yes, dont clean the sponge right now. there is biospira trade name for bacteria that
is added to the water to help colonize the filter.
you can add chemicals that will bind to the ammonia. forget the name. Ingrid

"scott" wrote:
The 'new tank syndrome' was a real helper. One question though.
Should I refrain from cleaning the sponge filter (in the tank water I
have removed while water changing) while the tank is cycling. Is it
best to just leave it alone. Same for gravel. Seems like everything
should be left alone except doing lots of water changes (and maybe
adding something to bring down the ammonia/nitrite levels if thats
possible, ie another chemical??)

TIA
Scott



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