whisper filter any good?

[o snap its eric]

whisper products any good. i currently am using one but i always wanted a pegniune bio wheel.

[125gJoe]

I prefer AquaClear HangOnBack (HOB) filters.. I'm not sure of the quality of Whisper products. I have heard of the biowheels on Penguins clogging up, or jamming... Do you have a live planted tank?

[Raithan Ellis]

Over the past several years, I've owned many whisper powerfilters... one thing that they certainly aren't after a year of use or so, is quiet. They just love to buzz, rattle and hum.

Lately been trying out the Aquaclear product line and so far, so good. Quiet, inexpensive, well designed.

[o snap its eric]

to me aquaclear's design like the tube that sucks stuff up to the motor is sooo ugly to me.. but i heard they work good.

[o snap its eric]

yes i do have some live plants

[Rocketman]

Emperor's are good enough for me, if you don't mind the trickling of water sound, which I personally don't. Before, the only thing I had used was a Whisper, and now that I have 2 Whispers, one Emp, and an Eheim running, I would have to say the Whisper is my least favorite. Whenever I am not working wiht the Whisper, (not maintaning it,) I love how free I feel. No constraints from the thing dieing on me. As a matter of fact, one of my extra's I am using on a small tank quit over vacation, while I was gone. Just stopped working. I lifted up the thing, turned the impellor with a bottle brush, and it started up again. You'll have to learn to do this with your Whispers soon.

[Cichlid Woman]

AquaClears.

[Sumpin'fishy]

One thing I've found in Whispers and Top Fin HOB's is that when the power cuts off and I haven't cleaned the filter in a month or less, it tends to stay off. It usually works fine to just lift the inlet tube and then the motor starts up, and you just push the inlet tube back down. I think it's a problem with getting clogged with bacteria and algae maybe. I clean mine (Top Fin) once a month and it seems to start back up fine after power outtage. I don't suggest these filters to anyone, since you can get AC's for about the same price and they are supposedly twice the filter that either of these are!:rolleyes:

[Glenstorm]

One thing I have heard is that BioWheels are not good for planted tanks. I think it was because the mechanism exacerbates CO2 difusion. Someone set me straight if this isn't true.

Dan

[Sumpin'fishy]

That is one point Glenn, but another is that leaves can glog and stop the wheel's rotation (been a few complaints of this), although I would think you should keep the bio-wheel higher than the waterline. I don't know.....never owned one!:rolleyes:

[o snap its eric]

for some reason my whisper filter's sucking strength is not powerful at all? weak motor i have or just the product itself?

[JSchmidt]

I'm down to two functioning Whispers and they won't be replaced. These things NEVER restart after a power-down without help. Junk, junk, junk...

Jim

[GobyGuy5]

That is one point Glenn, but another is that leaves can glog and stop the wheel's rotation (been a few complaints of this), although I would think you should keep the bio-wheel higher than the waterline. I don't know.....never owned one!

I have a penguin, and the biowheel is well above the water level, I just don't see that happening with a penguin unless you never trimmed your plants and let them grow welll above the water level.

Also the biowheel is a great biofilter!
I have it on my 15 gallon and I don't even need an undergravel filter with it! It has handled all my needs so far, and when I purchased it, It came highly reccomended to me by a local Angelfish breeder who had nothing but praises for it.


I have heard of the biowheels on Penguins clogging up, or jamming...

So would anything else on a powerfilter if it isn't maintained!
I seriously doubt that complaint is anything but the result of ingnorance (i.e. not reading the manual!)

[Alex]

I've had several Whisper HOB filters. They have done an adequate job of filtering and have been relatively quiet. They do seem to have a problem with not coming back on after power failures. I still use one on a 10g tank but if I needed another HOB filter I would probably look at something else.

Alex

[Caleb]

Man, I don't know what kind of whisper products you guys have been using but mine have all functioned and filtered VERY well for me....I used these alot when I was younger in my first tanks, and up until recently....now I try whatever comes my way....I won't sell a product I haven't played with.....

