currently have 2 Emperor 400's on my 55 Malawi tank, they dont have much options for media and are a little loud. Other than that they work great keep the water really clean and I am having no problems with them now. I want to get either a Magnum 350 with the Bio-wheel or a Fluval 404. Has anyone had any experience with these filters and how did they work? Or should i keep the ones i have because I am somewhat happy with them and they work fairly well. What would be the advantages to switching to those filters.
what filter??
- Thread starter losthere
- Start date
do yourself a favor and get an Aquaclear 500 (maybe called a 110 now?) remove all the filter crap except the sponge and you'll be a happy camper. excellent filter, quiet, efficient and easy to maintain ... just rinse the sponge once a month. this filter will run a 55 gallon tank without need of any additional filters.
i've tried the Fluval cannisters and will tell you they are among the worst on the market. the Emperor's are noisy
i've tried the Fluval cannisters and will tell you they are among the worst on the market. the Emperor's are noisy
Before you go buy new filters, what have you placed in the optional media baskets of your Emperors?
Right now, I have cut out the backs of my Emperor filter cartridges to remove the carbon that causes them to clog up. Now I simply rise out the blue filter media and re-use the cartridges until they fall apart.
My media baskets are filled with a special highly porous rock that has tons of surface area for beneficial bacteria. You can get a wide range of bio media to put in those baskets to increase the quality of filtration.
Right now, I have cut out the backs of my Emperor filter cartridges to remove the carbon that causes them to clog up. Now I simply rise out the blue filter media and re-use the cartridges until they fall apart.
My media baskets are filled with a special highly porous rock that has tons of surface area for beneficial bacteria. You can get a wide range of bio media to put in those baskets to increase the quality of filtration.
I would suggest two Aquaclear 50's or 70's. Redundancy is never a bad thing, and with a tank as long as a 55g I always suggest two smaller filters. liv2pdl is right, they are very quite and sponges are all that's needed. Maybe a layer of polyester quilt batting from Walmart to take out the really fine particles.