eco23
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'm glad you know about cycling. You don't need to refer to yourself as a noob as long as you understand cycling... that's what makes someone a noob when they're on here asking why all their fish are dying and have never researched cycling a tank.
If you have a cartridge filter made by a major company (like Tetra, Marineland, etc...) that you slide in there, it's 99% probably a carbon filter. Carbon is just activated charcoal that absorbs chems, taste, odors and is almost always absolutely useless in a fish tank. They should only be used to remove medication you have to add or if you have an algae outbreak and you have bad odor in your tank.
We were talking about cycling, and of coarse cycling is growing healthy bacteria that eat the nasties that your fish put into the tank. Problem is, the large majority of the bacteria lives in your filter. So if you follow the instructions and take it out, throw it away and replace it with a new one every month... you cause what's called a mini-cycle where your tank doesn't have enough bacteria to handle the waste your fish are putting out.
You can buy big rolled up sheets of filter material that looks like mesh sponge. It's probably the same thing your cartridges are made out of, but they don't have carbon. All you do is cut it down to size to fit into your filter, and you NEVER throw it away unless it's absolutely falling apart. You take it out during every pwc (partial water change) and swish it around in the TANK water (not tap water) to shake off any debris it collected.
If you have a cartridge filter made by a major company (like Tetra, Marineland, etc...) that you slide in there, it's 99% probably a carbon filter. Carbon is just activated charcoal that absorbs chems, taste, odors and is almost always absolutely useless in a fish tank. They should only be used to remove medication you have to add or if you have an algae outbreak and you have bad odor in your tank.
We were talking about cycling, and of coarse cycling is growing healthy bacteria that eat the nasties that your fish put into the tank. Problem is, the large majority of the bacteria lives in your filter. So if you follow the instructions and take it out, throw it away and replace it with a new one every month... you cause what's called a mini-cycle where your tank doesn't have enough bacteria to handle the waste your fish are putting out.
You can buy big rolled up sheets of filter material that looks like mesh sponge. It's probably the same thing your cartridges are made out of, but they don't have carbon. All you do is cut it down to size to fit into your filter, and you NEVER throw it away unless it's absolutely falling apart. You take it out during every pwc (partial water change) and swish it around in the TANK water (not tap water) to shake off any debris it collected.
) and you will see a rolled up sheet of filter material. It's the same stuff that your cartridge is made out of, but it doesn't have anything inside it. It's just a big sheet that you take scissors too and cut it to the size you need. Don't throw away what you have, just stick the new stuff in next to it and leave it as long as possible. That way the bacteria that has already grown on the cartridge you have now colonize over onto the new piece you're gonna buy. 
