I own 7 pet turtles. I have two red-eared sliders, four mud turtles and one map turtle. I use the Whisper 40i filters in all my turtle tanks. After trying several different types of filters (ie Zoo Med 501 and Reptofilter) for my turtle tanks, I have found that these work the best and are the easiest to use.
First of all, they do keep the water clean as long as you change the filter media regularly. How often it needs to be changed depends on the type of animal, or in my case turtle, that you own. It also depends on the amount of water in your habitat and other factors. The replacement media is fast to change and more inexpensive than the replacements for other turtle filters I've used.
The filter can be either hung on the side of the tank or completely suction cupped to the side. For functionality, I have found that tanks with shallow water do better with the filter sitting on the bottom of the tank and attached to the wall. Also, pets that are more likely to knock the filter down should have it attached to the wall instead of hung. When it falls in the water, the tank can become very dirty within a matter of hours. My sliders kept knocking one in the water and now the motor does not seem to work as well as it once did.
Make sure that your tank will have at least 4 inches of water in it or this filter will not work for you.
Overall, a solid product!
i had this filter for a grand total of a week before installing a new one, i would have taken it back to the store the same day if i had another option for a filter, however i went ahead and purchased the TOM Aquarium Mini Internal Filter 45gph adjustable flow online (which is working perfectly by the way) and waited for delivery. so why is this filter so horrible?
1) the noise is unbearable, this tiny filter for a 3 gallon tank is louder than another filter i have for a 75 gallon tank! unbelievable
2) its made of cheap plastic parts, ( the "lid" broke off during assembly)
the ONLY good thing about this filter is the fact that it is gentle the current is very weak, suitable for my delicate finned male betta.
as for as how it does with actual filtration, for the week i had it, it kept the water clear and well circulated; as far as any long term use i wouldn't know about but honestly in my opinion i wouldn't be surprised if this thing didn't last more than a month, its that flimsy.
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I have two African dwarf frogs and was missing a frog one night.
I could not find her. I finally found her in the filter.
I have now learned through reading other web sites; it's best to put pantyhose or cheesecloth over a part of the filter, (use common sense on watching how it does filter so the filter will still do it's job) to protect your frog from becoming stuck.
My girl was saved.
The filter does work, just be careful and aware if missing an aquarium baby.
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I first bought this filter for my 1.5 gallon tank that has a betta fish in it. It was the perfect size for the tank. It did a really good job at keeping the water in the tank clear. At about 8 months after I bought it, the water would only trickle out of the filter. I tried taking it apart, cleaning the filter out, putting it back together (as sometimes gunk builds up in my other filter that slows the amount of workload it can handle). No change. I originally planned to buy a different brand of filter, but I couldn't beat this price and still had some filter cartridges left over. I saw that other people have said that they have bought more than one with better luck. So, I decided to take the risk. I was curious to see what the problem was, so i tried substituting certain parts of the filter with the old one. The problem was definitely the little motor. For some reason it didn't push air through the filter as much as it did in the beginning.
Either way, I do like the filter and I hope this one holds out. Its perfect for a betta fish's tankand I like the price.
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Wrote that review on January 7, 2011 and it is now February 10, 2011 and the filter is no longer working the way it should. The water only trickles out of the filter, making it unable to do its job. I'm sick of having to deal with this.. I would just like my filter to work like it said it would!!! Don't buy this filter unless you want to replace it a month later....(This is the second one I have purchased with the same result.)
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Had to buy 2 of these within 2 years, they don't hold up long enough for the price you have to pay, motor quit, it should last longer than what it does.
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This has grey and brown paint on it. When I initially cleaned it (before use) in my sink, I noticed the paint coming off. I used a scrub brush and most all of the paint came off, turning the water in the sink cloudy. After several scrubbings and changing the water, it quit shedding paint. Didn't look as cool following the paint removal. It's been in my aquarium for several months now, and no paint issues tank and fish are fine. I's collected its own natural "patina" from algea, etc, and now looks fine (about the way it did with the paint). Has a hollow upper portion and my Dinosaur Bicher and Brown Loach Eels reside in there. My plecostomii like to hang out in the sheltered mouth area. It's a good decoration just be sure to get all the loose paint off prior to use. I'd recommend...with caution.
