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So, that says to me that the Grodan cubes also would need to be replaced periodically even though they don't break down?  Couldn't you use something like a flush with KleenGrow to break down the biofilms?  I know salts have to be flushed, but I've not seen anyone grow exhibition phrags (in 5 gallon pots!) like Jeff Morris.  He actually gets frustrated because he gets so many CCEs and CCMs (only because it costs him to register the awards!)  Don't we all wish we had his problems...  He says he uses Grodan cubes (top dressing with about 2" of bark to alleviate algae growth) because phrags don't like their roots disturbed and with the inorganic cubes, he never has to change the mix, just pot up if need be.  I've tried the cubes mixed with perlite/charcoal and currently have one phrag in them.  I can't see any advantage so far except doesn't need as frequent watering, but it has not needed to be repotted yet.

And to contradict the part about phrags not liking their roots disturbed, I watched a Jason Fischer video on repotting phrags (it was a Jason Fischer he was repotting) where he rinses all the mix off of the roots to start again, completely with clean mix, as phrags don't like old mix.  This clearly disturbs the roots, so again, what works for one...