emperor filters

[mdcordeiro]

im going to get a emperor 400 to supplement my fluval 304 its a 90 gal tank and i was thinking that the 304 was a little small so i figured it wouldnt hurt to throw on a hob im also getting a uv sterilizer to get rid of my persistent green water and opinions?

[Doormatt]

I wouldn't get a UV system. They deal with the symptoms, not the cause. For green water, cut back on your light and your feeding.

[blitzen25bm]

i think the uv will help a lot. sometimes you cant help it; it may be sunlight or other uncontrollable minerals in the water but the uv will clear up the tank better than anything except possible filling it with live plants. and if the uv unit is strong enough will get rid of waterborne parasites. the hob will help filter out everything the uv kills.

[cyberbeer65]

I'd go with an Aqua Clear 500/110 rather than the Emperor 400.The AC 500/110 will give you 100 more gallons of filtration an hour as opposed to the Emperor,not to mention you have way more flexability with filter media.

[manna]

FWIW, I had an emperor 400 for about 5 or 6 years (also a pair of emperor 280's, one of which is still in use). When it died recently, I replaced it with a canister filter, and am thrilled with the quiet. Any HOB filter is going to be noisy, and the emperors make a little more because of the bio-wheel spray.

You also have to be sure and keep the spray bar cleaned out with a pipe brush, because if the holes clog, the wheel stops turning.

Also, the media is expensive. A 4-pack of filters will run you around $20 or so. They can be rinsed and reused a few times if you wish to do that, but they do wear out after a couple times.

That said, the emperors are reliable, and the bio-wheel does a great job of providing a great bacteria media, even if your tanks are crowded. I've never had a problem with an Emperor filter restarting on it's own after a water change, and you can get parts pretty much anywhere.

For a HOB, I like my emperors, but I think I've become a convert to canisters, with the quiet, the ease of cleaning, and the reusable media - espensive up-front costs, but it will save money in the long run.

[blitzen25bm]

i always thought emperors were junk compared to aquaclears. just sent back 3 emps for replacement.

[manna]

I've used both aquaclear and emperors, and I don't think either of them is junk.

They each have their advantages and disadvantages. I used sponges in my aquaclear, which means I didn't need to constantly buy filter pads. That was and advantage. On the other hand, with the emperor, I never had to worry about my bio bacteria while I was cleaning the filter. That was an advantage.

I can't say I noticed an overall quality of manufacture difference between the two. I am sure your mileage may vary.

[viboy]

I have and AC 300, Emporer 280 and the Fluval 304 on my tank. The only reason for the Emporer is I got it free from a friend and figured why not add it to my tank. It works fine but is much noiser than the AC. It also looses suction if the tank level is low. If I vac with the Emporor on it looses suction when the water gets down 2" while the AC will keep working right to the intake level.

If you have the canister already you do not need the added biowheel on the Emporer. Go with the AC IMO.

[mykidsmylife]

I have two Emperor 280's on my 75 and LOVE them. I don't think they are hard to maintain at all. I don't buy the expensive disposable media for it though. They come with an empty grey media cartridge that you can fill with whatever you want. I just buy a sheet of the media from the petstore and cut it to fit. I can even add carbon if I want. SO much cheaper. I also run a cannister with them to polish water and a few days a week (Magnum 350) but its far from necessary. I also like being able to control the flow rate on them as well.

[Dwarfnut]

Another tip on the emperor filter and the media cartridges since I don't buy the expensive ones they sell! My wife does a lot of sewing and one day when she had her stuff spread out in the basement on the floor I noticed a large piece of what looked like filter floss. Turned out, it was quilting batting or something like that, but it was the same material filter floss is made from! Next time she went to Wal-mart, I checked out the sewing section and sure enough, there it was. I bought the thickest stuff the had at about 1/2" and it came in a big sheet that was like 3' x 5' for only about $6!! I use it in all my emporers now and have been for quite a while. I usually use a double layer or two media cartridges with single layers in my 400's.

I also have had no problems with any of my Emperor 400's being noisy, not sucking or anything else. I have 4 of them running right now and the newest one is 3 years old. My only gripe is that if you turn them off and much water gets taken/spilled out of them, they do not always restart themselves. I've gotten in the habit of just refilling them everytime I change the water in the aquariums. If you simply stop and then start them again, they seem to work just fine at starting their own suction.

IMO, if you order them online, you can get a good filter for pretty cheap. And if you don't keep buying the expensive filters stores sell, you can maintain them really cheaply.

