# Replacing ac 70 with emporer 400



## TONY5177 (Sep 9, 2007)

I and think of replacing my back up filter on my 72 gallon, currently I have a fluval 405 and a ac 70 on the tank. The ac 70 makes to much noise even after replacing the motor an impeller.In the picture on the box for the 400 it looks like the intake tube is much shorter than the ac. Does anyone know if extension tubes are availible. Would the filtering by affected by a shorter tube? I thouht it was better to have the intake closer to the bottom. Also is the emporer pretty quite? Does it make noise when the water hits the tank due to being spun off the bio wheel?


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## rgr4475 (Mar 19, 2008)

I have an emperor 400 and 280. The tubes that come with these are pretty long, so long I had to cut it cause the intake hit the bottom when I first installed it. (55g) But i do believe you can buy extention tubes but I'm not 100% sure. I have the 400 intake close to the bottom and the 280 higher up around the middle of the tank. The 280's performance is not affected cause of where the intake is at. When you first get the filters going they are a little noisy for a couple of weeks, but after you "break them in" they really become quiet. Now all I hear is the trickle of the water going into the tank. The motors and impellers are pretty quiet. My tank is right next to my ear by the couch and it does not affect me watching tv or talking on the phone etc. I have 3 filters altogether, the 2 emperors and a Fluval 305 canister and all of them are very quiet. The bio wheel itself does not make any noise or propell the water into the tank to cause any additional noise. It just flows through them and trickles out to the tank. They also do a nice job with agitating the surface and water flow on top of the water. My 400 is pretty new and I have had the 280 for about 5 years now. I definately recommend them but can't compare them to the AC70 cause I have never used that brand of filter. I bought mine for about $55 at my LFS so don't go to petsmart cause they are listed at $74.99. Hope this helps you out, let me know if you have any more questions.

Bob


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## captevo (Feb 4, 2008)

I just bought an Emperor 400 at Petsmart for $36.
Print out the page on Petmarts.com, the store will price match it.


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## rgr4475 (Mar 19, 2008)

I just went to petsmart.com and the 280 was $35.99 and the 400 was $42.99. Still a great price, thanks captevo.


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## Ispintechno (Mar 27, 2008)

I run an Emperor 280 on my planted tank. It's quiet, the biowheel is silent, it even has a spray bar over them to keep it in constant motion unlike some of the lesser biowheel filters. I do get the odd "squeek" sound and the spray bar clogs up if I wait too long to service it, I think its java moss getting inside in my case though.
On the 280 where the water splashes out there is a lip that sticks out and lessens the water noise and directs the water forward instead of straight down, I actially prefer the harder splash and flow rate from the AquaClear filter on my other tank to be honest.


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## pcrawford1044 (Apr 19, 2008)

i had t ocut my tube down t ofit my 75 i run an emp 400 and a penguin 350 on my 75 and they are both
pretty queit as quiet as a whsiper 3 power filter


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