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I just set it up so I won't have to clean it for a while (I assume) but I thought I'd ask now to be sure.

How often should the media be rinsed? What are those white cylindrical things that go in the top 2 trays and should they be rinsed also? How often do I change the sponges/carbon?

That's all

I had a hard time cleaning the fluval. I used to clean it every month. If you rinse the foam pads real well, you don't need to replace them, though they will turn very yellow (which doesn't happen in the XP3 or AquaClear). If you have ceramic rings, keep them wet with tank water and use tank water to rinse them out to preserve the bacteria. I think the Fluval manual says to replace it after a few months, the XP3 says you never need to replace it (who's trying to make more money here?). I'd just rinse it well when you do a complete cleaning. Carbon is only good for a couple of months or less, then it pretty much becomes a mechanical filter and eventually a bio filter. I don't think it does a very good job at either, so you could take it out or don't use it.