Which filter is best and why?

[FISHGUY_CA]

Arial dark red

Dear Guys and Gals,
I need some advice on filters. Right now I wanna upgrade to something larger as I'm doing constant water changes and find the filtration I use right now (Aquaclear 200 and Powerhead model 301 attached to a UGF) isn't removing enough waste and I'm cleaning the **** thing every 2nd day. Now here's my question, which filter is better and why ??? An Emperor 400 or an Aquaclear 500 model. I've ALWAYS used Aquaclear in the past, however I've heard nothing but good things about Emperor filters however I do know they're quite pricey however :( What are some advantage points over the two if anyone knows and why should I pick one over the other so to speak ?? Any help is GREATly appreciated as I wanna upgrade A.S.A.P. Thanks for your time guys and gals, I appreciate it very much :D Happy fishkeeping to you all and thanks again for any advice. And just so you know I have looked at canisters and wet/dry filters but I don't need something like that just yet anyways my tank is only a 40 gallon but I plan on going bigger next summer, somewhere between 120-200 gallons which will be VERY nice and VERY expensive but ah well, it's worth it :) Thanks again for all your help everyone.
Yours Truly,
FISHGUY_CA

p.s. I put my pic in so everyone and anyone can take a look at me if ya wanna and yes it's me 23 male Canada enrolled in Armed Forces 17th Battalion Air Force Command Unit that's why I look like that :p







" FROM WHAT I HEAR YOUR USING YOUR PAPER NOT FOR WRITIN BOOKS, BUT FOR ROLLIN DOOBIES, WELLLLL YOU"LL HAVE PLENTY A TIME FER ROLLIN DOOBIES WHEN YER LIVIN IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER" - Chris Farley R.I.P.

[NJ Devils Fan]

Get either an Emperor 400, or get an Emperor 280 and use it with your Aquaclear. Eiher way would be good. A cheap place is Big Al's Online (http://www.bigalsonline.com). I see the Emperor 400 in stores around me for $80 -$100, and at Big Als, it's $36.99 which is incredibly cheap. For my 72g tank, I will be getting 2 Emperor 400s because they have tons of room for your bio load, they are powerful, and everyone says that they are very easy to clean.

[FISHGUY_CA]

Originally posted by NJ Devils Fan
Get either an Emperor 400, or get an Emperor 280 and use it with your Aquaclear. Eiher way would be good. A cheap place is Big Al's Online (http://www.bigalsonline.com). I see the Emperor 400 in stores around me for $80 -$100, and at Big Als, it's $36.99 which is incredibly cheap. For my 72g tank, I will be getting 2 Emperor 400s because they have tons of room for your bio load, they are powerful, and everyone says that they are very easy to clean.

Dear Devils Fan,
Thanks for your advice but unfortunately I live in Canada so finding an Emperor 400 for under $150 ain't gonna be easy and thanks to our fu%&ing government, if I do find one it'll probably cost me over $200 after taxes :mad: GREAT, JUST FREAKIN GREAT I TELLS YA !!!! I REFUSE to buy a used filter because I don't want a piece of **** that I'm gonna spend $50-60 bucks on only to replace it a week later with a brand new one, what's the point of doing that right ??? Thanks again for your help it is greatly appreciated VERY much and I think I'll go with an Emperor 400 IF I can find one that is for a reasonable price, I've heard nothing but good things about them also. My uncle owns a freshwater fish store here so maybe some sweet talking will do the trick I hope anyways. Take it easy and happy fishkeeping to you :D Thanks again for your advice it helps alot !!! See ya later :p
Sincerely Yours,
FISHGUY_CA
" COO LOO COO COO COO LOO COO COO " - If you're Canadian you'll get this one folks *WINK*

[JamisonBWolsh]

An idea,


If your near the border, order it from Bigals online and have it shipped to a friend in the states. Then, when it arrives, pick it up or have the friend mail it to you. Sve you Lots of money! :)

Or you can always move to the USA, we are always happy to have you :)

[sChArF]

You should be able to find AC 500's in your city for about $50 bucks. thats how much we can get them at some LFS here in calgary

[Elmo]

Originally posted by FISHGUY_CA


Dear Devils Fan,
Thanks for your advice but unfortunately I live in Canada so finding an Emperor 400 for under $150 ain't gonna be easy



The listed price for Emperor 400s is $100 @ Big Als Online, so with taxes it costs $115.

