Whisper IQ 20 Filter Setup and Review

[@MaryannWilliams-nk2qw]

This is my first time with the IQ whisper and I have to say it works really well it is a truly whisper 🐟

[@chicanitajaquez2678]

Thanks for the advice I just purchased this filter I been threw 3 filters already I will put it on later today 7/ 29/24 Chicago

[@chrisbanks3967]

Am revamping my entire aquarium world after 12 1/2 years and I think you have shown me some hope. Thank you, regardless, for your thorough, calm and informative review.

[@FishyReview]

Thank you so much for your comment. There is always hope and always more to learn in this hobby.

[@Concerned-yd3nj]

Thank you! I learned a lot about this filter as I am a newbie

[@FishyReview]

Glad it was helpful!

[@juliedugan2877]

Awesome Video thank you I inherited or adopted an aquarium and a whisper filter. You help me change it for the first time thank you.

[@FishyReview]

Thanks for letting me know it helped! That’s what I want to do here.

[@davidgibson5897]

Hope you feel better; been there, and hands above your head is huge progress hope you heal fast. Thanks for the review

[@hannahgundel1457]

love this video! it was so helpful. i just got the filter because of this and i’m going to try it out, thanks!!

[@alinap5381]

Ooo! Just in time!!!! I've just been thinking of switching to this! Thanks for the review! Have a great and fast recovery 👍

[@PJ_Rain]

How is it? I just got one but I’m going to change it after the next water change (later today).

[@brienmcmullen]

Very helpful video. Thanks.

[@mgtowcowboy8159]

Excellent review. I'm cycling a new 30 gallon tank, soon to be ready. I'll only have six or seven fish in it so this filter will do nicely. Cheers from Chicago.

[@SGeee6893]

Thank you for the information about the tiny black cap. It fell out of my box when I opened it and I had no idea what it was. I was just going to throw it away. 🙂👍🏻

[@FishyReview]

I bet that happens more than people realize!

[@musk-eteer9898]

you reminded me of my history teacher, mr. tomlinson, the best teacher for the worst class. he made history easy to swallow, ez A class and learned tons of info.

[@FishyReview]

Thanks, that means a lot to me. I just want to make things easy to understand.

[@Cuttindux]

Very good, thorough video. We have this filter for our 20 ga thank. Runs very quiet and smooth and ran at a constant flow for the first three to four weeks then the flow fell off dramatically. I replaced the filter, took a toothbrush to the impeller and flushed out that housing with hot water. Returned filter to tank and it ran like new for three or four days, then the flow reduced dramatically. Did same cleaning session again and it ran like new for about two days then next to no flow again. I see no other comments to this situation. Any advice? Filter cartridges are new and clean. Intake is not near any plants or sand. I don’t want to have to thoroughly clean every few days… Thanks!

[@FishyReview]

Not sure on that, but I would recommend contacting the manufacturer to see if they would send you a replacement or a new impeller. The only other thought I have is if you have a small brush and can brush out the well the impeller goes into instead of just rinsing. But that's a long shot. I've had to clean mine quite a bit but its on a tank that's really overloaded (dozens of breeding super red plecos and dozens of breeding Celestial Pearl Danios in a 20 gallon. Usually when filters clog up fast or slow down easily it's because they're too small for the job at hand. I know because I'm always putting too many fish in my tanks!

[@Cuttindux]

@@FishyReview Thank you for the helpful reply. I can and will write to the manufacturer, good idea. I do have a smaller brush, like an overgrown pipe cleaner, I’ll give that a whirl up in the impeller well. I guess if none of these efforts work, we can try the next size up filter. Thank you again.

[@ashleyomelia3675]

Glad you're back! :)

[@FishyReview]

Me too!

[@israelsalazar6396]

Excellent review, I was looking for something like this and I couldn't find it, until now.

[@FishyReview]

Glad to hear it! I really like this one so far.

