Whisper 170 GPH Internal Power Aquarium Filter

Okay so... I have a 20 gallon temporarily for my 4 inch turtle. I accidentally bought the smallest of this tetra filter, so I bought the medium sized one in it's place. I had only had the tank filled halfway anyway since my turtle was only 1.5 inches at this point. Mind you I didn't realize how fast they grow, and had no idea that Its recommended to have a filter that can filter 2 to 3x the tank size. So I decided to keep both filters in my tank. One on each side. Even though I still don't reach the recommended filter size, my water now almost filled to the top, stays absolutely clean. Turtles are pretty messy so I still have to do the weekly cleanings and all that extra stuff that apparently those who spend hundreds of dollars on filters still have to do as well. I don't know if this is some kind of luck thing, I don't know if maybe my turtle just isn't that dirty (yea right, I see him)... but I'm actually not looking forward to switching out my filter for the 'recommended' filter size, as these filters work so good. I love them. They are both very quiet. Aside from the sound of the water falling back in.. I mean it sounds like a waterfall. Who doesn't want to hear a waterfall? I love it. This can also be prevented by raising the water level or lowering the filter itself. Basically the closer it is to the water, the quieter it is. Such a simple device, yet so beautifully sufficient. The little one stopped working at one point and I thought... welp there you go! Get what you pay for. But nope! Removed the base, pulled out the magnetic spring propeller and tube, cleaned it out and like magic it started right up as soon as I plugged it back in. Love how easy it is to replace the filters. The filters themselves are great and definitely hold on to some dirtiness. One thing I'll say is there is quite a bit of unused empty space. I now take advantage by adding some extra media, but I must say that these filters work great even without the extra. Love this filter and would recommend above any other filter.

I love this filter! It is super easy to set up and works great. I literally just clipped it inside my tank, plugged it in, and it was good to go. It keeps the water crystal clear and is surprisingly quiet as long as you keep your water level up. Perfect for small tanks and anyone who wants a no-fuss setup. Definitely recommend!

The pump on my old filter died, and I could immediately tell my fish were not as happy. My 5-gallon tank was also starting to look dirty, so I knew I needed a replacement quickly. I ordered this Tetra water filter and was able to get it overnight. Installation was very easy—the instructions were clear, and I had it up and running without any trouble. I especially love that the replacement cartridge is a simple, single item. My previous filter had three separate replacement pieces that were difficult to keep track of, hard to find, and easy to forget to reorder. I haven’t had this filter for a long time yet, but so far I’m very happy with how easy it was to set up and how well it keeps the tank looking clean and fresh. It’s a straightforward, convenient solution that makes maintaining a fish tank much easier. I would definitely recommend it to anyone needing a reliable replacement filter.

The first thing I noticed was how quiet it is—you can barely hear it running, which is a big plus if your aquarium is in a living room or bedroom. The filter is designed to sit fairly low in the tank, so keep that in mind when setting it up. As long as the water level is appropriate, it operates smoothly and provides good water circulation. Installation was straightforward, and it has done a good job keeping the water clear. Overall, this is a solid, quiet filter that performs well. If you’re looking for an effective filter that runs almost silently and don’t mind its lower placement in the aquarium, it’s a great option.