[TwoTankAmin]

I have an EMp 400 and AC 200 on a 45. I find the Emp more work to clean and less versatile re media loading than the AC. But the Emp does a great job.

You may want to consider adding another AC 200 to the opposite end of the tank. I am a fan of multiple filters as a failsafe. Since mechanical filtration seems to be your concern You can load some filter floss into both ACs. I often cut the sponge in 1/2 or 1/3 and then make a "floss sanwich". If you go this route you might also try staggering the depth of the intake tubes. Run one shorter and the other one longer.

However, the best thing you can do to help keep your tank clean is to convert your UGF into a Reverse UGF. Get the Penguin (from marineland) reversal kit for your powerhead to do this. It is not expensive. An RUGF pushes the water down the tube and then up through the gravel. This flow causes particles to be pushed back into the water where the filters can remove them rather than sucking them into the gravel. (Note- the reveral kit has a sponge prefilter so you are not pushing wastes down the tube and under the gravel.) Since the gravel is your bio filter, you are free to load the AC with floss to snare the mechanical wastes. If you try this and it isn't quite doing the job, you may be able to add a smaller (cheaper) AC to the other end of the tank to provide any needed extra mech filtration.

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by TwoTankAmin
I have an EMp 400 and AC 200 on a 45. I find the Emp more work to clean and less versatile re media loading than the AC. ....
I would get the AC 500.
I have 2 canisters now, but if I needed a HangOnBack I'd get AC.

Wow -just heard double sonic booms from the shuttle...

[JamisonBWolsh]

80gJoe,


I actually prefer the emperor 400 beause it has the 2 biowheels.


Joe, you live 2 miles from sea world? I used to rent a room out of a house with some other poeple. Used to live on stepping stone court. A neighborhood off of the central florida parkway. Right before you hit orange blosson trail, there is a road (forgot the name) that is off of the central parkway on the leftside before orange blossom trail. Also, there is a LARGE cow pasture behind the neighborhood. Live near there? Thats a NICE area to live in. Close to disney, universal, and sea world..do you have the annual pass to sea world? Wonder if you know a girl named Jennifer Bundeson, she owns the house and is about 29 I think?

[FISHGUY_CA]

Originally posted by sChArF
You should be able to find AC 500's in your city for about $50 bucks. thats how much we can get them at some LFS here in calgary

Dear Everyone,
THanks for all your advice guys but here's some news for ya too y'all. Now from what I've been told, Emperors are ok but Aquaclear takes the cake by far. Wanna know why ??? Here's the deal folks: Emperors are VERY costly to maintain because unlike AC'S, you CAN'T replace the media inserts one by one, IT has to be changed all at once because unlike Aquaclears, Emperors have some kind of sleeve inserts that HAVE to be changed every single **** time you clean the filter they can't just be rinsed like AC inserts can because you WILL clog the filter and be out $100 bucks. Seems pretty god damned stupid to me to have to spend an extra $40 bucks on premium filter inserts every month when you can have them last eight times as long with the Aquaclear right ??? I have always used Aquaclear in the past and never had problems with them, they never get clogged or make noise unless you drop them down the stairs (oops) when you're moving the tank. I don't know my personal choice is Aquaclear by far from what I've been told but I guess it's just a matter of personal preference. Aquaclear seems to be a more readily available brand anyways and filter media is WAY cheaper than buying premium carbon, filter spondges, ammonia removers, jesus christ what a pain in the *** I tells ya :eek: At least with the AC 500 model, you can find media easily here because most people and pet stores I called here said they don't carry Emperors cause they are either too expensive or they suck. Thanks to everyone it is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely Yours,
FISHGUY_CA


" If she ain't broke, don't be fixin 'er " - Some Hick

[somefinnfishy]

At big als the emp is like 15% more than the AC and I think you even get an extra box of pads(4) from them for free.
Who ever told you to chuck it every week was full of Shibby.
I have a 46 hex with a emp and its going on 3 months since its been out and <RINSED> then reused and If your realy cheap you can run them through the dish washer and use them for a year or more.
The media basket can be filled with floss then placed before the pad so you NEVER have to replace the pads.
My friends 400 breaks down waste from a 24" arrowana in a 40Long with a six to eight thumb sized shrimp a day feeding habit. Without touching it more than monthly.

Eric SHOUTING BIO WHEELS ROCK!

