# Aquaclear 110 or emperor 400



## tyson679 (Jul 31, 2008)

I have a Emperor 400 right now and it makes a tone of noise. It is only a few weeks old. I am going to return it for a new one, or maybe switch to a Aquaclear 110. Can anyone tell me chich is better and why? I am also running a Eheim 2236 canister filter. This will be fore a Cichlid tank. Thanks in advance.


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## lotsofish (Feb 28, 2008)

I don't think my Emperors are that noisy. No more noisy than an Aquaclear. Many people like the Auuaclears since they feel they are more adaptable to different types of media. I like the Emperors because they have refillable cartridges that easily slide in and out. When I had an Aquaclear, I would often take the sponge out and rinse it in water taken from the tank so it wouldn't clog and prevent oxygen from getting to the biological bacteria. The biowheel doesn't need cleaning.

My vote is for the Emperor however I just went to a fish club talk and the speaker was showing off the new tetra filters. They have some advantages but being adaptable to different media isn't one of them.


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## supadave (Jun 19, 2007)

Both of the filters are great. It's just that each one excells where the other lacks. When I say lack , I mean one of the filter gets a 10 where the other gets a 9.* You can't go wrong with either filter. **Both do the job and do it well !!! *If noise isn't a big deal, then see which filter works best for your needs. I personally break the two filters down like this....

Aqua Clear: 
Good Mechanical 
Great Biological 
Very Quiet 
Moves alot of water

Emp 400: 
Great Mechanical 
Good Biological 
Not Loud (but noticeable) 
Very little Bypass

Keep in mind that you can tweak each of these filters to make it equal the performance of the other. For instance, you can add filter floss to the AC 110 to make it a better a catching the fine particles, or you can add biological media to the extra compartment in the Emp 400. I have been a die hard AC 110 fan, ( I own 8 of them) but since their recent price hike I decided to try Emp 400 and I really like them. I like them even more since I've learned to make my own filter media and they're about $25.00 bucks cheaper than the AC110.


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## addicted2cichlid (Apr 8, 2008)

AC110... you'll love the space and custom-ability... AC's are the only HOB i use anymore, no cartirges to replace, i have a couple ac30's that are around 6 years old now, and have ran everyday since i got em.

oh and your emporer 400 will take a few weeks to build up some "gunk" and will run quiet.

get the ac110 though, ull be happy.


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## jimmie (Oct 23, 2002)

yeah man get the AC 110 I been having AC for a long time when it's was call AC 500.the best HOB on the market..I hav them on my 225gl three of them and they work great; :thumb: with about 40-45 fish in there.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

I am all about the biowheels! Only HOB I use now a days.


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## jimmie (Oct 23, 2002)

dwarfpike said:


> I am all about the biowheels! Only HOB I use now a days.


of course you use bio wheels but for as a bigger tank u need a powerfilter or a canister or a sump;so for as him he need a nice hob power filter


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## tyson679 (Jul 31, 2008)

hehe thanks for all the replys. I should have mentioned that this is for a 60g tank. I use the eheim 2236 as my main bio filter, and was using the Emperor as mechanical, and added the eheim media to the 2 cartridges as well. My tank always seems to have stuff floating around in it and does not look to clean. figure it should be clean since I am over filtering, thats why I am not sure about the emperor anymore, not to mention it is kinda loud.


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## lotsofish (Feb 28, 2008)

You might get the floating crud with most filters because the filter intakes are underwater. You'll need something that takes stuff off the surface. There are some filters with surface skimmers and there may be a part for your Eheim that takes in surface water but I don't have experience with them.

Also, you might try a product like "Clarity" that will cause small particles to join together so they are large enough for the filter media to clean them from the tank. Are you using a fine sand that puts dust in the water?

By the way, the newly redesigned Tetra Whisper filters have the motors underwater, the manufacturer claims they are more quiet and don't need priming because of this. It might be something to investigate if quiet is your main concern. I do think your Emperor should get more quiet with time as addicted2cichlid suggests.


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