Well, yeah, Emporers can be noisey. Noise can come from spray bars pushing the bio-wheels, the water return splashing into the tank, and the impeller. I had my last Emporer for about 5 years, and got rid of it because it got real crusty (I used it in a saltwater setup with sand for a while...not a good idea). I replaced the impeller, but it was still real loud. Still worked though. If you keep the impeller and chamber clean, it should stay quiet for years.
I've only had the Magnum for a couple of weeks. So far, it's been real quiet. However, the main seal does not work unless you apply the supplied silicon sealant. Hopefully I don' t need to add this everytime I crack open the canister, but I guess I will find out. Otherwise, it pulls air into the canister and never fully primes. Also, the main uplift tube has a small, clear plastic bubble extractor tube on it to pull air bubbles out of the filter. The only thing holding this in place is a gob of GE silicone. While reseating the media container, yeah, the tube broke free of the silicone. It sits in place for now but I guess I have to glue it back in there one of these days. I haven't even performed maintainence on it yet, this is just inital setup. Noticing a trend?
I picked up the HOT because I plan on getting another larger tank, and moving it between the two tanks for chemical filtration and polishing. I also plan on getting two Emporer 400's for the next tank for continious duty.
BTW, the micron cartridges are reusable. You just rinse them off. The regular filter floss should also be washable. Eventually, it will need replacement, like the cartridges in the Emporer. Changing the media requires pulling out the media basket, taking the lid off, etc. Not too complicated. Putting it back together is more, er, fun.
As I understand it, the Micron cartridge should be used until the water is as clear as you want. Then you empty the filter and clean the cartridge.
