I was a hard core tetra whisper filter user until the tetra whisper i series came out. I never could get the i series to go back together correctly without wanting to throw it across the room and into the trash at least 16 times. Then one day during routine maintenance of my new 9 months old tetra whisper i, the impeller assembly came apart. This surprised me as it seemed like that section was hemetically sealed ( which baffled me because the impeller needs to be cleaned occasionally). So I happily cleaned the impeller unit and then the trouble started. The rubber caps on both ends of the impeller shaft failed when trying to reinstall the impeller and close the unit shut. I ended up with the impeller shaft spearing through both rubber caps then the impeller casing itself and I still couldn't get the thing to go back together. At this point I saw red and began shopping for a new brand of filter to love. So far I have tested the aqueous and aquaclear brands and found the original tetra whisper filters on Amazon. My LFS has also gone back to carrying the original tetra whisper filters and ditched the new i series filters. I am wondering what experiences other people have had with other brands of filters. What was the performance level? What types of media did it use? What was the noise level and longevity of the filter? Please share your experiences.
