I had to say AC as I have never had any of the others. My AC's have never failed me and I have had some for more then 10 years with no trouble.
Emperors Vs Aquaclears
- Thread starter JamisonBWolsh
- Start date
D o you use the media basket?...I use the cell-pore cartridge on the emp 280,and i use filter floss in the media basket . I put the media basket in the back slot as a mechcanical filter and the cell-pore in the front slot,my water never overflows,I change the filter floss every 4 weeks or sooner if it gets dirty.I do the same thing on my emp 400 with great results.Originally posted by JamisonBWolsh
Haha! Beat ya to it!
Anyway, IMO the best setup would include the emp. 400 and the aquaclear 500.
AquaClear= Excellent Mechanical, problem is if you clean the sponges weekly, you destroy the good bacteria. If you clean them (assuming you have 2 sponges) on a rotation basis, then your nitrates will raise because of the buildup of crap in the older sponge.
Emperor= Excellent BIO and good mechanical. Clean the pads daily and it wont effect the good bacteria. Also reduces nitrates by elimanating the crap (when you clean the pad).
PS: In my emperors, I added the Bio-cartridge to add to the bacteria colonies.
400: works fine.
280: When I added the cartridge, the water overflowed the filter pad and over the cartridge as well. I had to reduce the flow somewhat to use the bio cartridge.
Bio-cartridge: something to add to your filter to increase surface space (LOTS) for the good bacteria to colonize. Some people here say the cartridges are easily breakable when washed. I never had this problem yet. Just handle it carefully, I guess. i could see if you drop it, it would break.
I dont get what this is about the Emporer and "noise".
Just this last weekend I was talking to my GF about my 100 gallon , which has a Emp400 on the back of it, and she said she coudlnt tell because she couldnt hear anything running and thought the filter had broke.
Just this last weekend I was talking to my GF about my 100 gallon , which has a Emp400 on the back of it, and she said she coudlnt tell because she couldnt hear anything running and thought the filter had broke.
Originally posted by fishbrain
D o you use the media basket?...I use the cell-pore cartridge on the emp 280,and i use filter floss in the media basket . I put the media basket in the back slot as a mechcanical filter and the cell-pore in the front slot,my water never overflows,I change the filter floss every 4 weeks or sooner if it gets dirty.I do the same thing on my emp 400 with great results.
Fishbrain: I Use the filter PAD cartridge. WHERE do you buy your filter floss from?
Your lfs should have filter floss available.. if not, a online store will. However a cheaper solution is to use poly batting or stuffing. Actually the best solution is to use aquaclears 
well...acuaclears are out of the question. I want the best Power filter available 
I tried some fish safe Floss I got from Walmart. Before I added it to my tank, I ran it under the tap water. I did notice several small strands come out. Before I use this method, Can this be a problem with the fish? FLOSS it a MUCH cheaper then the pads and you can change it more often because of the inexpense.
I tried some fish safe Floss I got from Walmart. Before I added it to my tank, I ran it under the tap water. I did notice several small strands come out. Before I use this method, Can this be a problem with the fish? FLOSS it a MUCH cheaper then the pads and you can change it more often because of the inexpense.
I always use WalMart floss in my Emperor 400, it works great, and the big bags last a long time.
Why would you say this? They are a very good filter. The best? Who knows. What would you use to quantify the "best". AC are very dependable, long lived and they get the job done. They are versatile and adjustable to most any needs. I had one of the other power filters, I can not remember which, it had a ceramic impeller and I had nothing but trouble with it. Ac's are very good filters in my opinion.
BOBS: does any of the floss "escape" the cartridge and into the tank? They are small peices of threads...
What is up with people saying that biowheels make a lot of noise? On any of the tanks I've seen with Penguins and Emperors, I only hear the water loudly if the water level is lower then an inch from the black trim. Other then that, they sound like every other power filter when water is entering the tank.
