1st tank cleaning question

[FishHick]

I did my first water change and vacuumed the gravel today in my Aquapod. I also rinsed the blue sponges (in saltwater) to get all the debris out of them. I now have extremely cloudy water. Is there a trick to getting the sponges out with out them being sqeezed and releasing all the debris they are holding? Also how often should these be rinsed?
Thanks for your advice!

[Biggie]

Huh Im assuming the sponges your talking about are filter sponges? Not sure what the configuration is or what sponges your refering to need more info. If they are like power head sponges just slip a plastic bag over them and then remove. That traps all the crud in the sponge before you release it back into the water. Then rinse and replace.
I rinse mine every 3 days so the build up isnt so bad and I minimize the chance for an ammonia spike with uneaten food that gets caught in there.