Ceramic Water Filter Cartridge

Fine grit in the bottom of a glass. Cloudy water after a storm. A countertop or under-sink filter that needs one more, finer line of defense. This ceramic cartridge is that line: a 1 micron ceramic wall that water has to squeeze through, and that you can wipe clean and reuse for well over a year.

It gives a Crystal Quest countertop or under-sink system a very fine mechanical filtration stage. The ceramic physically traps fine sediment, rust, silt and asbestos fibers, and holds back cysts and many bacteria by size, without adding anything to the water. Once a month you take it out, wipe the outside, rinse it under cold water and put it back.

At a glance

• 1 micron ceramic: five times finer than a standard 5 micron sediment cartridge
• Physical filtration only: no chemicals added, nothing released into the water
• Self-cleanable: a monthly wipe and cold rinse restores the surface; built for about 30 cleanings
• Replace every 18 to 24 months for best performance
• One size: 2-7/8" x 9-3/4", part CQE-RC-04005, for standard 2.5" x 10" housings

How a ceramic water filter works

A wall of microscopic pores

Ceramic filtration is one of the oldest methods for reducing bacteria in drinking water. Filter-grade ceramic is made from fine mineral particles fired into a hard, porous body. The gaps between those fused particles form a winding network of pores rated at 1 micron, one millionth of a meter. Water can push through; particles larger than the pores cannot, so they collect on the outer surface and in the outermost layer of the ceramic.

Surface filtration you can clean

Because the ceramic is rigid, what it catches builds up mostly on the outside instead of loading deep into the media the way a spun or pleated cartridge does. Wiping that surface removes the buildup and brings back the flow, which is why one ceramic cartridge can do the work of several disposable sediment filters.

What 1 micron catches

Silt, clay, rust and other fine particles, the thin mineral fibers called asbestos that can come from aging asbestos-cement water mains, and, because of their size, protozoan cysts and many bacteria. Viruses are far smaller and pass through.

What ceramic does not do

Ceramic works by size alone. It is a physical filter, not a treatment for unsafe water, and viruses are small enough to pass through. It also does not adsorb chemicals the way carbon does, so chlorine, VOCs, lead and fluoride pass through. Pair it with a SMART or carbon stage for those, and with UV or reverse osmosis if your water may be microbiologically unsafe.

What you are looking at

An off-white, rigid ceramic filter element, 2-7/8" across and 9-3/4" long, closed at each end by a black end cap with a gasket that seals in the housing. Water flows from the outside of the ceramic to the center and out through the end cap. The outer ceramic surface is the part you wipe clean.

Maintenance and care

Clean it once a month.

1. Turn off the water to the filter and open the faucet to release pressure. Place a towel or drip pan underneath.
2. Unscrew the housing and lift out the ceramic cartridge. Handle it gently: ceramic is hard but can crack if dropped or knocked.
3. Wipe the entire outer ceramic surface with a clean, damp cloth to clear the residue and trapped particles.
4. Rinse the cartridge under cold running water.
5. Put it back in the housing, centered and fully seated, and screw the housing back on without overtightening.
6. Turn the water on slowly, check for leaks and let it run for a few minutes before use.

When to replace it. The ceramic is built to handle about 30 monthly cleanings, but we recommend a fresh cartridge every 18 to 24 months for best performance. Replace it sooner if it is cracked or chipped, or if cleaning no longer brings the flow back. Actual life depends on your water and how much you use.

What it reduces

• Fine sediment: silt, clay, rust and other suspended particles down to about 1 micron
• Asbestos fibers
• Cysts and many bacteria, held back by physical filtration

Not designed to treat: viruses, chlorine and chloramine, VOCs, lead and other dissolved metals, fluoride, nitrate, hardness or total dissolved solids. Ceramic is a physical filter, not a treatment for unsafe water: do not use it where the water is microbiologically unsafe or of unknown quality without adequate treatment before or after the system. For a finer membrane barrier, see the Ultrafiltration (UF) Water Filter Membrane. For chlorine, taste and odor, add the SMART Filter Cartridge.

Where it fits

• Crystal Quest ceramic systems: every configuration of the Ceramic Countertop Water Filter System and the Ceramic Under Sink Water Filter System uses this cartridge, part CQE-RC-04005
• One size: 2-7/8" x 9-3/4", the actual size for housings often described as 2.5" x 10"
• Keep the stage your system specifies: ceramic is a different medium from carbon block, GAC or SMART, so it is not a substitute for them

Why Crystal Quest

• Clean it, do not toss it. One cartridge, about 30 cleanings, replaced every 18 to 24 months.
• Honest about what it does. We tell you what ceramic catches and what it does not, so you can build the right system.
• Over 1,000,000 people served since 1994. Crystal Quest builds under ISO 9001 quality management and has made water filtration in the USA for over 30 years.
• Lifetime support. Call us before your first cleaning and our team will walk you through it.

Common questions