Tetra Whisper 4 Gallon Internal Power Filter, Filtration for 4 Gallon Aquariums

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars | 20,307 ratings

Price: 8.49

Last update: 07-17-2024


About this item

FOR 4 GALLON aquariums: This Whisper Internal Power Filter uses small filter cartridges and adjusts easily to high or low water levels.
27 GPH PUMP: The internal 27 GPH pump cycles a 4 gallon aquarium more than 6 times per hour.
TWO FILTERS IN ONE: Cartridge floss catches debris and fish waste, while Ultra-Activated carbon removes odors and discoloration.
SPACE-SAVING DESIGN: Your aquarium can be flush to the wall with the internal filter designed to clip on your tank wall and be hidden by décor.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS INCLUDED: This pack contains the hinged lid, tank clip, internal filter and filter cartridge.

Product information


Top reviews from the United States

TruthTeller
5.0 out of 5 stars Love, Love This Filter!
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2023
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.
Chuys Garage
5.0 out of 5 stars Works great
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2024
Filter works great. Had to replace the previous filter I had that was also a Tetra Whisper filter, my fault it broke down. It does have some noise. I would not put it in a place where you will sleep but it does work. I have it in the fish tank at the office. It's quiet enough where you can ignore it. It did not have any broken or missing pieces. I got the 10-30 filter, and it keeps my 40-gal tank clean. I clean it every1-2 weeks. I like that it has the option to put it inside the tank with the suction cups in case I want to put a full lid on my fish or keep hanging from the tank. I like to keep it hanging from the tank. Makes it easier for me to access it.
Jon O.
4.0 out of 5 stars Good filter
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2024
The filter is quiet and easy to use and clean. The filters fit easily. They do not last more than a couple years though.
Ronald L. Russell
5.0 out of 5 stars How can something so simple work so well?
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2018
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.
Customer image
Ronald L. Russell
5.0 out of 5 stars How can something so simple work so well?
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2018
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.
Images in this review
Customer image Customer image
Nuri Elizabeth
5.0 out of 5 stars Works great!
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2024
This little filter packs a lot of power and it is fairly quiet. I had a larger filter that was supposed to be very quiet and it was not all that efficient and was also very loud. This was a fantastic purchase, a great value for my money. I have a 40 gallon tank. Set it up before a vacation and came back 4 days later to a crystal clear aquarium.

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