# Emperor 400 Questions



## Sucidemonkey

Bio0Wheel Power Filter Emperor 400 Complete 3 stage filtration.
For up to 90 gallons filters 400 gallons per hour.

how does it work for you?


Cons

Pros

Id love to hear opinions.

(freshwater)


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## FuzzAz

I dont like the marineland cartrages because of the carbon and the price, but other options are available including a media basket which is what I use. Bio wheels are not the best for use with CO2 injection, and thats why I am looking to replace mine with a canister.


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## Sucidemonkey

Well the Emperor 400 comes with two of the Actual Filters 2 media baskets that go infront of the filters and then two biowheels.

ive been thinking about Co2 injection. Is there any risks? like can to much kill my fish? is it difficult to set up? 

Also i can find a variety of plants. my LPS only offers two types of plants and Petsmart offers the same ones. 

Do you buy yours offline?


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## Twistersmom

Well, I cant give any advice on how well the Emperor work with Co2, since I do not have Co2 in my tanks. I do have 3 Emperor 400s, and i really like them. The media baskets are great for adding extra carbon to remove meds. I buy generic media from DoctorFoster and Smith. Alot cheaper, and comes with a clamshell frame, so you can make your own media and save even more money. The filters have given me no troubles. Always start right up. Bio-wheels are always working properly. Have also used the bio-wheels to jump start a cycle on a new tank. Worked great!


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## cerianthus

bio-wheel is great idea but as it gets build up of gunk, it will stop turning. Needs jet spraying to remove the gunk or replace the wheel.
Wether it will handle 90 g, depends on amount and type of fish but would not recommend to use on 90 even 2 of them. Better off w/ 2 canister type.
I guess when someone said not w/ CO2 injection, I'm assuming CO2 loss due to action of bio-wheel thus purpose of inducing CO2 injection is waste of efforts.


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## Sucidemonkey

cerianthus said:


> bio-wheel is great idea but as it gets build up of gunk, it will stop turning. Needs jet spraying to remove the gunk or replace the wheel.
> Wether it will handle 90 g, depends on amount and type of fish but would not recommend to use on 90 even 2 of them. Better off w/ 2 canister type.
> I guess when someone said not w/ CO2 injection, I'm assuming CO2 loss due to action of bio-wheel thus purpose of inducing CO2 injection is waste of efforts.




well whats so great about the canister type? it seems to be twice almost 3 times more expensive and the GPH are alot lower? I understand the Co2 loss during the bio wheel action but 

$234.99 for a 
Fluval 405
340 GPH
Up to 100 gallons

vrs a 55$ Emperor 400 which is up to 90 gallons 400 GPH - Hang on power head


Ill spend the money if it seriously runs laps around the Emperor. Please and thank you for the help


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## 1077

I use two emperor 400's on an 80 gal discus tank, Two emperor 400's on a 75 gal and one emperor 280 on a 29 gal tank. They are no trouble and actually are a bit overkill on the 80 and 75 gal. If you keep the return water entering the tank below the water line then surface agitation that could drive off some co2 would be minimal. You just wouldn't want the water fall affect . That means keeping the tank level at the same level as the trim around the top of your tank. The spray bars on the emperor are easy to clean with the brush provided and i have cleaned them with the filter running. The bio-wheels should never be cleaned. The impeller needs cleaned once every couple months or whenever the flow of water is slowed down and does not pickup after rinsing the filter cartridges in aquarium water that you take out at water changes and is easy to do. I put the blue filter cartridges in the back furthest away when standing in front of it and the grey media cartridges closest to the back glass and they are filled with ceramic beads for extra biological purposes. The blue filters catch the majority of the crap in this way and grey media containers don't clog up. Once every three or four months I rinse them out if needed again in old aquarium water. Never use tap water. Hope some of this helps.


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## Tyyrlym

A big benefit of the biowheels over other HoB designs is that the primary source of biological filtration, the bio-wheels, are the part of the filter you're not going to mess with. You can perform normal filter maintenance without the risk of disturbing the bacterial colonies. If you're going to get a HoB filter get a marineland bio-wheel one.


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## Twistersmom

Canister filters are less work. The instrsuctions on mine, say to only clean out every 3 months. Most of the media inside can be washed off and reused. The biological section rinsed in tank water. After the initial cost, they are very inexpensive to maintain. Not to say you should get one. The Emperor is a fine filter. I have never had to replace a bio-wheel. My bio-wheels on my goldfish tank are the only ones I have ever had to clean. That was do to some algea growth from indirect sun light. They easly cleaned off in old tank water. The spray bars can get clogged over time, but easy to clean with the brushes you will get with your filter.


