aquarium filter not working?

Question:

i went to college and left my aquarium for my mom to take care of. when i got back it was pretty filthy. and now, my filter is not working properly, it used to suck up the water from the tank and then throw it back out the top and it would give off bubbles with it, now its not giving off the bubbles (probably not oxygenating the tank?). is this b/c it might be clogged or something? should i change the filter cartridge thing? i mean, it was pretty new, i only had it about 2 weeks. how often am i supposed to change the filter cartridge?

Answers:

Yea its probably clogged with crap out of the tank, you can rinse the cartridge in TANK WATER ONLY, the carbon in the cartridges only lasts a couple of weeks really...but you dont need to go replacing those til 1-2 months.

Good Luck!