Emperor 400

[davidtcb1]

Hi:

Was told today that an Emperor 400 may not be enough/adequate filtration for my new 75 gal freshwater and that I may need to add filtration. Any thoughts, second opinions?

David

[daveedka]

These types of questions largely depend on fish load and decor, IMO 1 400 wold be small for a 75. If you were lightly stocked did great maintenance, and had something else to help with current it would be OK. otherwise I'd double up a bit. BTW, I am a huge fan of the EMP's and have used them extensively. they are IMO a very good filter as HOB's go.
Dave

[Fishsmurf]

I've gotta agree with Dave on this. I've never used the Emp 400 but the product literature says for up to 80g, but as stated above (and not on the product literature) this would depend on the the stocking of the tank.
Personally I would probably double up on it and add another. I (and I think a lot of the other folk on here) are the in the school of the more filtration the better.... HTH :D

[snitz55]

IMO you can't have to much filtration. I would add another, I have an aqua clear 500 and a whisper 60 on my 90 gal. The aqua clear is probably enough but back up and extra is always good. Keeps the tank sparkling clean.

[MamaBarb]

I also agree with the guys - I have 2 400's on my 75. I do have several very large fish, but I have always doubled whatever the filters say they can handle. I had a penguin 175 on my 10! It's like impossible to over filter.

[TKOS]

You want to look for a minimum of 5-6 times turn over rate per hour (so you filtration on a 75 should push a minimum of 375 gph). That is minimum and depending on th efish you have you may wish for more. Adding a second HOB or even a canister is a good idea. 2 filters are always better than 1 on a big tank.

[davidtcb1]

Thanks for all the advice...I will certainly check into more filtration.

David

[fishpoor]

I have an emperor 400 , aquaclear 500 and a 402 powerhead with an azoo 6 sponge on my overstocked 50. I like my emperor but it doesn't have the water flow of either the aquaclear or my whisper.

[JSchmidt]

These kinds of questions cannot be answered without knowing how the tank will be stocked (how many and what species). In a lightly stocked tank with decent maintenance procedures, the Emp 400 should be sufficient. On a more heavily stocked tank, extra help would be needed.

What fish, and how many, do you plan on keeping?

Jim

[davidtcb1]

I plan on keeping the tank quite heavily stocked. Community tank with Angels, Gouramis, Bala, etc. So it sounds as though I should plan on extra filtration in the near future.

Thanks
David

[JSchmidt]

Agreed. In particular, you might want to consider means to remove waste, etc. via mechanical filtration. The biowheels on a 400 should be plenty for biofiltration, but the more gunk you remove before it breaks down and contributes to dissolved compounds, the cleaner your water will be.

Good luck,
Jim

[davidtcb1]

Thanks, Jim. I will make a trip to my dealer soon.

Best,
David

[Bigguppy]

Like NASA, we double up on everything.... You can't go wrong with two 400's on a 75. This will give you optimal tank filtration.

[daveedka]

Just a thought, (and you can read all about it in the DIY forum on the post entitled filter floss and prefilters) I highly reccomend prefiltering everything with a sponge. It just makes life easier and keeps the tank cleaner. For my emp 400 with the funky shaped intake tube, I buy bulk sponge from big Al and cut it to fit. just cut it into blocks, and hollow out enough of a space to get the suction strainer inside of it. AC sponges will work as well but the AC sponges are much coarser, and the yellow is hard to hide. The Big Als sponges are black and hide easily as well as being quite a bit finer. MY emp prefilter picks up more garbage than any of the others I assume because it is a finer sponge. This tank has an AC 500 on it as well. I have 6 prefilter sponges in my 115. I have several on hand and each week I just swap out the prefilters with a clean one and wash them later and let them dry for a week until I need them again. with adequate bio-filtration elsewhere in the tank (bio-wheels, RFUG etc.) I don't have to worry about killing off my bacteria when I swap them out. The sponges in the media well fill up very slowly with this system, and I only have to change them and clean the filter about once every 2 months, maybe longer ( I'm still testing)
Dave

[JSchmidt]

Also, I have given up on using the disposable Emp cartridges. I buy Aquaclear 500 sponges and cut them to length so they fit snugly when lodged horizontally in the media wells of the Emperor. Much cheaper and better at mech filtration, I think.

Jim

[daveedka]

Agreed on the cartridges as well, I use Big al's bulk sponges for this also.

[Must4ng s4lly]

daveedka,
Are you saying you are putting sponge media in the black uptake tube of the Emp 400?? My Emp 400 gets really gross with slime etc and I fully clean it every month. Would this help make it cleaner?? Also, would it strain the filter motor at all?? Just wondering how it is working for you....

I know have an Emp 400 and an Aquaclear 500 on my 58 and an Emp 400 on my 75 (with a UGF) I really don't want to spend my life on filter maint.... :rolleyes:

[daveedka]

Not in the tube, I do prefilter my Emp, with a foam block cut to fit, but in the media wells I just cut flat sponge to the correct shape and set them in instead of cartridges or baskets. Wow those pictures suck, I never will figure out how to srink these stipid files and still get a picture. Anyhow if they are too small to see let me know and I'll try again.
Dave

[MamaBarb]

...I do prefilter my Emp, with a foam block cut to fit, but in the media wells I just cut flat sponge to the correct shape and set them in instead of cartridges or baskets. Wow those pictures suck, ...
Dave


Dave - as has happened b4 - you've given a great suggestion. :bowing: I never thought of replacing the pre-made emperor cartridges with just a sponge for mech filtering. I will go to Big Al's and order sponge material right now. I'm thinking, with the money I save, I may be able to get that 150 for my tinfoils after all!

And, as for frequency - I have been letting the pre-made cartridges go abt 2 months before I replace them. I have twin 400's on my 75 and and only change out 1 filter (2 cartrusges) at a time, so as not to lose all my bacteria. So, like I'm changing half my cartridges every month.

BTW - I could see the sponge stuff fine in both pix.

Thanks again for a great suggestion - Mary