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## Pasfur

I find canister filters are way more trouble than Emperors. Canisters require a special effort to clean, where the Emperor filters have cartridges that are very easy to access at any time.

Additionally, if you were to go several months without cleaning the canister units, the buildup of detritus has the possibility of causing problems with your phosphate levels and carbonates that make up your buffer system. These are problems the marine hobbyist is very familiar with, paying very close attention to these ions. The same principles are at play in a FW tank. 

Canister filter manufacturers often brag about the forced flow of water thru the filter pads. I laugh at theses statements, because the water is forced to flow thru the filter pads in a Hang on unit as well. The only exception is when you neglect the clean the pads. And the truth is you would be better to not have mechanical filtration at all than have mechanical filtration thru a filter pad clogged with detritus.

Moving on, not only are the Emperor units very efficient biological filters, they are exceptionally well designed. The placement of the blue filter pads to catch debris allows for the activated carbon chambers to remain unclogged. This high efficiency use of activated carban is very effective at keeping Nitrates low! The reason is that activated carbon absorbs organic acids that would have been processed by the biological filter. In the case of the Emperor, ALL WATER first flows thru the activated carbon chamber, effectively removing organic acids, before these acids have the chance to be broken down into Nitrate by the biowheels. Less organic waste entering the biofilter means less buildup of Nitrate.

It is really an incredible unit. I doubt there will be any advancement in the FW hobby for a long time that outperforms the effectiveness of this hang on. For the last decade every manufacturer has tried, but so far nobody has touched what Marineland has accomplished with the Emperor product line.

If you haven't noticed, I won't use anything other than Emperors on my FW systems. I have used them on dozens of setups and never experienced any degree of dissatisfaction.


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## iamntbatman

Not much to add, just agreement. Emperors are just top of the line HOB filters. The Bio-wheel overcomes any advantages any other HOB filter might have, in my opinion. Also, as was stated, the flow rate and filtration capacity per dollar for an Emperor is just ludicrously good compared to any canister filter.


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## JJ48484

To all that can help, 

I own a Emperor 400 power filter, yes its great, quite, my 55 gallon discus tank has water that looks crystal clear. Only using 2 of the 4 media slots.
Which now raises a question, I am hearing that with the 2 extra media cartridges that you can add media like Diamond Blend etc... HOW ?? when you put any type of media in these 2 extras slots you cannot snap the media cartridges together again, will not fit, even with the micron bag, no good so I don't see the purpose here. What is it that I am doing wrong ????

Also, I hear that there are settings like low / high etc... What settings, there are not settings on this filter ????

I hear there is a setting on the top of the filter once you open the back lid, no.... there is no settings there.

Whats up here..........

Any help would be great, as I would like to use the extra 2 slots for additional media but can't be done.....
Would love to know where these settings are.....

John


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## jerrypunch

JJ48484 said:


> To all that can help,
> 
> I own a Emperor 400 power filter, yes its great, quite, my 55 gallon discus tank has water that looks crystal clear. Only using 2 of the 4 media slots.
> Which now raises a question, I am hearing that with the 2 extra media cartridges that you can add media like Diamond Blend etc... HOW ?? when you put any type of media in these 2 extras slots you cannot snap the media cartridges together again, will not fit, even with the micron bag, no good so I don't see the purpose here. What is it that I am doing wrong ????
> 
> You are filling the baskets too full.
> 
> Also, I hear that there are settings like low / high etc... What settings, there are not settings on this filter ????
> 
> The '"new and improved model" has a venturi opening in the intake tube.
> 
> I hear there is a setting on the top of the filter once you open the back lid, no.... there is no settings there.
> 
> Whats up here..........
> 
> See above
> 
> Any help would be great, as I would like to use the extra 2 slots for additional media but can't be done.....
> Would love to know where these settings are.....
> 
> John


I hope that helps.


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## 1077

The old style emperor 400 did indeed have a flow control at the top of the unit that you could pull up or push down to control flow. They also had little windows that allowed you to see that biowheel was turning. I have two such filters still in good operating condition although i have had to replace impeller on them. The newer ones have a two piece intake tube that allows water to be filtered or drawn from the middle of the water column as well as the bottom and it too can be adjusted to increase the flow being drawn from the tank or decrease the flow from the middle or bottom. On tanks that are not deep enough ,,it may be necessary to take a hack saw to shorten the length if both pieces are used otherwise it's often times too long. The extra media cartridges will hold a fair amount of media , carbon, ceramic beads, etc and one can use a pair of ***** or side cutters to remove the fins from one side of the clam shell thus allowing more media to be inserted.;-)


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## JJ48484

HI Jerry,

thank you for your help, I understand now. I think I better stick to computers...... 

