Emperors Vs Aquaclears
- Thread starter JamisonBWolsh
- Start date
personally i have all emperor 400's and a couple other old ones, most of which i don't know the manufacturer of. i would like to try an aquaclear in the future though..... i think i would want it more for mechanical filtration and high volume. i like the bio-wheels for biological medium atm though.......
Got to vote for ACs....I've had them for years and never had a problem with any of them. I've still have one that I've been using for 12 years!!
As to the question of rinsing....just use the tank water. You lose very little bacteria that way and it does an adequate job of cleaning the sponges.
Len
As to the question of rinsing....just use the tank water. You lose very little bacteria that way and it does an adequate job of cleaning the sponges.
Len
Personally, I think the dangers of rinsing sponges under tap water are grossly overstated. I think it would take a lot more prolonged exposure than a couple of minutes rinsing in chlorinated/chloriminated water to substantially kill off the bacterial population.
Of course, if you have only one undersized filter and/or a biofilter that's just barely keeping up with your bioload, that's another story. But if you have sufficient filtration a rinse of sponges or filter media in tap water shouldn't hurt.
Jim
Of course, if you have only one undersized filter and/or a biofilter that's just barely keeping up with your bioload, that's another story. But if you have sufficient filtration a rinse of sponges or filter media in tap water shouldn't hurt.
Jim
My thinking is, the less parts, the better.
My friend gave me an emporer 400 when she gave me her 70 gallon tank (yay!). I tried putting the thing together, but I found I was missing a few parts... that turned me off right there. The aquaclears have far less parts... all it has is basically the intake, the motor and the media basket. I've always had aquaclears on my tanks. From the smallest community tank (AC mini), to my monster arowana tank (2 AC500s with a UGF). They've never failed me, and I will continue to use them as long as they are made to the same quality they are made now. Another thing I like about ACs is the fact that they come in so many different sizes. It makes adding them more versitile imho, as they can work on many different sized tanks.
Although biowheels seem to provide pretty good biofiltration, I'm not a fan of them. I cannot stand the sound of splashing water. My aquaclears are almost silent (especially the larger ones). I just raise the water level to the lip of the filter and that virtually eliminates the noise of falling water.
Like I said, I've had ACs all my aquria life. I never had a problem with biofiltration when it came with these filters, whether it was a heavily stocked tank, or a lightly stocked one. IMHO, I don't need biowheels.
-Richer
My friend gave me an emporer 400 when she gave me her 70 gallon tank (yay!). I tried putting the thing together, but I found I was missing a few parts... that turned me off right there. The aquaclears have far less parts... all it has is basically the intake, the motor and the media basket. I've always had aquaclears on my tanks. From the smallest community tank (AC mini), to my monster arowana tank (2 AC500s with a UGF). They've never failed me, and I will continue to use them as long as they are made to the same quality they are made now. Another thing I like about ACs is the fact that they come in so many different sizes. It makes adding them more versitile imho, as they can work on many different sized tanks.
Although biowheels seem to provide pretty good biofiltration, I'm not a fan of them. I cannot stand the sound of splashing water. My aquaclears are almost silent (especially the larger ones). I just raise the water level to the lip of the filter and that virtually eliminates the noise of falling water.
Like I said, I've had ACs all my aquria life. I never had a problem with biofiltration when it came with these filters, whether it was a heavily stocked tank, or a lightly stocked one. IMHO, I don't need biowheels.
-Richer
Whats all this about noise? I keep my tanks water level at the top. I have 1 emp. 400 and 1 emp. 280. I dont here a thing. No splashy water, no motor noise. If I press the lever down all the way, yes, the motor will make noise. But I normally use it at full power anyway= No noise. AND my 3 tanks are located 5 feet from my bed and sleep fine. The Filters are 1 year old and they work fine. I have a friend who has a emperor 400 for 8 years (since the northridge quake) and its still working great.
Hi! I voted for emporer.Simply because no matter how clean I keep the impellor on a aquaclear,they sometimes fail to restart after a power outage.And I'm not always home.I've never had that problem on a emporer.
Later Eric
Later Eric
I rinse sponges out in my weekly water changes. No nitrate problems. The gunk buildup on the sponge can suffocate bacteria from living on the sponge though. Although I agree with jschmidt partially, I must disagree to some extent. I heard that the bacteria can and will be killed off by large changes in temperature. If you go running the sponge under water significantly warmer or cooler than that of your tank water, you could lose a significant amount of bacteria in the sponge...
I always have rinsed my AC sponges "thoroughly" under hot tap water every time I clean them...been using this method for years with no decrease in the tanks bio capabilities. I even do this with my canister filters....however, this method isnt recommended for tanks that are cycling or are new with underdeveloped bacteria colonies. With mature tanks, there wont be any significant harm done to the tank's bacteria colonies, as a whole, from cleaning the filters under the tap. There are more than enough bacteria in the tank itself to support the bioload, granted there are places for bacteria to populate. This method may be questionable in bare tanks however.
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