Crystal Quest Whole House RO Filter Pack for 200-400 GPD Systems

This whole house RO filter pack replaces all pre-filter stages of Crystal Quest's 200, 300 and 400 GPD whole house reverse osmosis systems in one order. The membrane may get the praise for clean water, yet it's the pre-filters that determine how long it survives: sediment scratches and blocks it, and chlorine eats away at it. Changing the pre-filters when they're due is the cheapest way to look after a whole house RO.

Pick your whole house RO filter pack

• Prefilter pack: just the three cartridges, no membrane included.
• Complete replacement pack, 200 or 300 GPD: the three prefilters together with one 2.5" x 14" RO membrane (CQE-RC-04111).
• Complete replacement pack, 400 GPD: the three prefilters together with one 2.5" x 21" RO membrane (CQE-RC-04084).

Look at the size printed on the membrane you have now before you order, because older 300 GPD systems can use another membrane size.

Every Complete replacement pack is a one-off purchase, not a subscription. Prefilters usually last 12 to 24 months, around 18 months in most homes, or one year where the supply is chlorinated. RO membranes last 2 to 3 years. How long they actually last depends on your water, the system's configuration and your usage.

Key features

• Three cartridges, swapped together: sediment (CQE-RC-04015), SMART (CQE-RC-04016) and carbon block (CQE-RC-04014), so every stage starts over fresh at the same time.
• Guards the membrane: traps particles as small as 5 microns and cuts chlorine and chloramine before the water gets to the RO element.
• Slim 2-7/8" x 20" cartridges made for 2.5" x 20" housings.
• Usual replacement every 12 to 24 months, roughly 18 months for most households, and once a year if your city chlorinates.
• Prefilter pack comes without a membrane.

What's inside the pack

You get three cartridges, listed in install order starting at the inlet:

• Pleated sediment cartridge: cellulose media around a polypropylene core, closed with vinyl plastisol caps.
• SMART cartridge: one cartridge filled with coconut shell carbon, catalytic carbon, redox alloy, ion-exchange resin, ceramic and tourmaline media.
• Carbon block: a solid 5-micron block made from acid-washed coconut shell activated carbon.

Every cartridge matches the part number that Crystal Quest's replacement tables give; none is a generic copy.

How three pre-filter stages protect an RO membrane

Stage 1: sediment

Because the cellulose is pleated, it offers a big filtering surface that can hold plenty of dirt while still filtering to 5 microns. It removes rust, sand and silt that would block the feed channels of the membrane and burden the next stages.

Stage 2: SMART

Here several media each do their own task at the same time. Catalytic carbon goes after chloramine, which ordinary carbon handles less well. Coconut shell carbon adsorbs organic chemicals and chlorine, while metals are handled by the ion-exchange and redox alloy media.

Stage 3: carbon block

The densely bonded coconut carbon block keeps water in contact with the carbon for a long time. It strips out leftover chlorine, compounds that cause taste and odor, plus fine particles to 5 microns, as the final barrier in front of the membrane.

Why removing chlorine is so important

The TFC membranes used in Crystal Quest's whole house RO systems tolerate less than 1 ppm chlorine. Any chlorine that gets past worn-out pre-filters gradually harms the surface of the membrane, and that harm is permanent.

Replacing the pre-filters on schedule is how you keep both the membrane and the whole system around it protected.

What the pack reduces

Main targets, the work that keeps your RO membrane safe:

• Sediment and suspended particles to 5 microns, like rust, silt and sand
• Chlorine and chloramine; if chlorine gets to the TFC membrane it causes damage that cannot be undone
• Chlorine taste and odor

Reduced as well by the carbon and SMART media: VOCs plus other organic chemicals, as well as various metals. Results vary with the contaminant, the quality of the incoming water, the flow and the state of the cartridge.

Not meant for: hardness, salts or total dissolved solids. Those are handled by the RO membrane, which isn't part of the Prefilter pack.

About Crystal Quest

• Matched parts: exactly the three part numbers in Crystal Quest's replacement tables, in the correct sizes.
• Crystal Quest's own SMART blend, designed to tackle both chlorine and chloramine.
• In business since 1994, with more than 1,000,000 people served. Crystal Quest follows ISO 9001 quality management and has manufactured in the USA for three decades and more.

Where it fits

Systems of 200, 300 and 400 GPD are covered by this pack range. Crystal Quest specifies these three part numbers for both the 300 and 400 GPD Whole House Reverse Osmosis System and also the 200 and 300 GPD Low-Flow Reverse Osmosis System.

Not sure? Compare the part numbers on the cartridges you have now. RO cartridges can't be returned, so contact us beforehand and we can confirm it fits.

Common questions