On Tue, 25 Apr 2006 07:15:59 GMT, Eric wrote:

On Mon, 24 Apr 2006 05:01:09 -0500, Dick wrote
(in article ):



Whisper filters provide the charcoal and filter bags separately.
However Penguin and Whisper both include charcoal in the maintenance
kits whether you use it or not. I have lots of charcoal on hand, darn
it.


Why not just leave the charcoal in? Even if you don't think it's doing any
chemical filtration, it's still a great place for nitrifying bacteria to
grow.

-E

At first I did leave the charcoal in, but found I could not clean the
combination bag and charcoal clean enough to get good flow through.
Then I bought bulk filter media and only used the frame to hold the
media. Usually I reuse the same frames over and over for the
Penguins. I had a problem with the Whisper frames with bags. After
cleaning the bags while on the frames (no charcoal), I put them into
the sunlight. One of my dogs found the Whisper frame and bag a great
toy. He shredded them. Never touched the Penguin filter or frame.
g

dick