[@michelek5892]

I had a betta for about 3 weeks in a small 5 gallon tank and then I put it in my 20 gallon high tank and it seems like it was having trouble swimming with the current and very sadly he died a couple days ago and I feel bad and wasn't sure if it was because I had it set too high I guess that's why I'm wondering about the flow in the filter

[@FishyReview]

The amount of flow depends on your individual situation. Bettas evolved in fairly still water with low oxygen. Sorry about yours. If the fish had to work too hard to swim then too much current could be to blame. It also could have had other underlying problems that made it worse.

[@simonne234]

You so much you made my life so much easier by my watching your video thank you a thousand times

[@FishyReview]

Aww, thanks for sharing that, I'm so glad it was helpful!

[@maryburns2336]

Thanks! Great educational video!

[@joesthebroyo2415]

I bought this filter and started using it but I am worried about part of the cord being submerged in the water, do you think it’ll be fine as long as the actual connection between the plug and outlet isn’t wet?

[@FishyReview]

Your tank heater also has a cord going into the water, right? These devices are made to be this way. Make sure to follow the manufacturer’s instruction to have a drip loop so any water that runs down the cord will drip off of it instead of running into the outlet. Hope that helps ease you mind!

[@NancyGonzalez-ku2mi]

Very helpful, thank you!

[@MiguelGarcia-ez2if]

Thank you very much! 👍

[@Raiziell]

The gap between the motor housing and the underside of the filter media housing keeps throwing me off. It keeps making me feel like it's broken, and my shrimp keep swimming into it as well. I see the same gap in your video and a couple others, so I assume it's a design choice and not a flaw in mine.

[@anarojas844]

I just got it for $20 n love it

[@687jennifer]

Now I have the same exact one, but if I put the top filter on red, it stops the flow it don’t maximize the flow. It turns it off.

[@FishyReview]

Great catch! Yes, I said that backwards in the video. I had to go back and watch it to see but yes, RED means it pretty much shuts off the flow.

[@amandeep6886]

Will u prefer this or fluval 70 gallon. Which is easier and better. !!!!

[@FishyReview]

I’m not a big fan of the Fluval HOBs just because of the way the intake tube sits inside, but they do have some nice features. I haven’t checked the new model yet, though. My favorite HOB right now would have to be the Emperor 450, if you have a larger tank.

[@michelek5892]

hi loved your video it helped me and answered my question I wasn't sure if I should have it on maximum flow or not. My tank is a 20 gallon high do you think it's all right to keep it on maximum flow? One more question when I feed them should I turn it off?

[@FishyReview]

The problem with turning off filters when you feed is that you’re setting up a disaster if you forget to turn it back on. I don’t do it anymore but I used to hook my filters up to a timer that would turn them back on after 15 minutes.Those were old mechanical timers but these days you can get nice smart plugs. I would say only do that on a filter with a motor in the water and also even with a timer, you're running a risk of the filter not restarting. If you’re not over feeding then the filter shouldn’t steal very much food. I think the best option is to leave it on always.

[@maryburns2336]

I love your Koi Angel Fish, I didn’t know there is such a fish. 😊

[@FishyReview]

I love Koi angels. Two of those in that tank have spawned and now I have around 100 small ones. Thanks for commenting!!

[@cindycox9496]

How far above water line can I go? Just bought it I payed 32 I like it so far.

[@FishyReview]

The water line is the minimum level, meaning water must be at least that high. Go above it as much as physics and your tank will allow 😀

[@NotYourAverageCorey]

Hey I was wondering, do you think that its necessary to keep the Bioscrubber in? I was thinking of putting a bag of Seachem Purigen in its place.

[@FishyReview]

I think that’s up to you. It’s nice to have a reserve place to hold good bacteria but if you have a thoroughly cycled tank and you’re not overloading it, then it’s probably fine to remove it and use that space for something else. Maybe you could get a bag of purigen and one dish scrubbie in that spot and have both?

[@kac31kod25]

Awesome help videos. Question there is a gap between my motor housing and my filter housing on my whisper in 20. Is this ok or do I need to do something to correct this.

[@mollieacord7907]

Mine is like that too

[@FishyReview]

If I understand which gap you mean, then yes that's just the design. Mine has a gap and the front of the box shows a gap, too.

