# Emperor-Penguin-Death Match



## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

I have never owned either of these filters, but from the specs, there seems little difference between the emp400 and pen350..
Whats up with that, other than the about $30 diff in price :-? 
Fill me in guys 8)


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## jaked1985 (Mar 31, 2009)

I have not had either, but, from what I understand, the 400 has a spray bar setup that turns the wheels, as opposed to the 350 in which the bio wheels turn by the water level in the filter rising, and pushing against them causing them to turn.

I have 3 penguin 330s on various tanks, they all work quite well.


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

With 3 Emperor 400's, I can't be impartial. :lol:

For a HOB, the Emperor is my choice on larger tanks... relatively quiet for what it is.

Look online for this stuff: The Emperor should be not-too-much more expensive than the Penguin.

-Ryan


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## Bashiba (Feb 28, 2003)

I have had both and the emperor is much better, the spray bars and adjustable flow rate along with the bigger media chambers make it a much better filter.

And there should only be a $10 difference. At least thats what it is at Big Als

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp17289/cl0/filters


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

I've also had both (probably still do if I dig deep enough)... and I prefer Aqua Clears... but that's not the question 

Emperors model is built a little more ruggedly, utilized the spray bar offering more uniform function of the biowheel... may have a slightly better motor/impellor (although I cannot verify this)...

They are basically the same filter but the Emp has a couple upgrades...


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

*** got both penguin has one impeller the emporer has two and one turns the biowheels.. def. get the emperor.. fish.com only 55 bucks


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

jfly said:


> I've got both penguin has one impeller the emporer has two and one turns the biowheels.. def. get the emperor.. fish.com only 55 bucks


Where's the second impeller? All three Emperors that I own have a single impeller that both spits water out into the side compartments and some up into the spray bars which hose down the BioWheels.

Marineland actually lies through their teeth when they say that "pre-filtered" water goes to the BioWheels. I guess it's "pre-filtered" in that anything too big to get sucked up by the filter in the first place doesn't wind up on the BioWheels... but there's no addition filtration that happens on it's way to the BioWheels.

That said, I still like the Emperors as solid workhorses. 

-Ryan


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## Spadz (Dec 4, 2008)

Sorry to hi jack this post but i was thinking about getting an emperor 400 for my tank but only have 4 inches MAX from my tank to the wall, is that enough to put one of these in my tank??

Can anyone be kind enough to measure for me!


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

I had both. I even had the old school version way back in the day. It was two housings that connected to each other by some tubing. In the middle of that tubing was a T that had some more tubing that went down to a power head with a pre filter.

I liked the spray bar function but mine was never uniform. In fact after a few months a few would get a bit clogged up.

I like both but to be honest, how much do you need those mild upgrades?


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

Spadz said:


> Sorry to hi jack this post but i was thinking about getting an emperor 400 for my tank but only have 4 inches MAX from my tank to the wall, is that enough to put one of these in my tank??
> 
> Can anyone be kind enough to measure for me!


I'll measure tonight! 

-Ryan


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## ManicHispanic (Mar 26, 2009)

Spadz said:


> Sorry to hi jack this post but i was thinking about getting an emperor 400 for my tank but only have 4 inches MAX from my tank to the wall, is that enough to put one of these in my tank??
> 
> Can anyone be kind enough to measure for me!


Hope this link helps.

http://www.petsolutions.com/Info.aspx?id=401


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

Just measured, and 4" won't work. Even the Petsolutions chart is a little optimistic. You need about 5" back there.

-Ryan


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## Spadz (Dec 4, 2008)

Hey guys thanks for the help! Thats too bad  i would love to have one on my tank! Oh well back to square one


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

The Magnum 350 Pro canister comes with a pair of Biowheels. I have two of these working in concert with the Magnums. Slightly more exxy than the Emperor, but a good unit nonetheless. It'll fit in a 4" gap with plenty of room to spare.

-Ryan


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## planenut007 (Mar 21, 2009)

The Emp, does have 2 impellors, both on same drive assy.
I too have both, not a fan of hob filters, but they are a lot of bang for the buck, never bought a new one always aquired them with used tanks.
Only running one at the moment (emp 400) on 40 gal grow out.
I do keep them around for spares, never know when you may need a back up.
None of them are as quiet as a canister.


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

both impellers on drive shaft/assembly


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## ksfishguy (Dec 17, 2006)

Here is something to think about... I have had both, but have gone to the Penguin 350's exclusively. You can buy the replacement cartridges at Walmart and they are cheap! You can use the same size as their largest filter, basically, Walmart sells the same filter without the biowheels. I also like the look of the Penguin's, but I'm weird!


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

Hum. Why do all three of my Emp 400's have just a single impellor?

As for replacement cartridges, I bought a handful of Foster & Smith inserts with the clamshells, and just use cut-to-fit filter media in the clamshells. Really no reason to use official (expensive) filter pads/cartridges for any filter, since almost all of us fish-nuts do regular water changes. 

-Ryan


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## ksfishguy (Dec 17, 2006)

Point taken RyanR, I do weekly water changes, but do not change filter cartridges very often, so the cost outweighs the convenience for me.


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## planenut007 (Mar 21, 2009)

The one I have must be a special edition, one is purple and other is white, check the replacement parts photos, it clearly shows 2 impellers on 1 shaft <----- lol he said shaft again


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## overleaf (Jan 18, 2009)

You're not crazy RyanR, mine also have a single Impeller.

In fact, they all do! Check out this parts map:

http://www.elmersaquarium.com/p_marinel ... or_400.htm


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

If there isnt two shafts how can two impellers even work?

They would work against each other since they are not fixed to each other.


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## planenut007 (Mar 21, 2009)

There are 2 impellers on one shaft devided by the lower monting piece that snaps in the lower part on the assy that splits the Y at the back, one directs flow to the spraybars the other to the cartridges, open one up and look you will see, 2 impellers on one shaft, one is white, other is purple, they inter lock. You can also read the discription of the 400 on any sight ie; fosters, pet solutions ect, ect...thay will tell you the same...just take one apart and look at it.


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