[somefinnfishy]

Couple more things
AC's dont re-prime after short power out
EMP's do
AC's energizers fail all the time for me
EMP's dont
AC's intake strainer to small some smaller fish can get stuck.
EMP's nice basket better flow and atractive black rectangle tubing.

Why dont you just put ac 300 sponges in the EMP if you cant afford the extra 8 dollars a year for pads.

[JamisonBWolsh]

I agree what Somefinnfishy says.. I have an emp 400 and the emp 280. I replace them about every 3 months. MUCH better then the aquaclear. WHY? No powerfilter can beat a Biowheel. Aquafilter comes with sponges where the bio live. If you clean both of the sponges, then your out the bacteria. Emperors bacteria live on a biowheel which is contact with oxygen all the time. Much better process. I never had any problems with my emperors EVER. Im just not clumsy I guess. But, hey, if your clumsy, and drop things alot, then an aquaclear might be better. IM just not clumsy..SO emperors for me!

[somefinnfishy]

Originally posted by JamisonBWolsh
I agree what Somefinnfishy says.. I have an emp 400 and the emp 280. I replace them about every 3 months. MUCH better then the aquaclear. WHY? No powerfilter can beat a Biowheel. Aquafilter comes with sponges where the bio live. If you clean both of the sponges, then your out the bacteria. Emperors bacteria live on a biowheel which is contact with oxygen all the time. Much better process. I never had any problems with my emperors EVER. Im just not clumsy I guess. But, hey, if your clumsy, and drop things alot, then an aquaclear might be better. IM just not clumsy..SO emperors for me!

Try running them trough the dishwasher with NO soap and AIR dry doesnt wear the fibers as bad as hand rinseing-srubbing mine have been used for all most a year now and look new.

[JamisonBWolsh]

I heard that before...but I dont have a dishwasher..so.. I dont use my hands. I let the full force water from the Faucet clean the pads..it does wear it out...but not as fast as using hands..

[NJ Devils Fan]

Lesson learned:
Emperors- great
Aquaclear- not as great

[JamisonBWolsh]

Im not say aquaclears are bad.. there not. They are good filters. Its just emperors are better :) but aquaclears come in second

[NJ Devils Fan]

thats what I said. ;)

[somefinnfishy]

Originally posted by JamisonBWolsh
Im not say aquaclears are bad.. there not. They are good filters. Its just emperors are better :) but aquaclears come in second
I agree:)
I smile when I get a used AC in a garage sale tank but doubt I would chose to buy one NEW.

Sorry for the flameing but you shouldent knock something you know nothing about.

[Elmo]

Originally posted by somefinnfishy
Couple more things
AC's dont re-prime after short power out


I have never had any problems with AC's restarting, have you had this problem a lot?

[NJ Devils Fan]

what does that mean, re-prime?

[somefinnfishy]

The emps impellers are deeper in there resivors so If you water level is almost 4 inches low it still doent lose its prime in a power out. my AC's at the correct water level and is still a crap shoot.
I've also had a AC overflow out the back:mad:
Never could happen with the emps.

[NJ Devils Fan]

what's it's prime?

[somefinnfishy]

Originally posted by NJ Devils Fan
what does that mean, re-prime?
They un fill and wont refill until you do it manualy.
Doesnt happen often just a bad times like right after I go to work so I come home to a pump thats been running dry for like 8 hrs:(

BTW fishguyca
The bio wheel doesnt meen it a good filter stay away from any marineland penguin prouduct that carry wheels ie(mini,110-125,300-330) exept the EMP 280 and 400 the others are far less reliable than the emp's or ac's and wispers blow IMHO

[somefinnfishy]

One more thing
fishguy stated he droped his and it dident break.
Even here EMPs have the ACs beat
the
AC is made from a hard brittle plastic where the EMP is made from a softer less brittle plastic.
And on top of that the translucent plastic isnt bio friendly the bacteria works better in the dark:)

[NJ Devils Fan]

Why stay away from the Penguin filters? I have a Penguin 125 and it works fine.

[somefinnfishy]

I gave all mine to a buddy.
The wheel is designed to quit spinning if the pad is pluged:mad:
I rate my wheels by the groth It grows.
The old bypass style just got a dirty look to them.
The ones on my eclipse hoods pro 30and 60 sets and the emps grow ten times the culture the old models did.
IMO the pro 30-60 sets out do the emps even have one of the 60 wheels that almost looks perfectly round from the culture it has grown on it.