Crystal Quest 5 Micron Coconut Carbon Block Filter Cartridge

A coconut carbon block filter cartridge is the proven way to deal with chlorine in city water: the smell of a swimming pool in your glass, coffee that tastes slightly wrong, a chemical scent in the shower.

Crystal Quest makes this replacement as one solid piece of acid-washed coconut shell activated carbon with a 5 micron rating. It lowers chlorine taste and odor, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and fine dirt, so whatever your setup, be it whole house, RO, under-sink or countertop, the water tastes fresh once more. Four sizes are available for standard 2.5 x 10, 2.5 x 20, 5 x 10 and 5 x 20 inch housings, Crystal Quest equipment included.

Coconut carbon block cartridge highlights

• Fresher-tasting water: less chlorine taste and odor and fewer VOCs, the two targets named on each label.
• One stage doing double duty: it adsorbs chemicals and strains out particles as small as 5 microns.
• Acid-washed coconut shell carbon, pressed solid yet with little pressure loss, so you keep good flow.
• Flow from 0.5 to 6 GPM depending on size, covering whole house, RO, under-sink and countertop use.
• Long-lasting: plan on 12 to 24 months, with roughly 18 months as the norm in most homes.

What the cartridge looks like

The photos match what arrives at your door. You see a dark carbon core wrapped in a polyolefin casing and polypropylene netting. Polypropylene caps close both ends, and on top a Buna-N gasket presses against the housing cap to seal it.

The label lists the part numbers, the allowed pressure range and how to replace the cartridge, so changing it next time takes little thought.

How a carbon block water filter works

Adsorption across a vast inner surface

To activate carbon, it is exposed to steam at very high heat until countless microscopic pores open up inside it. Those pores add up to an enormous surface. Many organic chemicals, plus the substances responsible for chlorine taste and odor, stick to it as water passes, a process known as adsorption.

Why acid-washed coconut shell

For this block Crystal Quest chose carbon from coconut shells and adds an acid wash, a further treatment that boosts the carbon's ability to remove contaminants. The outcome is dense, clean carbon made with drinking water in mind.

Why a solid block beats loose granules

Granular activated carbon (GAC) can adsorb, but particles slip between the granules. Compressing the carbon into a single block adds a straining effect, trapping anything above 5 microns while it adsorbs. So one housing gives you both carbon treatment and the removal of fine sediment.

Contact time makes the difference

Water that spends more time in the carbon gives it more chance to adsorb. That is why the rated flow differs per size: 0.5 GPM for the 2-7/8" x 9-3/4" model, up to 6 GPM for the 4-5/8" x 20" model. Only a modest amount of carbon is needed for taste and odor compounds, which largely explains why the water keeps tasting fresh for months.

What this carbon block filter reduces

Main targets, listed on the label:

• Chlorine taste and odor
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
• Dirt and particles down to 5 microns

Lowered by activated carbon as well, when present (this is what the media can do in general, not an individually tested rating of this cartridge):

• Certain pesticides and herbicides, atrazine for example
• Some disinfection byproducts, trihalomethanes (THMs) for example
• Further organic compounds that spoil taste and smell

Chloramine: activated carbon can lower it, but catalytic carbon does that job better than an ordinary block. If your utility disinfects with chloramine, add a SMART Filter Cartridge: catalytic carbon is part of its media blend.

Beyond what it treats: microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses, hardness, fluoride, nitrate, total dissolved solids, and lead or other heavy metals. Crystal Quest handles each of these with a dedicated stage, such as its Lead Filter Cartridge, SMART cartridges or reverse osmosis.

Why choose Crystal Quest

• Built into Crystal Quest's own equipment. The same block is used in its double and triple cartridge systems, in Thunder under-sink RO systems and in whole house RO pre-filtration, so you replace like with like.
• Real measurements, not nominal ones. Every size is stated as the cartridge's true diameter and length.
• Over 1,000,000 customers since 1994. Production takes place in the USA under ISO 9001 quality management, as it has for over 30 years.

Systems it fits

• Double cartridge systems: first position, with SMART after it
• Triple cartridge systems: third position, behind sediment and SMART
• Specialty triple systems: first position, with SMART and the specialty cartridge after it
• Thunder under-sink RO: the third pre-filter behind UF and SMART, shielding the membrane
• Whole house RO with three pre-filter housings: behind sediment and SMART
• Metal Removal triple cartridge systems: third position, behind the iron cartridge and SMART

Order the size listed on the cartridge you use now, or check a previous order: 2-7/8" x 9-3/4" (CQE-RC-04000), 2-7/8" x 20" (CQE-RC-04014), 4-5/8" x 9-3/4" (CQE-RC-04035) or 4-5/8" x 20" (CQE-RC-04036).

Common questions