Whisper 60-specific Filter Question

[DarylF2]

I recently upgraded my 38-gallon tank with a 96-watt Coralife lighting fixture. I'm replacing its substrate with Eco-Complete this weekend (removing and discarding its current UGF), and have 2 liters of Flourish Excel on hand, as well as several other fertilizers (chelated iron, etc.). I have a NutraFin/Hagen master test kit on order, and it should probably arrive at the end of this week or early next week.

My filter is a Whisper 60, which I like a lot. However, all of the filter cartridges I've found for it (both those from Tetra and those from Drs. Foster and Smith) contain activated charcoal, which I've read repeatedly is undesirable (or even downright BAD) for a planted tank...

So, what do I do? The Whisper 60 is a classic HOB filter and holds two inserts: first is a cartridge/bag to filter out particles, which holds the acticated charcoal; second is a foam bio-filter to provide a large-surface-area home for our beloved ammonia- and nitrite-eating bacteria. The first cartidge is replace every 2-4 weeks and the second is pretty much permanent. The water is sucked from the tank into two chambers (one on the left and one on the right). The water is then forced through the first filter and then through the second filter, and exits into the tank.

I'm now using Drs. Foster and Smith Bio3 filter cartridges, as they are cheaper and seem better made than the (original) Tetra cartridges. The Drs. Foster and Smith cartridges have a baffled design, with three sections each containing a small amount of activated charcoal.

Should I remove the activated charcoal, and otherwise use the cartridge as is (except for the small slit through which I removed the charcoal)?

Should I stuff the (now emptied) cartridge's baffled bag with filter floss?

Or should I stop using these cartridges, and just use filter floss (probably not a good idea as there is nothing really to keep the floss from getting into the filter's impeller assembly).

 

[joannde]

If you buy the 12pack of the Whisper filters the charcoal comes in a separate bag. I just simply don't use it (or use it only when I need to - removing meds, etc)
Of course 12 filter bags will last about forever

Slitting the bags and removing the charcoal will also work.

 

[MarkP]

Joannde is correct. In fact, I can't find any filter cartridges that come preassembled. The "Bio-Bag" filters I can find have the bag, maybe the plastic frames, and a vacuum-sealed bag of charcoal.

 

[joannde]

by the way Daryl - you don't need to replace the filter cartridge as often as they say, in fact you preserve more good bacteria if you don't. Just rinse the bag in the discarded tank water when you do a water change to clean them a bit. Replace them when they start to fall apart (which takes quite awhile !).

 

[DarylF2]

I was using the Tetra Whisper BioBags and found they were falling aparts after a few weeks, but I think that was from cleaning them with the carbon inside. Without carbon they will hopefully last longer. I'll try that when I next change filters.

The Drs. Foster and Smith Bio3 cartridges for the Whisper 60 are pre-assembled with the charcoal already in the filter bag. I guess I'll stop getting these and get the Tetra BioBags from now on unless the DrsF&S Bio3 cartridges are easy to empty of charcoal and if they still filter well.

 

[Purrbox]

You could just get some Polyfiber and cut it to fit. You get a fairly large sheet for about $5 and it last for several months.

 

[Zezmo]

You could just get some Polyfiber and cut it to fit.

Thats the easiest and cheapest route to go. Aquaclear makes bags of bio media (cylinders). A few of these and some cheap Polyfiber, and you may find this is a better filter than using the stock cartriges. I like the Aquaclear bags because when I am setting up a new tank, I can pull a couple bags from existing tanks and drop them into the filter of the new tank to get things going.

Another thought is that, carbons effect is short lived. So after a week or two in your filter it will just act as bio media anyways.

 

[Tong]

You could just get some Polyfiber and cut it to fit.

I do this with my whisper 10 and it works just fine. Cheap too which is always a bonus. This is even easier to do in whipser filters than other filters I have tried because thier cartridges come with a clip...so all you have to do is clip the polyfiber on and your done!

 

[fish_4_all]

All I can add is to make sure that when you change out the cartridges you stager it. If you replace all of it a once you could be removing a lot of the bacteria and have a major ammonia spike.

I will take a guess though and say that it might be possible to use AC sponges cut down to size.

 

[joannde]

I actually take a piece of filterfloss and cut it to size to fit INSIDE the bio-bag. When I replace the bio-bag I reuse that center filterfloss to retain some bacteria. I also plan on using those filterfloss pieces when I set up the 2 20G's to seed the filters. They can also be used to cycle a QT tank as needed.

 

[DarylF2]

I actually take a piece of filterfloss and cut it to size to fit INSIDE the bio-bag. When I replace the bio-bag I reuse that center filterfloss to retain some bacteria. I also plan on using those filterfloss pieces when I set up the 2 20G's to seed the filters. They can also be used to cycle a QT tank as needed.

Wow, what a great idea!! I think I'll go this route!

 

[Uncle Dirty]

The quality of whisper bags aren't like they used to be. Mine are trashed the 2nd time I try to clean them. They fall apart in my hands. Which means you have to buy more from them. 5 years ago or so they would last for months, not anymore. Bad quality IMO. Going to try the Bio3's......

 

[Uncle Dirty]

So far the BIO3 cartridges in my Whisper filters are holding up after 3 rinses. No sign of falling apart like the Whisper Bio bags. And it's amazing how much they catch! Totally impressed so far.

 

[Uncle Dirty]

Rinse #4 and holding........

 

[Uncle Dirty]

Rinse #5

 

[Uncle Dirty]

Rinse #6

 

[Uncle Dirty]

Last week rinse #7

Today rinse #8