A number of minerals can be present in water in the form of dissolved ions, either negatively charged (anions) or positively charged (cations). These ionic forms are absorbable by the human body. Among these minerals are calcium (Ca++), carbonates (CO3--), bicarbonates (HCO3-), chlorides (Cl-), potassium (K+), magnesium (Mg++), sodium (Na+), nitrates (NO3-), and sulfates (SO4--).

The media in the Black Berkey™ filters is not designed to eliminate these beneficial minerals (in their ionic forms) from the water. They may indeed be reduced if they are highly concentrated, but the majority will pass through the filters and be present in your filtered water.

If you still wish to incorporate additional minerals to your water, we recommend liquid additives and adding them into the lower chamber of your Berkey® system to avoid reducing their concentration.

Finally, we are frequently asked about the dry residue rate after filtration. The answer to this is easy: if you understand that the mineral concentration remains the same before and after filtration, the dry residue level also stays the same and entirely depends on the water you filter.