A hot bath should feel like a reset, not smell like a swimming pool. When city water fills a tub, the chlorine in it rises with the steam, and a deep bath puts a lot of that water against your skin. The Bath Ball filter treats the water as the tub fills, and this replacement cartridge is the part that does the work.
The Bath Ball Replacement Cartridge is a round, reversible bath filter disk packed with Crystal Quest ERA 6500 and ERA 9500 redox media. Every gallon that pours from the tub faucet flows through it on the way into the bath, so you get filtered bath water without changing a thing about how you run a bath.
At a glance
- Redox media made for hot water: Crystal Quest rates ERA 6500 and ERA 9500 media for water from 35°F to 212°F
- Targets chlorine and the rotten-egg smell of hydrogen sulfide as the tub fills
- Reversible disk: flip it periodically to balance filtration and extend its useful life
- Long service life: 12 to 18 months per cartridge
- Tool-free change: pull the old disk up, push the new one down
What you are looking at
A round white cartridge with a six-segment steel mesh face. Behind the mesh sits a bed of filter media beads. The disk presses into the bottom of the Bath Ball housing, which hangs from your tub faucet by its handle. Water enters the ball, passes down through the disk and leaves from the bottom into the tub. The drop-down design holds a generous amount of media, which gives the water more contact time on its way through.
How a bath filter cartridge works
Redox, not just a sponge
ERA (Eagle Redox Alloy) is Crystal Quest's own high-purity copper-zinc granular media. As water flows across the granules, electrons move between the metals and dissolved contaminants. That oxidation-reduction reaction, redox for short, is how the media reduces chlorine. ERA 6500 is the chlorine specialist. ERA 9500 targets iron and hydrogen sulfide.
Why redox suits a bath
Most people fill a tub hot. Filter media that only adsorb, like carbon, depend on contact time, and a tub fills fast. Redox media react with chlorine instead, and Crystal Quest rates ERA for influent water all the way to 212°F, so the hot fill is exactly the job it is built for.
Why you reverse the disk
Water follows the easiest path through a media bed. Over time that path, a channel, carries more of the flow and the media beside it sits idle. Flipping the disk sends water the other way, balances filtration across the whole bed and extends the useful life of the cartridge.
Hardness and cartridge life
The 12 to 18 month life is estimated for water under 100 ppm hardness. Hard water works the media harder and can shorten that life, so in hard water areas plan on the shorter end.
What it reduces
Primary targets:
- Chlorine, the swimming-pool smell in a hot bath
- Chloramine
- Hydrogen sulfide, the rotten-egg odor
Also reduced: iron and rust-colored water, heavy metals, and dirt and sediment held back by the mesh.
Not designed to treat: hardness minerals (it is not a water softener), bacteria and viruses, fluoride, nitrate or total dissolved solids. For treated water at every tap, not just the tub, see Crystal Quest whole house water filters.
Why Crystal Quest
- Our own media. ERA 6500 and ERA 9500 are Crystal Quest redox alloys, the same family of media in our drinking water cartridges and whole house systems.
- A cartridge that lasts. 12 to 18 months per disk, and the disk reverses to get the most from every bead of media.
- Over 1,000,000 people served since 1994, under ISO 9001 quality management.
- Real help. If a new cartridge does not fit your ball, send our team a photo of your Bath Ball and we will match the right part.
Where it fits
This cartridge, part number CQE-RC-04052, is the replacement for the Crystal Quest Bath Ball Filter in every color, including the Bath Ball in the 2-in-1 Combo Shower Filter and Bath Ball Bundle. Crystal Quest shower filters use a different cartridge, the Shower Filter Replacement Cartridge (CQE-RC-04045). Single, Pack of 2, Pack of 4 and Pack of 6 all contain this same cartridge.
Common questions
How often should I replace the Bath Ball cartridge?
Every 12 to 18 months. That estimate is for water under 100 ppm hardness; harder water and heavier use shorten it. Actual life depends on feed water quality, system configuration and usage.
How do I change the cartridge?
Pull the used cartridge up firmly to remove it, push the new one down firmly until it seats, then run hot water through it for 2 to 5 minutes before your first bath.
Does a bath filter work with hot water?
Yes. Its ERA redox media reduce chlorine by reaction rather than adsorption, and Crystal Quest rates the media for water from 35°F to 212°F. Fill the tub hot, then let it cool to a comfortable temperature before you get in.
Why is there dark grit in the first water?
Loose media fines in a new cartridge are normal and not harmful. The 2 to 5 minute hot-water flush clears them; more than one flush may be needed.
Will the Bath Ball soften my water?
No. The cartridge is not a water softener and does not remove calcium or magnesium. Hard water also shortens cartridge life, so plan on the shorter end of the 12 to 18 month range.
Does this cartridge fit a Crystal Quest shower filter?
No. Shower filters, handheld shower filters and the 2-in-1 Combo use the Shower Filter Replacement Cartridge (CQE-RC-04045). This disk fits only the Bath Ball.
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| SKU | FLOW RATE | CAPACITY (<100 PPM HARDNESS) |
| CQE-RC-04052 | 4-5 gpm | 12-18 months* |
| Construction Materials | Operating Specifications |
| Polypropylene End Caps | Minimum Operating Pressure: 30 psi (2.1 bar) |
| Polyolefin Inner/Outer Wraps | Maximum Operating Pressure: 60 psi (4.1 bar) |
| Polyethylene Netting | Minimum Operating Temperature: 40° F (4.4°C) |
| Buna-N Gaskets End Caps | Maximum Operating Temperature: 100° F (37.7°C) |
Media and filtration
| Cartridge type | Reversible Bath Ball replacement filter disk |
| Media | SMART Multimedia |
| Media temperature rating | 35 to 212°F (1.67 to 100°C) influent, per the ERA media data sheet |
| Primary targets | Chlorine, hydrogen sulfide |
| Also targeted | Iron, heavy metals, dirt and sediment |
| Not designed for | Hardness, bacteria and viruses, fluoride, nitrate, TDS |
| Replacement | 12 to 18 months; actual life depends on feed water quality, system configuration and usage |
*Capacity is an estimate only and is dependent on influent water contaminants and filter usage.