Newb Filter Questions

[geekpryde]

I have a Tetra Whisper Power Filters 40.

Stupid Newb Question #1: Can you flip the filter in a tetra whisper so that the cleaner side is the first to contact the water, which would place the dirty side next to bio pad? Is there a downside to "using" both sides?

Stupid Newb Question #2: Can you wash the filter and use it again and again?

Stupid Newb Question #3: Water has not yet begun to overflow excessively (or at all) from the Wonder Tube chamber, which is when the manufacturer recommends changing the filter, but my filter looks kinda nasty. Is nasty fine?

Stupid Newb Question #4: Does the good bacteria grow anywhere other than on the bio pad in the filter? If I wanted to seed another pad for use in jump starting an aquarium, could I just place it anywhere in the tank and have a colony of beneficial bacteria on it it x days or weeks?

Here are the pics, the "clean" side:

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/1096/jan2009204rx8.jpg
By geekpryde (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/geekpryde), shot with NIKON D70 (http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=NIKON+D70&make=NIKON+CORPORATION) at 2009-01-23

The dirty side (this filter is only 2 weeks only):

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/4718/jan2009205pw8.jpg
By geekpryde (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/geekpryde), shot with NIKON D70 (http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=NIKON+D70&make=NIKON+CORPORATION) at 2009-01-23

A full tank shot just for fun:

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/8595/jan2009221wp6.jpg
By geekpryde (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/geekpryde), shot with NIKON D70 (http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=NIKON+D70&make=NIKON+CORPORATION) at 2009-01-23

[Sploke]

1. Flipping the filter pad is fine, but I would rinse it in old tank water or dechlorinated tap water first so you're not flushing all the gunk it has caught right back into the tank.

2. Yes. In teh few tanks where I do use filter pads/bags, I wash and reuse until they fall apart (again, in old tank water or dechlorinated tap water).

3. Looking dirty isn't a big deal (unless you are excessively OCD). You don't need to worry about cleaning it until you start seeing reduced flow (i.e. overflowing)

4. The beneficial bacteria will grow anyplace where there is water flow, oxygen, and food for them. You can use gravel from an established tank, or run the second filter on the first tank for 2-3 weeks, pull out an old filter pad and put it in the new filter, or just keep a second pad in the tank, say under the filter outflow, to jumpstart a bacteria colony for an additional tank. Keep in mind you still might get somewhat of an ammonia/nitrite spike when you stock the new tank, but it should be smaller and much shorter-lived than if you were starting from scratch.

[geekpryde]

1. Flipping the filter pad is fine, but I would rinse it in old tank water or dechlorinated tap water first so you're not flushing all the gunk it has caught right back into the tank.

2. Yes. In teh few tanks where I do use filter pads/bags, I wash and reuse until they fall apart (again, in old tank water or dechlorinated tap water).

3. Looking dirty isn't a big deal (unless you are excessively OCD). You don't need to worry about cleaning it until you start seeing reduced flow (i.e. overflowing)


Thanks for the info and sorry it took so long to say thank-you. I did as you said, and now clean my filter in the old tnak water which I am removing during a water change. Also, I noticed the first time I cleaned the filter pad, I made a real mess in my tank. The reason being, all the junk that the pad was holding back inside the chamber in my power filter and the stuff that fell off the filter as I pulled it up, immidately flowed back into the tank and the tank was cloudy within seconds.

So now what I do it turn the power filter OFF, (unplug it), then clean the filter and place it back. This has better results. I also am going to use it until there is nothing left, like you said. Thanks again.

[OldMan47]

The filter can be cleaned repeatedly. If it is difficult to clean, the clip at the top, that your thumb is on in both pictures, can be slipped off and the plastic frame can be removed from the bag of filter material. That makes rinsing out the pad much easier. Be aware that there are a few carbon granules inside the bag that can make things harder to deal with unless you dump them in the trash. That is where you would put some carbon if you needed to remove medications but the bit that comes with the filter will have been completely saturated and useless in the time between your posts.

[steveywinet]

Sounds like you are doing all the right things now. I used Whispers for years and enjoyed the ease of maintenance. Switched to Aqua Clear some time ago which is much quieter and better engineered IMO. When my Whisper got clogged, the water just spilled over the top never passing through the filter media. Due to the way it is engineered, this cannot happen with the AC. Just my $.02.

[excuzzzeme]

I quit wasting money on filter cartridges and started using fiber floss (or poly-fill). Since the pitiful amount of carbon included is very short-lived, I quit using it as well with no adverse effects. I buy poly-fill from the sewing department of a cheap box store and less than $10.00 worth lasts me 6 months to a year for all of my filters. I also have purchased different grades of quilt backing to use as a filter media and found it to work very well also. For that, I cut a piece just slightly larger than the plastic frame, fold it around so it stays in place while I drop it back in and tada! - cheap filter media!. $3.00 of that lasted me about 3-6 months.

[red_wall]

X2 for what Sploke said.

You might want to get rid of the carbon (little black, sand like things in the with media), it makes cleaning a ton easier.