Question about cycling and zoomed canister filter

I have 29 gallon tank that just finished cycling the other day. I have my 2 honkongenis in there now and was wondering if I should be changing the carbon filter media, or sponge . I am using a zoomed canister filter and have absolutely no experience with it. I am wondering what process to do to keep the filter doing its job without destroying the water quality.

I use a fluval 2 for my C. orientalis tank.

Sorry for not having question marks as I am having a hard time figuring out this out. This is what I get for a question mark (É) .

Personally, I don't use carbon in my filters. As far as the filter media, I assume you mean the little balls or ceramic cylinders or whatever are inside the filter. These should NEVER be changed, as that's where your bacteria live. As for the sponge, you should rinse those in tank water (get a bowl of tank water, and squeeze the sponge clean within that, and then dump it out. Don't rinse the sponge IN the tank). I usually rinse mine once every 2 weeks or so, depending on how dirty it is.

Thanks for responding Kaysie. So do you fill the whole area up with those ceramic cylinders or just what comes with the filter? It would be alot cheaper not replacing the carbon every month or so, but I always thought it was needed to help get rid of ammonia and other toxins. Also I was told to replace the sponge every couple of weeks with regular 20% water change. I am asking because I do not want to start a cycle all over again with the newts in there. Is changing the filter stuff just a way for the pet stores to make more money?

hi Taper,
having worked in fish shops i can honestly say they would love you to buy carbon and new filter pads all the time , in reality (in my opinion) carbon can be added if needed to remove treatments in an emergency, but normally water changes will do this job and remove lots of other nasties too.

The sponge will probably last for ages, change it when it starts to fall apart!
"rinsing" the media in water from the tank should be done if it starts to get too dirty or the water flow starts to slow, (or if the nitrate (NO3) level starts creeping up, even when your doing water changes.)
the only other thing that may be of interest is, if you have a lot of gravel a gravel siphon will help and is lots of fun!

Small frequent water changes are best (both for your animals, the filter bacteria and your back).
hope this helps,
Sebastian

Great answers, Sebastian!

Use the amount of ceramic cylinders that came with the filter. This should be the appropriate amount.

Ammonia and nitrite will be taken care of by the bacteria in the filter, not by the carbon. Nitrate will be taken care of by water changes.

Like I said, I don't use carbon in any of my filters. And most of my filters have been using the same filter pads for a year plus. Just rinse them well, scrub them a little if you need to (no soap!), and they'll be just like new.

I have 3 of the zoomed 501 filters. One side has the sponge that comes with it. On the other side, I have it half-full with the ceramic cylinders, and above those I put some ordinary polyester filter floss. Like Kaysie, I don't bother with the carbon.

Thank you all for your great help. That really does answer alot of my questions and now I can get to relax in my basement man cave and escape the heat with my newts.