Tetra Whisper 10 questions

williedee

williedee

AC Members
Sep 11, 2007
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Wisconsin
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I have a whisper 10 on my ten gallon tank.. it seems to go through cartriges faster than it should (every 20 days) i was wondering if i could cut out some foam that came as packaging for a washing machine as an extra filter. its about 1 inch thick. would this extend the life of my cartriges or just make the motor run harder than it has to? thanks
 
Just take the filter out and wash it off good in a bucket with some tank water when you do water changes. You shouldnt have to put a new filter in everytime it gets dirty. Just keep rinsing it in tank water every few weeks and only replace it when it starts get frayed or falling apart.

Also if it is getting that dirty and clogged up in 20 days make sure you arent overfeeding your fish and the filter is catching all the uneaten stuff.

As for putting extra in to help filter you can buy a bag of poly fil in the Walmart craft section....It is the filling you would use to stuff pillows ect. and put alittle inside of the Whisper bio-bag filter where the carbon usually goes. A bag isnt but $6-7 I think and would last a long time
 
thanks. does the carbon even do anything, shouldnt the beneficial bacteria take care of the odors? ill definitly rinse out the bag, cause its pretty dirty looking. it seems to have lots of plant fragments in it, is that normal. i have 3 apogenton plants growing in the tank.
 
maybe you should consider getting the 30....the pads will be bigger and greater circulation....depending on what kind of fish you have in that 10 of course. i had an aquaclear 50 on my 10 and it was great
 
Yeah you could always go with say a Whisper 30. There is an adjustable flow on them so the output can be adjusted down so not to bother the fish plus you would get the added benefit of a larger filter area.
 
I just buy a box of carbon and rip the bag open and refill it every few weeks.
 
do you think it would work if i put an aquaclear filter sponge inside my whisper 10 instead of the bio-bag? i could just cut it to size right?
 
I've had a whisper 10 for several years as well as it's 40/60 brothers. They are a simple , inexpensive design that can work well if properly maintained.

I HIGHLY recommend a sponge filter on the intake tube...you can take a fat sponge and carefully split a hole in it or..just get a round sponge like the one for a penguin 660R and slip it over your intake tube. This will help keep "garbaahhhge" out of your filter and prolong the life of your impeller.
The sponge filter will also act as an additional biofilter.

for the actual filter element, I usually use just a piece of pantyhose over the frame..tied off on each end. does a nice job of water polishing, too. Well-rinsed, of course!

For those times you do need carbon, I suggest the "Imagine" 12-pack replacements. 12-pack comes with one frame and bio insert, and their carbon is is sewn into the cartridge...not piled at the bottom...and cheaper than whisper brand


--Don
 
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