When you open the box, the Whisper 40i (or it's smaller siblings) don't seem very impressive. It's not much more than a oval plastic bucket, with another bucket (containing a motor and pump) snapped onto the bottom. If you looked at one and thought "this can't possibly work", you would be so wrong. Perhaps they work as well as they do BECAUSE they are so simple, and so have little chance for things to break. The pump sits IN your aquarium water, so it never needs to be primed. You plug it in, and it begins working, filling the upper bucket, where the water flows through the filter pad and spills back into the aquarium. No priming necessary ever, including after a power failure. When the power comes back on, it just starts working again. It's a shame that every hang-on-the back power filter can't make a similar claim, some unfortunately will lose their prime and/or fail to restart, resulting in unhappy fish and sometimes a damaged filter. There are no adjustments for flow, so these only run at one flow rate. Inevitably, some food can get sucked up if you let it run while feeding. I have the filters on a separate power strip, so when I feed my fish, I just use the switch on the power strip to turn the filters off for an hour or so. Easy solution and prevents the filter pads from clogging so quickly. There is no top or lid (unless you buy the model intended for reptiles), so the filter pads just sit there exposed. This means that the water in the filter is fully aerated as it passes through the pads. It also means that no other internal filter is as easy to change pads when they become clogged. The top edge of the pad is above the water line, so you just grab it with two fingers and lift it out. You don't have to disturb the suction cups or hanging bracket at all. You don't have to put your whole arm down into the tank. Maintenance which is easily performed is more likely to be done when needed, so easily changed pads are more likely to be changed when clogged. You have options for how you want to attach the filter. The box includes two suction cups, and a newly designed bracket which hangs over the edge of your tank. I use the bracket, as it's adjustable for height and I don't have to worry about suction cups losing their suction. The filter pads are the Whisper bio-bags, which amount to a thick fluffy poly bag, over a plastic frame, with carbon granules inside. Replacing these is simple, and if purchased in a 12 pack from Amazon, cost about 60 cents per bag. I used Emperor filters for years, and in my experience, these bio-bags work a lot better than the filter cartridges for Marineland products and cost much less to buy. If you rinse them under tap water, which is easily done, the cost is even less. Rinsing the bags doesn't disturb your biological bacteria since they are on a separate part (resembling a hair brush) which remains in the filter when you remove the bags. You do have some flexibility with regard to media options as well. You don't have to use the carbon which is included with the new pads. You can put anything you want inside the bag, and if desired, transfer it to the new bag next time you change them out. You also don't have to use the separate biological "hairbrush", and if you leave it out, you have room to put another media bag in it's place, with ceramic rings, or whatever else you can think of. I have four of these, mounted on two separate tanks, one 55 gallons, the other 75 gallons. All four of them are not quite silent, but very quiet. There is a soft, low hum from the motor windings, a little bit like a transformer humming. At first there was also a faint sound like air trapped somewhere, perhaps cavitation in the pump? But these sounds are hard to hear, and not distracting. And the cavitation sound went away on it's own after a few days. I can hear the soft humming sound if the room is totally quiet and I stand near the tank, but if there is any significant sound from conversation, crunching breakfast cereal, a radio or TV, etc, then they are drowned out. Some of the complaints others have mentioned in their reviews sound a bit like operator error to me. For example, one person said the filter overflowed and sent water over the back of the tank onto the floor. Clearly, the filter was mounted too high....mine are mounted with the top edge 2 inches below the rim of the tank. When the filter pad becomes clogged, it WILL overflow, but into the tank, not out of it. Some describe loud mechanical noises, which sounds to me like a bit of gravel, or perhaps a snail, found it's way into the pump impeller. Yes, this can happen with any filter, regardless of brand, but it's easy to repair. In these filters, the bottom just snaps off, exposing the pump impeller, which is then easily removed for cleaning. And some have complained that the filter "stops working" after some months of service. Again, this is likely due to a need for a cleaning of the impeller and the recess where it sits, where debris or gunk sometimes builds up and prevents it from rotating. On a benefit/cost basis, these filters look really good. They are made of a tough, slightly flexible plastic, so even if you drop one on the floor, it is unlikely to break. Parts for Tetra/Whisper filters are readily available everywhere. And the results are as good as any other filter I've ever used, regardless of cost. The first attached photo shows two mounted in my 75 gallon planted tank, which contains two Nigerian bichers, and two Pictus catfish. The second shows two more in my 55 gallon community tank, with various tetras, cory catfish, and loaches.

I recently set my smaller fish tank back up to put some fish out of my main tank into (tank full of guppies and a couple algae eaters) as one of the “algae eaters” has begun to jump through the water and swallow my guppies whole. I had the filter left over from a goldfish I had for a few years in there and figured it would be fine. When i moved the fish into said smaller tank i moved six over and then a smaller one ended up popping up (making it seven fish) i went to sleep and all were fine. When i woke up i noticed one of the fish i had put in there had died, the next day (today) FOUR MORE were missing when i woke up. Two had gotten tangled in a fake plant and died (i figured it was fault for putting it in with the guppies) i then watched one of two remaining fish be blown into said plant by this filter as i was investigating. I saved that fish but it was somewhat weak (i was actively treating the tank for ick) so i let it be. i CAME BACK ABOUT FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER TO ONE FISH. i figured it had went into the little structure i have in my tank, it had in-fact not. Instead i found it another fifteen minutes later when i saw something peeking out of the bottom of my filtration system. It was the tail of A DIFFERENT FISH that i figured had passed in the fake weeds. Upon seeing this i pulled the filter and was appalled to see MY LAST FEW FISH I COULDNT FIND HAD BEEN EATEN BY THE FILTER. Two of them were dead- i then had a half paralyzed fish that died about 30 mins later. Ive now unplugged the filter with ONE OF SEVEN FISH LEFT AFTER A DAY AND A HALF OF USE. I Strongly advise against getting this filter if you have guppies as it may cause a quite disturbing scene. ALTHOUGH this filter killed a bunch of my guppies (literally sucks so hard it ate them) it WORKED GREAT FOR MY FULLY GROWN GOLDFISH for about a year before he passed so that is something to take into account. Personally i think it should be advertised that this filter CANNOT HANDLE SMALL FISH NO MATTER THE TANK SIZE.

