SMART + Aluminum Oxide Fluoride Reduction Filter Cartridge

If your city adds fluoride and disinfects with chlorine, you are filtering for two very different things. One cartridge can handle both, and this one does it without any animal-derived media.

The SMART + Aluminum Oxide Fluoride Reduction Filter Cartridge combines Crystal Quest aluminum oxide fluoride media with SMART multi-media filtration: coconut shell GAC, Eagle Redox Alloy 6500 and 9500, and two 1-micron filtration pads. It is interchangeable with the standard SMART + Calcium GAC Fluoride Reduction Cartridge and fits the same position.

At a glance

• Two treatments, one cartridge: aluminum oxide for fluoride plus SMART media for chlorine taste and odor
• Non-animal fluoride media: synthetic crystalline aluminum oxide in tough, uniform granules
• Crystal Quest redox media: ERA 6500 and ERA 9500 add chlorine and metals reduction
• Two 1-micron pads hold the media in place and catch fine particles
• Four sizes, 0.5 to 6 GPM, for countertop, under-sink and whole house housings

What you are looking at

A sealed cartridge shell with polypropylene end caps, polyolefin inner and outer wraps and polyethylene netting. Inside, aluminum oxide granules share the shell with black coconut shell carbon and the metallic ERA granules, held between two 1-micron filtration pads. The size and part number are printed on the label.

How the two halves work

Half one: aluminum oxide captures fluoride

Aluminum oxide is a synthetic crystalline mineral, processed into tough, uniform granules with a minimum of fines. Fluoride is drawn to its surface and held there through adsorption and chemical reaction, so it leaves the water and stays on the media. The reaction is sensitive to flow and pH: it works best in slightly acidic water (Crystal Quest's media data sheet gives pH 5.5 as the optimum) and at slow flow, and capacity drops when flow is high or pH moves well away from that point. The same surface also adsorbs some dissolved metals.

Half two: SMART media handles chlorine and more

Coconut shell GAC adsorbs organic chemicals and the compounds behind chemical tastes and odors, and it converts free chlorine to harmless chloride. Eagle Redox Alloy is Crystal Quest's copper-zinc redox media: ERA 6500 targets chlorine and ERA 9500 targets ferrous iron and hydrogen sulfide, and the redox reaction also holds some dissolved heavy metals on the media.

Why pair them

Aluminum oxide prefers water with little free chlorine; its data sheet sets a 1 ppm maximum. That is one reason Crystal Quest places the SMART stage ahead of the fluoride stage in multi-housing systems. This cartridge puts both into one shell, so a single housing delivers fluoride reduction and SMART filtration together. With room for two housings, a standalone SMART cartridge followed by an Aluminum Oxide Fluoride Reduction Filter Cartridge gives each media a full shell of its own.

What it reduces

Primary targets: fluoride (inorganic fluoride in municipal water) and chlorine with its taste and odor.

Also addressed by the media (capabilities of the media, not separate tested ratings for this cartridge):

• Some dissolved metals, through the aluminum oxide surface and the ERA redox media
• Some dissolved organic chemicals, through the coconut shell carbon
• Fine particles, through the two 1-micron pads

Not designed to treat: bacteria and viruses, nitrate, arsenic as a dedicated stage, hardness or total dissolved solids (TDS).

Is it right for my water? It is built for inorganic fluoride in municipal water. For fluoride from a well or another natural source, or organic fluoride, talk to a Crystal Quest specialist first. Calcium GAC (bone char) is Crystal Quest's standard fluoride media; choose this aluminum oxide version when you prefer a media that is not animal-derived or your system specifies it.

Why Crystal Quest

• Your choice of fluoride media. Crystal Quest offers both bone char and aluminum oxide fluoride combinations, so you can match your preference without giving up SMART filtration.
• Media we name. Aluminum oxide and ERA each have a Crystal Quest data sheet, summarized in the Specifications tab.
• One housing, two jobs. The right answer when your system has a single fluoride housing or you want to free a stage.
• 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

• Single fluoride systems that specify the SMART and aluminum oxide combination use this one blended cartridge.
• Not a drop-in for every SMART slot: a standard SMART position, a reverse osmosis pre-filter or a whole house RO stage takes a standard SMART cartridge unless your system calls for this combination.

Choose the size printed on your current cartridge or in your order history: 2-7/8" x 9-3/4" (CQE-RC-04049), 2-7/8" x 20" (CQE-RC-04094), 4-5/8" x 9-3/4" (CQE-RC-04095) or 4-5/8" x 20" (CQE-RC-04096).

Common questions

Published cartridge specifications

Published ratings apply to the selected cartridge and listed conditions. Capacity is an estimate that depends on incoming water contaminants and usage.

Media inside (Crystal Quest data sheets)