GarthVadar

Oh I think someone gave you bad information, if your sponge dried out, all the good bacteria died. That would definitely kill the cycle, not the sponge. When I need to clean my filter sponge, I like the 3 squeeze method, when you do a water change you put your dirty sponge into the water that you are going to get rid of and give it 3 squeezes and a shake. Definitely doesn’t remove everything but keeps lots the good bacteria for your cycle.