JBL UniBloc for CPi60/80/100/200

JBL UniBloc for CPi60/80/100/200 is the replacement foam cartridge for the JBL CristalProfi i60, i80, i100 and i200 internal filters. It is the stage doing most of the work in those filters: straining the solids out and carrying the bacteria at the same time. JBL specifies a 25 ppi water-neutral foam.

Key Features

• For CristalProfi i60, i80, i100 and i200: the standard foam module across that range.
• 25 ppi foam: dense enough to catch solids, open enough to keep the flow up.
• Mechanical and biological in one: the solids come out and the bacteria live in the same block.
• Water-neutral synthetic: JBL specifies a material that releases nothing into the water.
• Long service life: rinse it many times before it needs replacing.
• Worth keeping a spare: foam is the part of an internal filter that eventually gives up.

Looking After Filter Foam

• Rinse it in tank water at each service, squeezing gently. Never under the tap, because chlorine kills the bacteria in it.
• Replace it when it no longer springs back or starts to crumble, rather than to a calendar.
• Keep the old block in alongside the new one for a week or two if the filter has room, so the new foam picks up bacteria.
• Never change the foam and another medium in the same week.
• Service before the flow drops noticeably. By then it has already stopped doing part of the job.

Good To Know

• Rinse media in tank water, never under the tap. Chlorine kills the bacteria living on it, and those bacteria are most of what a mature filter is worth.
• Change one stage at a time and leave a week or two between them. Replacing every bit of media in one go strips the filter of its bacteria and the tank can cycle all over again.
• Media only works if water goes through it rather than round it. Fit it so it fills its basket without being rammed in, and check flow afterwards.
• Service the filter on a schedule rather than waiting for the flow to drop. A filter that has slowed right down has already stopped doing part of its job.
• A new foam is bare of bacteria. Test ammonia and nitrite for a week or two after fitting one.
• JBL suggests adding its FilterStart with a new block. A bacterial starter shortens the gap but is not essential.
• Check your filter model before ordering. The i40 takes a different cartridge from the i60 upwards.