View the chlorine reduction test report for this cartridge (IAPMO R&T Lab report 2295-20552) Water that smells faintly of chlorine. Ice that tastes like the tap. A fridge pitcher that only gets you halfway to water you actually want to drink. The cartridge is what does the work, and this one does five jobs, not one. The Standard/SMART Water Pitcher Cartridge is the everyday water pitcher filter replacement for the Crystal Quest Water Pitcher Filter System. Five stages of SMART media target chlorine, VOCs, THMs and heavy metals, along with bad taste and odor, and each cartridge lasts about 2,000 gallons, typically 6 to 12 months. That is far longer than the basic carbon pitcher filters most people are used to changing. At a glance
Five stages in one cartridge: ERA 6500 and ERA 9500 redox media, ion exchange resin, coconut shell GAC and catalytic carbon
Independently lab tested for chlorine: 97.3 percent average reduction across a 40-gallon NSF/ANSI 42 test (report linked above)
About 2,000 gallons per cartridge, typically 6 to 12 months
Simple prep: soak, rinse, press in, pour off the first two pitchers
Packs of 2, 4 and 6 so the next change is already in the cupboard
What you are looking at A slim cartridge with mesh inlet screens on top. It presses into the bottom of your pitcher's reservoir, where it forms a seal so every drop poured into the reservoir has to pass through the media to reach the pitcher below. Cartridge color can change between production runs; the part number, CQE-RC-04047, stays the same. How the five stages work A pitcher filters by gravity. Water trickles through the cartridge instead of being pushed by line pressure, so it spends more time in contact with the media than it would in a faucet or shower filter. That slow pass is what lets a pitcher cartridge carry five different media and give each one time to do its job. Redox media: ERA 6500 and ERA 9500 (two stages) ERA (Eagle Redox Alloy) is Crystal Quest's own high-purity copper-zinc granular media. It works by redox, an exchange of electrons between the metals and dissolved contaminants. ERA 6500 is the chlorine specialist. ERA 9500 targets iron and hydrogen sulfide. Together they also go after dissolved heavy metals. Ion exchange resin Resin beads carry exchange sites that trade harmless ions for dissolved metal ions as water passes. The resin in the SMART blend is chosen for its selectivity toward heavy metals. Coconut shell granular activated carbon Activated carbon is full of microscopic pores with an enormous internal surface. Organic chemicals such as VOCs and THMs, and the compounds behind chlorine taste and odor, are attracted to that surface and held there. This is adsorption, and it is the reason filtered water tastes clean. Catalytic carbon Catalytic carbon is activated carbon processed to be more chemically active, so it treats chlorine-family disinfectants by reaction on its surface as well as by adsorption. It is the finishing stage that keeps taste and odor in check. What it reduces Primary targets:
Chlorine taste and odor (independently lab tested)
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Trihalomethanes (THMs)
Heavy metals
Bad taste and odor
Not designed to treat: fluoride, arsenic, nitrate or total dissolved solids, and it is not for water that is microbiologically unsafe or of unknown quality. For fluoride or arsenic, swap in the SMART/Fluoride Removal or SMART/Arsenic Removal cartridge, which fit the same pitcher. Why Crystal Quest
Five stages in one cartridge. Two Crystal Quest redox alloys, ion exchange resin and two types of carbon, each doing a different job.
Tested, with the report shown. The NSF/ANSI 42 chlorine report for this exact cartridge is linked at the top of this page.
Long life. About 2,000 gallons per cartridge means fewer changes and less plastic in the trash.
Made in the USA. Over 1,000,000 people served since 1994, under ISO 9001 quality management.
Where it fits This is the standard replacement cartridge for the Crystal Quest Water Pitcher Filter System in every pitcher color, and the one the pitcher manual names. The same pitcher also accepts four specialty cartridges, so you can change what your pitcher does without changing pitchers:
SMART/Fluoride Removal for fluoride
SMART/Arsenic Removal for arsenic
Alkalizing to enhance alkalinity
Demineralizer (DI) for low-TDS water for non-drinking uses
Common questions
How long does the pitcher cartridge last? Approximately 2,000 gallons, typically 6 to 12 months. Replace it sooner if taste, odor or flow changes. Actual life depends on feed water quality, system configuration and usage. How do I prepare a new cartridge? Soak it upright in cold water for 20 minutes, rinse it under cold running water for 10 to 15 seconds, press it firmly into the reservoir, then fill and discard the first two full pitchers. The soak and discard steps are for first use only. Why do I see dark specks in the filtered water? Fine media particles can escape a new...