[@michellebonilla20]

I bought this bc I needed a filter with an extension due to my water level is lower than normal but now I realize that the motor should be underwater😢 is there something I can do to make it function like that?

[@FishyReview]

I'm afraid that wouldn't work with this filter. You would need one of the older style filters where the motor is on the outside. But even then, it's going to fail every time the power goes out. A canister filter or internal submerged filter would be your best bet.

[@tysenp8193]

I wanna either stick a sponge onto that blue plastic piece or take it out and replace it with a sponge. What kind would work best for giving lots of room for healthy bacteria without clogging the filter?

[@FishyReview]

I bought a roll of this to use in my filters. So far, I have it in one filter very similar to this one and it works great. amzn.to/3ZOzz3l

[@leikeiwei]

Very helpful

[@SurinaSilva]

great video! do you rinse the filter with dechlorinated water? also do you take out the black carbon stuff from it? thanks!

[@FishyReview]

Thanks! I don't rinse with dechlorinated water. I rinse my filters/sponges/etc in tap water but I make sure to get them back into the aquarium water ASAP. The main reason I get away with that is because I believe in having way too much bio capacity so I can afford to kill some off accidentally. As for the carbon, I'm in the don't care camp on that argument. While you definitely need carbon to remove medications, for the rest of it I just don't know. It seems like it has to help so if there's carbon, I leave it. But I also don't make a point of adding it anymore.

[@dadrip]

Mine accidentally sucked up some Sand and now it won't run😢, does anyone have any advice? Do I need to buy a new one?

[@FishyReview]

Did you take the impeller out and clean it and wash out the place where it sits?

[@dadrip]

​@@FishyReviewjust did this and did an overall deep clean and now it runs like a dream! Thank you so much!

[@mysticmoon302]

I have this filter and just switched to a 20 gallon long from a standard 20 gallon tank. I can't seem to shorten the intake enough to keep it off of the substrate. I'm wondering if it will be ok if I put a sponge on it and sweep as much gravel away as possible. Hmm. 🤔

[@dadrip]

@@mysticmoon302 I took out as many of the tube extensions as possible, I think I have 1 on there. My substrate is only about 1 1/2 inches tall at the highest point though

[@jaegelo]

are there any other filters you can reccomend that might be quieter?

[@FishyReview]

My Fluval C3 is quiet and so are my Penguin 200s. Of course, that's assuming the water level in the tank is high enough so the water doesn't make splashing noises. Canister filters are definitely the quietest.

[@lolariosgutierrez9620]

What happens of we dont rinse the carbon filter 😟😲

[@FishyReview]

You get a cloud of black carbon dust in your tank.

[@witolds.2957]

Good job

[@bguen1234]

Aw man! You didn't show it on low flow, which is the only reason I have for looking at this particular filter. 🙂

[@FishyReview]

Great point, sorry! I’ll think of that next time. Probably time for a follow up on this one!

[@timothydickerson8383]

QUITE FLOW IT'S A NEW ONE CAN YOU PLEASE DO A VIDEO ON IT 🤠 THANK YOU 👍

[@FishyReview]

I will! Thanks.

[@Tiersmoke92555]

Just ordered one from P.S. the last of the blackfriday deals. At the cost I don't think you can get a better filter.

[@chrisshattuck5694]

Mine won’t suck up the water

[@steph9879]

neither is mine...did you get it to work?

[@mary.pendergest]

I bought this from Amazon. I did not receive the two blue parts like yours. The instructions inside the package don’t match. The online instructions don’t match. I called Amazon - they sent me this video. So basically I’m without a working filter because it’s a holiday. And one more time got a product from Amazon that doesn’t work.

[@FishyReview]

Assuming you ordered a "new" product from them, you may have accidentally been sent a used or returned product. It has happened to me once and when I contacted them, they replaced it with a new one. When people return things, they don't always play nice. I hope you eventually got everything figured out!

[@KatoKrazy]

I replaced the big plastic thing with a sponge instead on mine.