Sponge With Power Filter?

[Squilky]

I have a 6 week old Aqeuon 2.5 gallon mini bow with an aqueous power filter. I am finally seeing my ammonia levels drop, so I think my tank is nearly cycled. I have two questions.

1) when I replace the filter cartridge, will I lose all or most of my beneficial bacteria that has built? If so, if I rinse the cartridge with tank water and let it drip into the tank, will that introduce the bacteria back to the tank. Or will it just make my water cloudy?

2) I recently placed 2 1X1 squares of black sponge on top of my filter. Will this impact the power filter and reduce it's cleaning power? If not, can I expect beneficial bacteria to grow on the sponge?

I'm very new, so sorry if this seems like a silly question.

 

[IAmATeaf]

If you're talking about the sponges in the filter then generally you don't need to replace them till they are literally falling apart. When giving the tank a clean save some tank water and give the sponges a clean by gently squeezing them in the saved tank water to get rid of any debris they may have picked up. When cleaning the sponges always keep them wet i.e. never let them dry out and after cleaning them refit them.

Also don't be worried about discolouration of the sponges, anything new that you put in the filter will end up discoloured after some time.

 

[Squilky]

Well the cartridges I use in my power filters aren't sponge. They are rectangular and have white fiber (I think they call it floss)' and carbon inside. I just cut pieces of sponge that I found at Petco (meant for sponge filter) and cut little pieces and laid it down on top of my filter where the water flows out.

Thanks for the other advise.

 

[OldMan47]

Do not replace the filter cartridges like the manufacturer will suggest. Instead, rinse out the filter in some used tank water during a water change and place the cartridge right back where you got it. A filter cartridge should only be replaced when it starts to fall apart. Until then a nice rinse in old tank water will preserve your hard won bacterial colony.