Today I went and purchased the Tetra Whisper 3i. My other filter just wasn’t cutting it (TopFin Element Filter). It seems quite noisy for being called the “whisper” and I’m not sure if it’s too strong for my Betta. It definitely creates more movement and if my betta swims under the waterfall part, he has to swim pretty hard, but just in that spot. It’s a 2.5 gallon tank and the filter advertised it can go up to 3. Should I go back to my old filter?
Only if your betta seems to be weaker or cannot get to the filter side of the tank. A strong, hearty betta should be fine.
Whisper is one of it not the oldest aquarium air pumps ever made. Air pumps before that would use a piston system ren buy a moter attached to a belt. Whisper came out with a rubber diaphragm that is attached to an electromagnet. I now use a Fusion quite power that is so quiet that you have to look at the bubbles in the tank to tell if it's even running. And the size I use runs 3 air stones.
Oh, I forgot to mention that my betta is in a 55 gallon community tank with a powerful canister filter that makes raging rapids until the water hits the other side of the tank and disperses, then the rest of the tank is pretty mild. My betta has been in that tank for 6 months and loves his huge home. I will admit the he usually does avoid the rapids section.
I have that 3i and though I am not currently using it....I found that a baffle I made for another small filter works quite well. You can basically just cut a "canopy" from a plastic water bottle and put it on the outflow. I did this with my female betta who I had in a top fin 2 gallon , there are plenty of videos on youtube and I'm sure other members have done this as well. Betta filter baffle - Bettaboxx It was pretty easy, I'm not crafty or good at making stuff by any means lol!
So for now, I am using that top fin element filter in my 2 gallon betta tank for a few reasons. First the tank is so small and I hesitate to put an internal filter in there that will take up more room, then there is the problem of the flow being too strong, and lastly I do have the 3i but lack an extra air pump. With that said, the topfin element is weak...it is a weird design...I hate it myself but I have added extra sponge to it (the surface area of the filter itself is nice for a small tank filter) and that particular tank is doing really well so I can't complain... I change 50% of the water in that tank twice a week. Hope this helps!
Personally, I detest the Tetra Whisper filters. They leak, they have too strong of suction on the intake, and the intake is poorly located for proper circulation. A sponge filter has better circulation and doesn't need new cartridges, and flow can be adjusted down with a shunt on your air line (noisy) or by getting a smaller air pump. As a cheat, you can move the Whisper lower (less turbulence and quieter) but you'll have to make sure you still have enough surface agitation.
I've used 2 different in tank power filters for my betta tank and both times there was just enough room behind the filters that the bettas in both situations slid behind them, got stuck, and drowned. Go with a sponge filter.