Good luck,

[Henrye]

I think the Emperors can be customized quite easily using the empty, extra media cartridge, as well as changing out the filter media in the cartridge. Fosters & Smith even make a replacement cartridge that can hold a sponge, along with their filter/carbon material. I have a package of Marineland double bonded filter pad that I can cut to size and refit either the spare empty cartridge, use in a Foster & Smiths third party cartridge, or even cut and replace the filter media in a standard cartridge. It only cost about $5.00 at Petco for around 300 sq. inches. I do like the bio wheel for attempting to provide for wet/dry filtration, which I believe it does quite well.

That being said, AC makes some excellent filters as well. They are easy to maintain, have plenty of room for different media, and are well constructed. As to noise, I don't find it an issue on my Emperor, but it's also not in my bedroom.

Either one would be an excellent choice. In the end it's just personal preference, not performance that differentiates the two.

[manna]

Henrye,

Can you give me a little more info on the Third party cartridge for the emperors? I am browsing Foster & Smiths website and haven't found it. Thanks for the pointer!

[oscar119]

I had an emporer 280, was vacuming the other day and removed maybe 2" of water the other day (had probably 6" water above the intake pipe) and it started freakin out like it always does and making funny noises because it can't suck up the water. Why I have no clear since there was plenty of water above the intake tube. Long story short I unplugged it when it started make the noises right away and it seems to be fried. I tried everything to get it back pumping water even letting it run for hours and of course cleaning the whole thing. It just doesn't want to suck up enough water. Don't think I'll be buying another emporer, I'll probably go dual AC500 or canister setup for my next(larger) tank.

[insomniac.vivi]

I hear a lot of people saying HOB filters are loud, and I just don't understand that, partly because my AC's have never been 'loud' and they never say what part of the filter is loud.

Now, if you were to say that the water spilling from the filter into the tank is loud- duh, water is supposed to be loud. Fill your tank up more or adjust the flow so the water doesn't spew out so fast. You'll lose a few gph, but it's hardly noticable.

Let's say that the motor is loud- well, it's probably faulty then. From my expierience most noises that appear after using the filter for a while come from a dirty impeller. Sometimes you are lucky enough that you can pull the impeller itself out of the mount and clean the shaft off easily, which solved the problem I had with it once. If the impeller is uneven, it's going to make noise, enough said. If the motor is still making noise, you can attempt a DIY fix, but I wouldn't reccomend it. Send it in or buy another, your choice of course.

I've never owned an emporer, but I can attest to the fact that AC's won't lose thier pressure until a lot of air gets into the system and it loses suction. AC filters here cost about $20-$30 for a three pack of sponges, carbon and amonia reducer. Pretty cheap, IMO.

[blitzen25bm]

aquaclears are quiet if taken care of but the emperors ive had (5 of them) rattle like you tossed a pebble into the impeller. but the penguins i have are trouble free.

[cabbspapp]

my emporer does a good job of cleaning the water, has a quiet rattle, but whenever i unplug it and plug it back in, or have the flow on the second lowest setting, it rattles like no tomorrow.

[Blueiz]

As far as the rattling goes. My penguin was doing that for a while. Well I finally got tired of it and took the magnet and stuff apart, there was a pice of moss wrapped around it. After I cleaned it off and put it back together its quiet as a mouse.

[Henrye]

Manna,

Here's the link:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=13371&N=2004+113808

[Henrye]

If I'm doing a water change, I just kill everything right off the power strip (incl. the emperor), drain and fill, check there is water in the intake section, turn everything back on, and not even a rattle or cough as it starts up. I imagine we all have our own experiences.

[manna]

If I'm doing a water change, I just kill everything right off the power strip (incl. the emperor), drain and fill, check there is water in the intake section, turn everything back on, and not even a rattle or cough as it starts up. I imagine we all have our own experiences.

I do the same. I turn off the heaters and filters when changing water, and turn them back on after the tank is full. Probably one reason the AC's tend pull better at lower water levels is that the intake tube has a smaller diameter than the intakes on the AC's. I haven't used the AC500/110, but I have a AC200, and I could put 2 of the AC's intake tubes into the tube on my 280's or 400.

Either way, I have had my emperors make rattling noises, but it's always been when sand gets in the impellers. Sand and impellers don't mix well. My AC200 also vibrates and makes high pitched noises when sand gets into it.

One more thing. You'll find it much more difficult to crack the housing on an emperor than on an AC, which may not be an issue if you are not as hard on your gear as I sometimes am. lol!

p.s. Thanks for the link. It would be worth ordering these 3rd party filters just to get the reusable frame. It looks like it might be better for adding your own floss than the ones that come with the emperors.