200-400 GPD Whole House RO Filter Pack

Choose your replacement pack

Prefilter pack: the cartridge set only, without an RO membrane.

• Complete replacement pack, 200 or 300 GPD: the 3 prefilters plus 1 x 2.5" x 14" RO membrane (CQE-RC-04111).
• Complete replacement pack, 400 GPD: the 3 prefilters plus 1 x 2.5" x 21" RO membrane (CQE-RC-04084).

Check the size printed on your current membrane before ordering. Older 300 GPD systems may use a different membrane size.

Complete replacement packs are one-time purchases. Replace prefilters typically every 12 to 24 months, about 18 months for most homes; once a year on chlorinated city water. Replace RO membranes every 2 to 3 years. Actual life depends on feed water quality, system configuration and usage.

The RO membrane gets the credit for purified water, but the pre-filters decide how long it lasts. Sediment scratches and clogs it, and chlorine attacks it. Fresh pre-filters are the cheapest insurance a whole house RO owner can buy.

The Prefilter pack holds the three pre-filter cartridges for a 200, 300 or 400 GPD Crystal Quest whole house RO system: a pleated cellulose sediment cartridge, a SMART cartridge and a coconut-based carbon block cartridge, each 2-7/8" x 20". One order renews every pre-filter stage at once, so all three start fresh together.

At a glance

• Three cartridges, one change: sediment (CQE-RC-04015), SMART (CQE-RC-04016) and carbon block (CQE-RC-04014)
• Protects the membrane: captures particles down to 5 microns and reduces chlorine and chloramine before water reaches the RO element
• Slim 2-7/8" x 20" size for 2.5" x 20" housings
• Typical replacement 12 to 24 months, about 18 months for most homes, and once a year on chlorinated city water
• Prefilter pack: membrane not included

What is in the pack

Three cartridges in the order they install, inlet first. The pleated sediment cartridge uses cellulose media wrapped around a polypropylene core, with vinyl plastisol end caps. The SMART cartridge combines coconut shell carbon, catalytic carbon, redox alloy, ion-exchange resin, ceramic and tourmaline media in one cartridge. The carbon block is a solid block of acid-washed coconut shell activated carbon rated at 5 microns. Each is the same part listed in Crystal Quest's own replacement tables, not a generic look-alike.

How the three stages protect your RO membrane

Stage 1: sediment

The pleats give the cellulose media a large surface, so it holds a lot of dirt while filtering to 5 microns. It removes sand, silt and rust particles that would otherwise plug the membrane's feed channels and load the stages after it.

Stage 2: SMART

Several media do different jobs at once. Catalytic carbon targets chloramine, which standard carbon reduces less effectively. Coconut shell carbon adsorbs chlorine and organic chemicals, while the redox alloy and ion-exchange media work on metals.

Stage 3: carbon block

The tightly bonded coconut carbon block gives water a long contact time with the carbon, polishing out remaining chlorine, taste and odor compounds, and fine particles down to 5 microns. It is the last guard before the membrane.

Why chlorine removal matters so much

The thin-film composite membrane in a Crystal Quest whole house RO system tolerates less than 1 ppm chlorine. Chlorine that slips past spent pre-filters slowly damages the membrane surface, and that damage does not reverse. Changing pre-filters on time is how you protect the membrane and the system around it.

What it reduces

Primary targets (the jobs that protect your RO membrane):

• Sediment and suspended particles down to 5 microns, such as sand, silt and rust particles
• Chlorine and chloramine; chlorine that reaches the thin-film composite membrane damages it, and that damage does not reverse
• Chlorine taste and odor

Also reduced by the SMART and carbon media: volatile organic compounds and other organic chemicals, and a range of metals. Performance depends on the contaminant, incoming water quality, flow and cartridge condition.

Not designed to treat: total dissolved solids, hardness or salts. That is the RO membrane's job, and the membrane is not included in the Prefilter pack.

Why Crystal Quest

• Exact parts for your system, the same three part numbers our replacement tables list, in the right sizes.
• Our own SMART media blend, built to handle chloramine as well as chlorine.
• Over 1,000,000 people served since 1994. Crystal Quest builds under ISO 9001 quality management, has made water filtration in the USA for over 30 years and offers lifetime support by phone, email or chat.

Where it fits

The pack family covers 200, 300 and 400 GPD systems. The same three part numbers are listed for the 300 and 400 GPD Whole House Reverse Osmosis System and the 200 and 300 GPD Low-Flow Reverse Osmosis System. Check the part numbers on your current cartridges if you are unsure. RO filter cartridges are not returnable under our refund policy, so call us first and we will confirm the match.

Common questions