Gravity Water Filter System - Portable Countertop Alkaline Water Purifier with 4 Gallon Capacity - Ideal for Home, Camping & Emergency Preparedness

At first assembly looks a bit complicated with all the parts but the diagram shows where all the components go, so it is really simple to put together. Just go one step at a time. Have some tips at the end of this review. I live in the city with chlorinated water but the filtered water tastes great. I drink more water than I had before. I don't use the mineral rocks because I prefer the taste of the water without them. Price is reasonable because it's BPA-free plastic and not stainless steel but I don't move it around much so no problem. If the tank was glass, it'd be more expensive; glass is more fragile than plastic; and the unit would be heavier to slide. The clear plastic it looks better than steel and the filter price is reasonable as well.There's a great review at http://www naturalnews com/047620_water_filter_lab_tests_arsenic_removal.html (if you copy this address, insert periods where there are blank spaces.) and Zen water was one of two water filter systems which tested out best by far! Zen filter performance was excellent and took out almost all of the bad contaminants. I was shocked at the results of Pur & the other name brand filters since their results were poor! Since the Zen filter doesn't take out fluoride, I checked the source of my water thru EPA gov and found I had no worries about fluoride levels here.TIPS: To take the mineral rocks out of the plastic container, use a flat head screwdriver and push it into the edge of the cover and the plastic will bend so you can easily pry the cover off. When following the instructions, do several things at once and you'll save time: Boil the mineral rocks for 15 minutes, pass faucet water thru the 5 stage filter (save the waste water for plants), and soak the dome filter (put something heavy to sink it because it floats) at the same time. Doing those steps all at once might save you 1/2 hr. Scrubbing the dome filter takes only a 2 or 3 minutes. After the rocks boil 15 minutes, take them out to cool. While they are cooling, wash the containers and parts. Then take the dome filter out of the water and scrub it well under running water (a few minutes should be enough) Assemble according to the instructions/ diagram. First time filtering the water may take 4 - 5 hrs but the filtering will go faster. Filter one or two times and water the plants with that water. (eventually filtering will take about 2-4 hours for a full tank) If you CAREFULLY lift the top container up, you'll see the water will drip 1 and a half drops per second. It seems crazy but the dripping is fast enough once the bottom container of filtered water is full because you develop a simple routine of filling the top container once a day BEFORE the bottom one is half empty. (I fill it approximately the same height of water that is missing from the bottom reservoir.) The 4 gallon container should be plenty for a family of four (there are bigger sizes you can order.) If the water filter slows down, scrub the dome filter again and the filtering will speed up.You'll figure out when to top off the top tank. Keep tanks out of the sun. If the Zen water system is too tall to fit under the cupboard cabinets with the bottom ring, simply take the ring off and the bottom tank will sit on the counter. You can order replacement parts directly thru the company or Amazon. Improvements: put a rubber band on the faucet lever to prevent slipping. Wish list: wish there were gradients of water volume on the tanks so you can gauge how much water is present and how much water is left. (depends also on whether you add the mineral rocks or not)