i was randomly gifted a betta fish, so everything about fish care was kinda sprung onto me. bare with me if i sound like a novice lol. i put this in a ~2 gallon tank with my veiltail betta just today, so i can’t speak on durability just yet. the intake flow from the water pump at the bottom sucks him in - not enough for him to get stuck, but he does have to fight his way out an inch or two away from it. the water output at the top also pushes him down the same way. overall very stressful, and i now have to figure out how to “baffle” a filter (never heard this word in this context before). seems easy enough to put a sponge in the filter cartridge area to dull the water output, but idk how to dull the power of the water intake. considering this is marketed for small tanks and bettas, it’s really disappointing that it isn’t nearly gentle enough and stresses mine out so much. also, idk if this is a nitpick, but a bit of filter media (small black rocks) fell out of the cartridge, and it looked like the rest of them could have followed if i didn’t handle it carefully. kind of strange for a filter to release little rocks into the tank when that’s the opposite of its job, but what do i know? when it comes to actually hanging/sticking the filter onto the tank, the included clip attached it nice and secure, but it doesn’t stay quite straight, and the added height made the filter protrude out of the top of my tank, so i couldn’t get the lid on right anymore. if you remove the clip and opt for the singular included tiny suction cup to put it in lower, so you can only attach on the top or bottom, and so the other side will be floating freely, even more slanted than with the clip. i chose the clip, i’d rather have the filter be secure with an ill fitted lid than a filter that looks like it’ll tip over. moving onto the good, this filter was super easy and self explanatory to set up, and the whisper in its name is very accurate. you can only hear it if you’re less than 3 feet away and really searching for the sound. the cord was long enough for my use, and the price is good. i feel like this would be much better for a larger tank or a stronger fish, it’s marketed very deceivingly. nonetheless, i’ll be keeping it and adding additional sponges to try to make it work, since all the sponge filters with included air pumps i can find on here are for much larger tanks. will update if there’s any noteworthy changes.

I have used this filter with aquariums between 1.5 - 3.0 gallons and been pleased with its performance. I have one that has operated constantly since 2022 with no issues. It is easy to use, clean, maintain, install. Works great for tiny tanks with nano-fish in them.

للاسف المنتج 110 فولت ولايوجد في الوصف تحديد للجهاز،وعندنا في السعودية 220 فولت فقط،بالاضافة الى ان غطاء الفلتر غير ثابت،لابد من ارجاع المنتج

filtre tres bien excelent filtre mieux que les filtre beucoup plus cher .je n'est plus de problème avec les parametre d'eau de mon aquarium je l'utilise sur un aquarium de 30 galons . et j'ai complèter la filtration par un filtre auxiliare eponge je recommande vivement ce filtre et la compagnie TETRA mon eau est chrystaline et limpide depuis que j'ai intaler ce filtre et que j'utilise les produit Tetra ce que j'aurais du faire bien avant. et méfier vous pas par son fontionement même si il deborde sont taux de filtration est excelent et tres silentieux il est fais comme ça

Aunque no me encanta que ocupa espacio dentro de la pecera, es un sacrificio que se hace para que sea completamente silencioso. Lo tengo dentro de la pecera de mi cuarto, así que era importante que no hiciera ruido. Le añadí Biomax de Fluval y le corté la pastilla que tiene en medio del paño por que no quiero nada del carbono que le añaden. También le puse una esponja para que no sea tan fuerte la corriente. Creo que es un precio buenísimo considerando el tamaño y poder que tiene. Mi pecera es de 10 G o de 40L así que quedo perfecta. Recomiendo.

Works great, no noise and tank is cleaner.

110 V için üretilmiş ürün, 220 V ile sesli çalışıyor ve sonrasında yanarak kullanılmaz hâle geliyor.