Review on Filtrete Standard Capacity Grooved Whole House Water Filters - Basic Filtration (2 Pack, Lasts 3 Months) by Abbie Garcia

My town has pretty good water, but I don't quite trust what's going on between the pump stations and my house. My hobbies are goldfish farming, own hydroponic systems and gardening. I've seen how poor water quality and chemicals like chlorine, chloramines and other unknown chemicals affect the growth rates of fish (tumors etc.) and plants and it can be pretty scary. As such, I have long had an interest in researching water quality and finding cost-effective ways to improve our water. The first line of defense is the pressure control valve as we have extremely high water pressure by default. It was so powerful it actually pushed unwanted particles through the filters. After that I then have two 3/4" whole house filters. The first filter housing contains these 3M sediment filters. Our standard water is rich in minerals (mainly iron) and the sediment filter cuts the TDS levels in half dramatically from 120ppm to 60ppm. Also, I would don't entirely rely on a sediment filter to remove odors. The next filter is the 3M carbon filter, which I use to remove most smells and odors. For the most part, that's enough for cooking, showering, and even drinking. With bypass filters you can really feel the difference. As for the filters themselves, I've tried many different brands, combinations, and micron levels, but keep coming back to this (unnecessary unless you have a real water quality issue or are using a fountain) I run the water through a 12 GPM UV-C whole house water sterilization system in case something else smaller like bacteria gets through.- to the T rinken installed reverse osmosis systems in the sink. They are connected to alkaline filters that reintroduce minerals into the water to make the PH more basic and less "sweet" as the RO removes most of the salts. With an alkaline filter reintroducing the mineral content we see 10ppm which is very acceptable. Even if you drink from a tap (which is filtered) you can still feel a big difference. Two other tips worth mentioning: 1. You can install check valves to prevent water from being sucked back into the lines. I've seen my own water without them withdrawing and it's a little annoying. You have to understand that there are other neighbors that don't have these so things like medicines, food, chemicals etc can be pulled back into the public supply that can get into yours - so I personally think it makes sense to have filtering install system.2. Also, always follow the manufacturer's instructions for replacing these filters, as the filters will deteriorate after a while and can get even worse than what they were trying to cure.