Filtered Tap System vs Standalone Filters: Which Setup Fits Your Kitchen?

If you have already decided carbon filtration is the right technology for your household, there is a second decision most guides skip: a single combined cartridge, or two separate sediment and carbon stages. Both are carbon filtration. They are not the same setup.

The All-In-One Cartridge

A system built around a single combined cartridge, such as our all-in-one replacement filter, is the simplest possible configuration: one housing, one cartridge, one job. It is the standard fit for the Filtered Tap System (available in Silver Chrome and Matte Black) and comparable single-housing setups, including the new Pull Out Filtered Tap System, and it is rated for a 12-month replacement interval, longer than either of its component technologies would be running alone in a twin setup.

The trade-off is that sediment and carbon media share one cartridge rather than each getting a full-sized stage of their own. For most Australian town water supplies, which are already reasonably low in suspended sediment, this is not a meaningful limitation. For a supply with higher sediment load, such as tank or bore water, it can mean more frequent replacement than the standard interval suggests.

The Twin Housing Setup

A twin housing runs sediment and carbon as two separate, full-sized stages, each doing one job without sharing media space with the other. This is the higher-capacity option, better suited to households with heavier water use, a supply with more sediment, or anyone who wants each stage sized independently rather than combined. It requires two housings under the sink instead of one, and both cartridges are replaced together as a combo set on the standard 6-month cycle.

Which One Fits Your Kitchen

Under-sink space is the first practical constraint: a single-housing all-in-one setup has a smaller footprint. Water quality is the second: standard town water suits the combined cartridge well, while tank, bore or otherwise sediment-heavy supplies benefit from the extra capacity of a twin housing. Replacement frequency preference is the third: 12 months of not thinking about it, versus 6-month cycles with each stage sized for its specific job.

Neither Removes Fluoride or Chloramine to a High Standard

This applies to both configurations equally. If fluoride or chloramine removal is a priority for your household, see our guides on whether water filters remove fluoride and chloramine in Australian tap water before choosing a carbon-only setup of either kind.