I have used all three of these filters for years. I do not agree with a fair amount of your post. I will just pick a few nits to provide some examples.
1- Bio wheels do not just stop- when they do its from a lack of proper maintainance not anything inherent to the filter. This is not a design flaw, it is operator error.
2. Anybody who has difficulty loading AquaClear media probably has a hard time walking too.
3. The Flow adjustment on the Emperor is a 3 position deal- Flow only to sraybars for feeding, Low Flow and High Flow. BTW the spraybar water totally by passes the carts.
4. The AC impellor setup is not more suseptible to foreign matter problems than the other two.
5. The basic Whisper has no bio-media at all.
6. Filter flow rates are based on an empty filter- ie no media in it. Add media and the comparisons are useless.
7. I have 23 AquaClears running- some for over 6 years. Not a one has ever cracked the case. And they are all quiet.
8. In a power outage Emperor drains and wont restart when power comes back on.
I could go on but what is the point? You have made up your mind.
How many times do I have to say that these are not my opinions and observations! They are a gathering of things people generally have had to say about these products over the years, some hard facts about manufacturers' claims about flow rates, the basic retail prices and various other gathered information and noted public opinion. I'm just gathering all of the data into one place and saying "this is what a lot of people state." I haven't made up my darned mind about anything! How can you tell me I have "made up my own mind?"
Not once did I present any of the information in the pros and cons as being one of my own personal findings. You can't disagree with a person when you don't even know what they think of something. I'm not on here wearing some hat saying, "Okay I know all there is to know about filters so read this and shut the bleep up!" I'm saying let's start a thread where we post our good and bad experiences about these filters so we can have a definitive resource which people can use to gather their own informed opinions rather than "someone on the fishy forum told me to buy an Aquaclear."
Am I seriously that bad of a writer, or do people have trouble reading? I seriously can't believe that I'm getting agitated on an internet forum, but I am starting to get a bit annoyed. How many times do I have to explain a simple post? Seriously. It's no fun to have everyone giving you a hard time and making you feel a need to waste your efforts writing more than was necessary.
First, listing pro's and con's is part of a discussion of preferences, if you want your input to be valid. Here's the thing... when you post on a public forum, and mandate despotic regulations on a thread you post, it takes the fun and enthusiasm out of posting and turns it into a list of robotic responses.
Oh, and if you intend this to be an overall analysis, don't forget flowrate and ammount of power used. That's something some are worried about.
Pros and cons are not a discussion of preferences per se. Just to have someone tell you "Wool is warm but can be itchy" and "cotton is soft but not very warm" doesn't tell you if they prefer wool or cotton.
I mentioned flowrate. But being as though I didn't mention power consumption...wouldn't that be more of a reason for you to post that information? That was the point of this thread - for people to post known information, consumer reports, personal experiences, etc with these filters. I don't see how it's a despotic regulation to expect people to stay on topic.
Let me attempt to clarify things once and for all (gah!)
** I am not trying to be despotic and forbid people from saying anything they darn well please. All I originally asked is that people don't post something pointless like "Oh yeah I use Penguins. Aquaclears can bite me." **
** I did not once post any of my own opinions or conclusions. My original post was pure reporting. There is nothing for you to "agree" or "disagree" with. If you're disagreeing with the content of the post, you're disagreeing with those various people from which I have gathered these varying opinions, not me. A lot of people think the holocaust never happened. Does that make me one of them just because I am telling you that fact? **
I'm disappointed because I thought it would be really cool to have a thread that was like a consumer reports sort of thing.
