur systems that live under our whole-house filters page. An Ion Pro combines an air chamber with a specialized filtration media: the air chamber oxidizes dissolved contaminants such as iron and sulfur, turning them into particles, and the media filters those particles out of the water. It does this without chemicals or salt, and it uses only the water necessary to keep pressure consistent through the house. Ozone generators are available on two models:
- IonPro Air Sulfur, for wells with the rotten-egg smell of hydrogen sulfide, usually strongest on the hot side.
- IonPro Air Iron, for wells leaving orange or rust stains in the toilet, the tub and the laundry.
What the generator does
An Ion Pro system already pulls in air as part of its operation. With the ozone generator fitted, that air is converted into ozone on its way into the tank. The additional oxygen atom is what does the work: it handles any unwanted elements that have collected inside the filter, cleaning it with every regeneration. Any ozone the cycle does not use dissipates, so the cleaning routine is chemical-free and there is nothing to refill, dose or dispose of.
Think of it as the filter keeping its own working parts clean: the oxidized iron and sulfur it traps build up in the media until regeneration flushes them, and ozone gives that cycle a sterilizing step made from air alone.
The wells it is built for
The Hill Country west and south of Spicewood is well country, and the wells carry the problems this filter exists to solve. Trinity aquifer wells toward Dripping Springs, Round Mountain and Johnson City deliver hard water with iron and, on many properties, a sulfur smell that shows up the moment the hot water runs. The Ellenburger and Hickory wells on the Llano Uplift around Marble Falls and Horseshoe Bay are inherently hard, and the Hickory carries iron. A USGS survey of Blanco County wells found iron above 0.3 mg/L, the level where staining starts, in 45 percent of samples, and sulfate above 250 mg/L in 18 percent. On a well like that, the Ion Pro filter works hard every day, and the ozone option keeps the media doing its job between service visits.
If your symptoms are staining and odor, the chemistry and the treatment options are laid out on our iron and sulfur removal page. If the well has more than one thing wrong with it, the filter becomes one stage in a larger train, which is the subject of well water treatment.
How we decide if you need it
We do not sell the ozone option off a symptom description. Every recommendation starts with a water test: iron, hydrogen sulfide, hardness, pH and, on a well, bacteria. The iron and sulfur numbers, together with how the water behaves on the hot side and how much of it the house uses, tell us which Ion Pro model fits and whether the ozone generator belongs on it. On some wells a standard Ion Pro is the right answer; on a heavier load, the chemical-free cleaning routine at each regeneration is worth having.
Installation and upkeep
The filter is installed at the point of entry, ahead of any softener, by our own crews, plumbed and set to code, and commissioned with the well running. The ozone generator comes as part of the Ion Pro unit rather than as a separate box to plumb in, so there is no solution tank and no chemical feed line to maintain. What you take on is the normal upkeep of an iron or sulfur filter: keeping the regeneration schedule matched to the load, and a retest whenever the water changes on you. Absolute Water Solutions is a TCEQ-licensed water treatment specialist (license WT001370), insured, and based in Spicewood since 2003.
If your well is staining fixtures or smelling of sulfur, call (512) 587-8188 or request a free estimate. We test the water first, then tell you whether an Ion Pro filter, with or without the ozone generator, is the right fit.