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Re: Whisper wet/dry



>I have been using Whisper wet/dry WDF 3000 for my 20 gal in conjunction with
>a powerhead driven UGF. The tank is heavily planted with DIY yeast CO2
>injection. The filter has been running for about a year with no problem at all.
>I really like this filter because:
>
>        a. low agitation and localized on the water surface (you need to
>           fill your tank up to the filter output). This is good for O2
>           surface exchange and at the same time prevent CO2 loss. The "dry"
>           part might cause CO2 loss but it's very gentle so I expect only
>           minimal loss. With KH 4dH, the CO2 injection brought pH down from
>           8.0 to 6.6. The surface agitation seems to help preventing the
>           white protein layer build up. At the same tine, it sends my riccia
>           spinning all over the tank surface.

I've had one running for two months on my 20 gal. When I added DIY CO2, my
pH went way down, to about 6.2 (gotta get that back up a few points, but
that's another story). So, I don't think the wet/dry is doing anything
significant to affect disolved CO2. I should add that I'm not using a
reactor on the CO2, just an airstone.

>        b. you can replace the "mechanical" filtration media (ie. the floss)
>           separately from the "bilological" filtration media (ie. the sponge).
>           This way you don't have to worry that your tank might go through
>           "new tank" syndrome.
>           Actually, I have not replaced the sponge since I had this filter.
>           The floss removes the debris effectively and I replace this
>           once a month. I only rinse the sponge once in a while.

My favorite feature! You can add just about anything to the 'carbon' tray,
too. It's probably operator error, but I've noticed that after I do a 20%
water change without switching the filter off (probably the error...), a
relatively new (2 weeks) floss 'bag' (can't remember what they call it),
seems to clog. I mean the water level in the indicator tube will go from
being 3/4 in below the line, to touching or just above the bottom of it.
Has this happend to you? Maybe it's the stuff stirred up by the water
change.

Larry West