Tetra Safe Start

[TheFragile]

I have a tetra whisper 10, it has a spongy cartridge that is black (with bacteria I am assuming) and it has a piece that sits in front of it that looks like a brush. Whenever necessary I could probably remove the brush and stick the new media in with the old for a while.

 

[coralbandit]

The sponge is your bio and the cartridge is the mechanical.
You don't need the carbon if you keep up on waterchanges and it won't keep you from needing them, so I wouldn't bother with IMO.
The mechanical can be washed howerever you like as long as you treat the sponge properly and never expose it to anything but tank water.
Just squeeze it out every so often and put it back in!

 

[TheFragile]

So I don't need to change it unless it is falling apart? I had no intention of replacing it anytime soon since I have finally just cycled. Just wasn't sure if there was a point where it would need to be done.

I would also like to size up my tank at some point, I want to transfer all the same stuff (filter, substrate, plants, etc) from the 6.5 to the 10. What is the best way to do this? During a water change and just put the fish into a small container and move everything into the larger tank?