Emperor vs. Magnum

Man, so many ppl swear by the Emperors, its hard to resist. But I'm really concerned with the polishing effects. The AC's arent too good at that, but they do keep my water quality very nice. The Emperors may do the same, but I want something to really polish my tank. Will a combined Emperor 400 and AC300 do the job, you think?
 
I have the Emp 400. To prevent the trickling noise, just fill the H20 to the rim. Never tried rising it in the dishwasher though. Probably save $$ on replacing the cartridge.
 
I think I can rate these two filters fairly well because I have both an Emperor 400 and a Magnum 250 Pro on my 55 gallon tank! I have found them both to be excellent filters. For your situation I'd suggest the Mag 400, not because it's better, but because it will do the job you need better, IMO.

One thing I would definately suggest with the EMP 400 is to buy 2 extra media chambers (the empty baskets for the second slot). This will give you a total of 4 media baskets. Now buy some Polyester filter batting (bulk) and cut it to fit into these baskets. I use this batting in both chambers on each side of the Emp. This way I get superior filtration for my buck! Use the inlcuded main filter pouches (with carbon) for when you need to clear up your tank (medicine, clarity, etc.) Don't buy any replacement filter pouches since they are so expensive! Just buy a bulk container of carbon and fill up one of your sets of media chambers (second slots) for a week or two, then put back in the poly batting.

I'm sorry to disagree with everyone but I really think people get carried away with water turnover and also with bio media amount. I had an older Mag 250 (given to me) which I used with ceramic noodles filled in the media basket and placed a pre-filter on the intake. I had a Wisper 300 as my main mechanical filter and things worked out fine biologically. I didn't have any problems with bioload. I upgraded because my fish are still growing and I already needed some better mechanical filtration. Remember the Magnum was a hand-me-down which didn't come with the micron filter, and I was using this for my bio. Of coarse your results may vary, but I think people go overboard loading up with this stuff sometimes! Your fish load makes the biggest difference!

My current setup uses the two biowheels on the EMP and the one biowheel on the Mag Pro setup. This is more than enough for my cichlids in this 55 and probably would work fine up to 125 gallons. My water is now crystal clear and I can always use the micron filter or stuff the media chamber with extra poly batting if I want! It already has a foam filter sleeve surrounding the media basket right now. I left it empty for now to maximize water flow.

Just for info, I haven't had to change out the first set of filter batting out of my EMP, yet. They rinse out very easily from the media baskets without even opening them up! You can open them for deep cleaning, though.....then throw away when needed! I just haven't had to yet.....about 2 months!

Sorry for such a long post!:rolleyes:
 
I have several Emps and several HOT Mags, and they are both good filters.

The Emp is a good all-around filter. It has biowheels for biofiltration, and large filter wells that can accept a variety of media. (I've switched from the pricey and hard-to-rinse cartridges and pack the wells with AquaClear foam. Works like a charm.)

If you aren't getting ammonia or nitrite in your tank, you probably don't need to worry about extra biofiltration. If that's the case, I'd recommend the HOT Mag. These filters, particularly when outfitted with a foam prefilter, are outstanding mech filters. You can pack the media basket with floss or run the micron 24/7. The micron requires some extra fiddling to clean it, but it will really keep you water clean. It's just not real practical in tanks with messy fish, like cichlids. For straight mech filtration, I think the HOT Mag is superior than the Emp.

The reality is that both are good filters; both would probably serve you well.

Good luck,
Jim
 
How do you clean the micro, exactly? I assume its reusable since a new cartridge costs so much...
 
I run it under tap water and rinse off as much as possible that way then fill up a large container with 1 part bleach to 4 parts water and soak it for 24 hours. Next day rinse it real good, refill the container with clean water and some extra dechlorinator and soak another day (probably not necessary, but I do). Fully rinse it again, and let it completely dry out. It's then ready to be used again for about a week at average bio load. (this is a rough estimate!)

Just as a thought....you might want to pick up one or two extra micron cartridges when you buy this filter. I'm not sure how long they last (depends on gunk in tank and how often you use it.)
 
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I have 14 Emperor 400s. Two on every tank. I use those and wet/drys on all of my tanks. I have two that are noisy and the rest are quiet. One of the two noisy ones i have to turn off everytime a do a water change on that particular tank so i guess from starting and stopping it twice a week for the last 4 years has taken its toll on it, and the other noisy one actually is the one that NicKH was talking about, i bought it off of him a while back. Still works great just makes a racket. I use the filter cartidges and i fll the grey media boxes with a fine filter cloth that is used on the drip plate to the Amiricle wet/dry filters. That combo works for me. Ive thougth about switching over to AC500 for the higher flow rate but i think the emperors have better/more filtering capabilities. I think the magnums are way to much work when it comesytime to clean and work with them. JMO..
 
I remember seeing the "official" flow rate for the Aquaclear 500 actually being 428GPH. Is that still true or has it been upgraded? If not, I don't think another 28GPH is anything to get excited about...
 
Is that so Nick! i did not know that! in that case i would see no reason to get the AC over the Emp400.( at least for my application) although if you run multiple filters then I guess the extra 28gph could start to add up but you would 3 or more to really make any difference.
 
I have been happy with the Emperors in my lineup too.
Easy maintenance, and when the parts need replacing it's a simple job that doesn't require taking the filter off the tank.

I guess I am up to 5 units now, and when I wanted higher flow rates, I added a second filter unit. I use two model 280's on a 55 gallon, and two model 400's on my 125 gallon, and a single 280 on my 29 gallon tank.
 
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