whisper filter

[ShadowBass]

I like Whispers, i love AC's more, but there is no way you can say that a Whisper is a pile of garbage.

They are cheap, easy to find and buy(walmart) No special filter cartridges to buy and they hook up easily onto a Hydro sponge. They also have way better flow adjustments than any AC i have every owned.

Saying that if i were walking down the street with 30 bucks and a guy wants to sell me an AC110 or a Whisper, you bet id take that AC.

Why do people say Biowheel filters? Couldint you say Emp, or Penguin or any other make/model with a biowheel. Theres some differences between a emp and penguin, and a penguin and Magnum H.O.T and the Aquclears people modify to accommodate a Biowheel.

I like the Emperors and Penguins the best, I also run H.O.T Mags with biowheels and they're ok but the micron catridge needs cleaned and switched out a lot depending on your stocking level.

The thing I didn't like about the Aquaclears is they seemed to have quite a bit of bypass and didn't polish as well. The Emperors and penguins polish really good especially if you run double cartridges. They were also kind of annoying to break down and clean compared to the Emp and Penguins (at least for me, other people don't seem to mind). I do like the fact that you can swap out some of the media to cycle other tanks, but I run a lot of normal canister filters so I have plenty of ceramic rings and such.

Someone else mentioned that the cartridges for the emps and penguins have to be changed out an awful lot, that's not necessarily true. If you have low stocking levels they should last a long time with some heavy rinsing every week. Drs Foster and Smith also makes their own brand of cartridges and you can open them up and replace them with filter floss or whatever polishing media you want, so it's not as bad as you think.

I just prefer Emperors and Penguins over A.C., but a lot of people prefer A.C so it's a case where you just have to try them yourself and see.
I have one Rena H.O.B and I LOVE it, but they're kind of pricey which is why I just bought the one to try. I would run just as many of these if they were easy to find and cost less for the flow rate you get. They have a definite advantage though as I have yet to see it get clogged, significantly lose flow rate or stop pumping EVER, whereas I have experienced this with all my other filters at one time or another except for my Rena canisters and cascade, but I haven't had the cascade long yet.
The Rena H.O.B filters will also pump until the water level is all the way below the top of the intake strainer, which is nice during a water change.

Whispers are good at polishing, but I still don't run any of them.

 

[ken 429]

whatever brand you choose get two. dont rely on one filter

 

[MrGuyPerson]

whatever brand you choose get two. dont rely on one filter

Realllly good advice....And FWIW I've had a whisper that I never really liked (have to shake it or take it apart to restart it once unplugged/power goes out) that's been chugging along for 6+ years now. I've used AC and Emperors and like them a lot more, but the whisper's been all right and has lasted forever.

 

[maseyferguson05]

i know in my past experiences i hate the whispers , pads got real dirty real fast and the tank as clean as i wanted it , i bought an fx 5 and now

Someone else mentioned that the cartridges for the emps and penguins have to be changed out an awful lot, that's not necessarily true. If you have low stocking levels they should last a long time with some heavy rinsing every week. Drs Foster and Smith also makes their own brand of cartridges and you can open them up and replace them with filter floss or whatever polishing media you want, so it's not as bad as you think.

Why is this a bad thing? Wouldint you want the dirt/grime and crap on the media rather than floating around in your tank? Or would you rather have the filter lack in mech filtration just so you can go without the monthly cleaning. Bottom line the more crap on the filter in the shorter amount of time leads me to believe witch is a better mechanical filter.

Again no doubt in my mind AC's are better for Bio and chemical filtration.

 

[Sturgeon]

I got a whisper, and it has worked OK, not great and not terrible. If your in the market for a filter, marineland, aquaclear are both decent names perfect for a 29g tank.

Whispers belong on hospital tanks

 

[Wolf3101]

I use perminate replacement cartrages in all of my Emporers and penguins. They have cleanable pads that you don't have to replace and pick up far more junk than any AC ever dreamed of... If your not replacing or cleaning your filter pads often then they are NOT doing you any good.

You may be taking the crap out of your tank but if it's still in the filter then it's still in the water and as it rots it puts more of a strain on the bio capacity. The point of mechanical filtration is to remove this garbage BEFORE it breaks down.

Ever notice that a wisper filter and an Aquaclear have the SAME removable
mag drive motors? I've even swapped out impellers on occasion in an emergancy.

Aquaclear filter housings are noted for cracking with the slightest impact and the design of the media container...while allowing the user options...also allows a great deal of bypass...not to mention the ammount of crap that settles in the bottom requiring you to shut the unit down to clean it.

I can change filter pads in 12 emporers equiped with supercartrages in the time it taks me to clean out a single AC110 and I don't have any mess in my tanks after I'm done.

An Emporer 400 has TWO bio wheels. when setting up a new filter I can take one seasoned bio-wheel from two differant filters and have a safe cycled tank for my new fish. The AC110 bio media can be split but it's far less effective.

The Bio-wheels allow true wet/dry bio filtration rather than the much slower reacting...and slower to develop wet only type that also, by the way, remove a lot of O2 from the water.

I hear a lot of..."this or that is crap..." floating around but very little real information about why those opinions are formed.

Always use more than one filter system...choose a brand/type and stick with it so spare parts and even back ups are handy.