Right now I am pushing the Eheim Liberty filter line...I like them alot and they are pretty compact. My favorite thing is to take the 150 and put a 200 impeller on it...Works great, quiet, looks nice and I am actually using it on my 37 column salt tank. I generally use an aquaclear for flow and the bacteria block, but I just had to try this eheim and that was my only spare tank that looked right in that location.....works great, filters well, add an extra bio sponge and it does an adequate job....

Just my .02

Caleb

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by o snap its eric
for some reason my whisper filter's sucking strength is not powerful at all? weak motor i have or just the product itself? Just a thought - is there too much filter media in it? That will restrict water flow...

[o snap its eric]

how can there be too much media? each bag comes with a smaller bag full of carbon. is that too much?

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by o snap its eric
how can there be too much media? ...Some people save a few $$ and buy bulk cotton floss and use that instead of 'pre-made' media. Most will use charcoal only ocassionally to get rid of medications. It's possible to put too much floss in the filter. You have to try different amounts to find the right amount. The motor is most likely ok. :)

[VoodooChild]

I've actually had problems with AquaClears not starting after being powered down, but a good knock usually gets them going again. But for their size and rated flow, you can't beat how much media room there is. I've had good luck with the Milleniums too, but I'm not a fan of the bio-wheels, which always seem to get stuck. The Whispers aren't bad at all, I just think I'd rather spend anothe $5 and get twice the space.

[o snap its eric]

i just bought a ac300 and it kicks butt. it blows the whisper out of the water. the ac is just a little bigger in size but it pumps twice as much and there is soo much current with my other whisper filter and powerhead my tank is like a river. whisper filters back then was made with quailty now the recent ones are junk. i recently did buy a whisper filter and it dissapointed me badly.

[BluEyes]

IMO, whispers, penguins, and just about any other cartridge-design filter are about even. It's that darn cartridge media design which is convienent, but just can't come close to competing with the media volume and versatility on an AquaClear. Honestly, I think the point behind the cartrige idea is to keep you buying replacements, because with an AC you can just rinse and reuse the sponge indefinately.
Yes, you can convert the cartrige to a sponge, but AC can fit THREE sponges (or two sponges and carbon, or one sponge, carbon, and peat, or...), and the design ensures water goes through them all.

I've got Three AC's, two Whispers, three of the Walmart imitation Penguins (made by Marineland, but no biowheel), an Emperor, and a Fluval cannister.
I love the AC's and the Fluval.
The only other filter I'd buy another one of is the Walmart imitation... :eek: I know, but they're cheap, and when you're broke but just HAVE to have ANOTHER tank (or filter) it's hard to resist that low, low price. (they've always been just as reliable as any other filter, even run dry on several occasions and still work)

Haven't really had any problem with the Whispers restarting, but their uptake tube likes to fall off (it's a snap-on affair, not press-on, and the snaps break). My biggest complaint for maintenance applies both to Penguin and Whisper. Their stupid impeller design. Having the shaft and impeller one piece with the rubber end-pieces is just bad.
First, if any hair gets in the tank (2 people, 4 cats, 2 dogs - it happens!) and gets wrapped around the impeller shaft, it's a pain to get off! You have to use a pocketknife and tweezers to fish it out once the hair has gotten all wrapped up and worked in there.
With AC, just lift off the impeller and pull out any hair.
Second, those rubber end pieces get old and hard. The impeller no-longer stays on the tube part while you insert it into the motor. Then you have to fiddle with it to get everything lined up, or else the uptake tube won't seat fully on the filter.
No such problems with AC's drop-in impeller design. and, if you have to replace the impeller shaft, just pull it out with a pair of needle-nose pliers and stick a new one in (but you should never have to replace the shaft anyways)

[JSchmidt]

I've converted all my Emps to using AC sponges cut to fit the Emperor media well. On similar tanks, the sponges in an Emp 280 seem to have captured substantially more dirt than an AC 300. I expected them to be similar, given the comparable gph ratings, but the sponges in the Emp traps more stuff.

Jim

[amy]

I've been running a Whisper for about 4 years and haven't had any problems with it.
I've never noticed a restart problem after the power goes out. Of course,since I've never tried any other HOB filters, I can't really compare it to anything else.

[dona]

I have both filters and i prefer the aqua clear better. It seems to really do a nice job. the whisper I seem to always run into
problems with. clogging. I put my money on the aqua clears:)