General Care Discussion :: MORE found objects--secondnature whisper power filter....

[kikicool]

So, my mom is a science teacher, and in the basement of her school she found an old filter. It says "Secondnature Whisper Power Filter." There is a 3 on top of it, so i'm assuming it's the model 3?

Does anyone else own this? If so, can you maybe post a picture of what it is supposed to look like when put together? I don't even know for sure if I have all the parts... or which way to hang it over the tank, or if the motor goes inside or out.... thanks! Any help appreciated.

[grey goose]

Does it look like this?
http://wilmington.craigslist.org/for/230153290.html
It's probably not a good stand-alone filter for turts, but could be used as a supplement or backup....

[kikicool]

Hmm... it kinda looks like that. it's got two compartments for filters but, it has two tubes with it: one that obviously attaches to the plug and then another clear tube with a little head on it....but as far as that one goes, which side goes in the tank?

Wish I could see the back of that one.... thanks for the link!

Just curious, why no good on its own? Right now, they are just in a 55 gallon tank. I also have a fluval 3. I know that's not strong enough, alone. Would the two work together? (I JUST got the new tank two days ago, so am still shopping for new accessories).

[grey goose]

When it comes to turtles, especially multiple turtles in one habitat, you can never have too much filtration....I have the three kids in a 90 gal now, with a Fluval 404 and 403 on each end, I can only imagine what the sponges in those filters are gonna look like at the end of the month......

[kikicool]

Interesting! Which brings me to another question (for those who still have patience...) when I had my smaller tank, I was cleaning it (as in emptying and refilling) once a week. How often do I empty and refill this one? I also have a vaccuum thingy that I do daily. Besides vaccumming, is there any other cleaning I should be doing between water changes? Thanks!

[grey goose]

On a daily basis, I scoop out all the "stuff" (if you know what I mean) plus remove any floating or uneaten foods, and check and clean the filter intakes, if needed. Every 2 weeks I do about a 25-30% water change and do the more generalized cleaning (ramps, rocks, etc.). At the end of the month, on top of all of the above, I clean the filters. Sometimes, when I clean out the filters, I'll do a 50% water change also.

[kikicool]

Wow, that's great. Apparently, I'm out of control--as my boyfriend suspected . So never a full change of water? How do you keep the walls of the tank from getting algae? and... doesn't it get a bit stinky? I'd be so happy if I could do this, too! Thanks.

[grey goose]

The only time I do a full water change is if I have a sick turt, or something goes wrong in the habitat, bacteriological wise...Now that's assuming you have a filter strong enough to handle a turts "output".
As for cleaning algae, just before I clean out the filters, I'll take drain out the amount of water I'm going to change (if I'm doing an algae scrub, I'll take out 50%), then I'll scrub the glass and ramps, then let the filters run long enough to get rid of most of the "clouds" (meanwhile the kids are in a separate container, munching on crickets or some other treat) then I shut down the filters and clean them, set them back up, get them started, then add fresh water w/conditioner.

[grey goose]

As for things getting stinky, I use research grade charcoal in both my filters. No smells.....ever.

[kikicool]

speaking of crickets...this young cricket has MUCH to learn!! Thanks

[Muirner]

speaking of crickets...this young cricket has MUCH to learn!! Thanks

I just purchased an XP3 from petsmart for 104.99 with the online pricematch (if you want the url i have one showing the filter picture). It's quiet, and you have 3 filtering options. Mechanical (will get out big stough), Biological (Good bacteria is grown here, and is benificial to the tank), and chemical (carbon or something else here) this will help remove smell. It's really quiet, and i have a few pictures of the tank that it's in, in the general discussion under Moving Day. I'm new too, so i'll try to help, just ask everyone here has been great!

[kikicool]

Thanks--I certainly will!