I now understand how the media slots work or the extra ones that is....

I now understand about the in take tube which yes does have the vent to help with water flow.

Reason I didn't bring it up in my letter is because I never thought to look for it, since I don't use it.

My tank is not deep enough, however a nice hack saw would do the trick. 

I bought the filter about 3 months ago, so I knew it was pretty new to begin with.

Thanks again for your help and to help me with understanding.

John


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## JJ48484

Hi,

Thank you for your help, see letter I sent to Jerry on the same subject... 

this letter is meant for you too. thank you again for helping me understand what the 400 is all about.

John 8)


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## doctorb

1077 said:


> The old style emperor 400 did indeed have a flow control at the top of the unit that you could pull up or push down to control flow. They also had little windows that allowed you to see that biowheel was turning. I have two such filters still in good operating condition although i have had to replace impeller on them. The newer ones have a two piece intake tube that allows water to be filtered or drawn from the middle of the water column as well as the bottom and it too can be adjusted to increase the flow being drawn from the tank or decrease the flow from the middle or bottom. On tanks that are not deep enough ,,it may be necessary to take a hack saw to shorten the length if both pieces are used otherwise it's often times too long. The extra media cartridges will hold a fair amount of media , carbon, ceramic beads, etc and one can use a pair of ***** or side cutters to remove the fins from one side of the clam shell thus allowing more media to be inserted.;-)


I have a 400 and a wet dry on my 75, a 400 and a 280 on my 55, and a 280 on my 30. The first 400 was given to me used about 11 years ago and recently it been moving less water. I typically give them a good cleaning about every 3 months with brushes and pipe cleaners and this one never seems to move the water anymore.

Could that be the impeller? I'm still a ways away from setting up the 125 to replace the 55 and was wondering if I should just buy a new one and dump this old one, but it never occurred to me to fix it. Did you replace the impeller because of slow flow?

On the 75 gallon, I reverse the order and fill the clam shells with floss and put the blue pads behind them so they last longer. I've also just started using drsfostersmith's replacement pads which do a nice job removing gunk, they seem to clog faster than the emporer blue pads which sort of offsets the cost savings because of more frequent replacement, but it's removing more crud that way, too.

I've also tried whisper and aquaclear and not been happy with either. Emporers are the only hang on back I'll buy.


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## Piledriver

Short question: Do the Emperor start up by themself after a power outage?


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## neenjar

Piledriver said:


> Short question: Do the Emperor start up by themself after a power outage?


Yes, I have had that filter almost 6 years now. So long as a fuse in the power strip or breaker box did not pop when the power went out it will start right up when power returns.

I do not use the cartridges, I cut the blue floss off of them and emptied the carbon and I use the frame to wrap floss around. I fill the 2 media containers with floss as well, unless i am trying to remove meds, then I add carbon to them.

It has been a great filter for me with minimal maintenance. i clean the impeller every 2 months, and clean out the spray bars when I do the impeller.

I recently sold the tank i had this with to a friend do to a back injury I have and unable to maintain it. It is still going strong for him, I go help him with the cleaning every time it needs maintenance. We are going to replace the impeller next time. It does not need it, but at over 6 years old i figure I could not hurt.


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## ron521

I used two Emperor 400's on a 75 gallon heavily planted community tank for 8 or 9 years. I never had to replace the biowheels or even clean them even one time. Once in a great while, I would have to poke a small wire through the holes in the spraybar.
I used Imagine filter cartridges, they had a clamshell frame which snapped together around the replaceable media pad, and I often cut new pads from a bulk roll. So, maintenance costs were not very high.
In the "media basket" which occupies the second slot on each side, I placed some of those porous ceramic noodles used in canister filters, between these and the biowheels, the biological filtration was truly excellent.
The only service these filters ever required was new impellers every several 4 or 5 years, the shafts would wear and get rattly, but would still move water effectively.
I don't think they would be good for CO2 injection, as the action of the biowheels would try to equalize the CO2 dissolved in your water with that in the atmosphere.
They are not completely silent, you will hear water moving through them and returning to the tank. Also, even with new impellers, there are sometimes random sounds from the motors.
Not long ago, I retired my Emperors, still working perfectly (and with recently replaced impellers). I replaced them with a pair of HydroSponge IV, powered by a Whisper air pump. Water quality is still excellent, and I think my fish enjoy the gentler movement of the water.


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