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I currently have the little plastic black balls in my canister filter. (Marineland c series) They are super annoying when I'm cleaning because they float. I also have a tray that has ceramic cylinders. It's the original media the filter came with. Is there something I can use instead of the black spheres that won't have the same issue? Or should I fill the other tray with ceramic rings too? Or just anything else that would be better or that I should add to the media the filter came with in general?

Also, if I get something different is it okay to replace the one tray of media when I replace the carbon without messing up my cycle?

The nitrifying bacteria grows on surfaces. That was the idea with those balls, increase the surface area--and their supposed benefit in a wet dry filter, but I'm skeptical.

The rings are pourous. They have surface for the bacteria deep inside. You'll have much better results moving to all ceramic media, but you may have a mini-cycle when you switch. Just put the existing rings downstream from the new ones.

The ceramic media - rings, nuggets, stars etc is the best because of the amount of surface area you get relative to size and cost. The ceramic media is very porous.

You shouldn't have to do much cleaning to your bio media... just a quick rinse to remove any gunk that is clogging the outer pores. Any deep cleaning will kill off the bacteria from the media and probably cause your tank to kick off a cycle until the bacteria re-establishes.

They do sell very inexpensive media bags. IF you want a way to contain your plastic balls for easier cleaning, a $2 media bag may be a good fit. Leave the balls in the bag while in the filter and while you rinse them.