# Emperor 400 questions



## cichlidpastor (Jun 20, 2009)

Got questions about my emperor 400

1. I've read somewhere that you can adjust the flow rate. I haven't seen anything in the instructions to that effect. Is this true and if it is how do you adjust it?

2. Is there a polishing media available with the emperor?

thanks


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## bombero (Mar 28, 2006)

(on the flow rate) depends if you have an older one or a newer one...they changed just a little bit. honestly I cant remember which one, because I have several of both...but on one of them there is a pull up/push down lever in the middle to adjust the flow rate..it was mainly there for when feeding the fish so that all of the food wouldnt get sucked into the filter....shop around for parts and you will see the one im talking about its a grey lever in the manifold....

as for polishing, most everyone uses the grey (clamshells) and put pillow batting or stuffing that you can get from walmart, its in a bag the size of a pillow and is a fine stuffing that works fantastic....only a few dollars and the bag will last forever....

hope this helps.


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## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

I had the same question about the polishing in and Emperor 400. What is the brand name of the "pillow batting/stuffing" from Wal-Mart (want to makes sure I get one that has been proven to work and not have negative effects on the tank/fish) and will this also work for mechanical filtration; or will that all be done by the pre-made carbon pads. I was trying to figure out if I could get extra cages and not have to buy the pre-made carbon pad things, just used carbon bought in bulk in the grey cages. But then I didnâ€™t know what to do about mechanical filtration. Any thoughts, tips, ideas, and/or concerns?

Thanks,
Matt


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## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

I have filter floss in my 2 empty trays in the back of my emperor behind the filter pads in the front. They work great and my water is Crystal Clear! :thumb:


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## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

Dj823cichild said:


> I have filter floss in my 2 empty trays in the back of my emperor behind the filter pads in the front. They work great and my water is Crystal Clear! :thumb:


Thanks for the input. I have not polished my water before (just mechanical, bio, & carbon filtration), so my questions may be a bit novice, sorry.

What is "filter floss"? Where can i get it? any brands you recomend?

Thanks,
Matt


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## bombero (Mar 28, 2006)

the floss is called ""poly-fil" its in a blue plastic bag shaped like a small pillow....


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## cichlidpastor (Jun 20, 2009)

when you say "'poly-fil' its in a blue plastic bag shaped like a small pillow" are you talking about pillow stuffy at wal-mart or are you talking baout actual filter media? Sorry I couldn't keep up


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)




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## cichlidpastor (Jun 20, 2009)

thanks for that. BTW I did go to wal-mart and asked for poly-fil and they took me right to it.


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## steelers fan (Jun 26, 2009)

yeah i use filter floss i get from my lfs...its the same stuff. i used to use 50 micron filter sheets cut to fit as a polisher and they worked the best but if you have alot of fish and dont clean those sheets very well every week they start to dump stuff back into the tank and discolor the water because they work so well that they become oversaturated. but yeah filter floss is the way to go i think and i never new an equivilent was sold at a regular store...probrably much cheaper


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## luvpurple (Aug 14, 2009)

What exactly does the filter floss or the poly fil do? Never used it. I have crushed coral in my empty containers and have them infront of the blue filters. The flow adjustment is a push/pull on the top of mine. Something must not be right however because it will only work in the up position. The down sucks all the water out of the filter.


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## BoostedX (Mar 1, 2009)

The filter floss "polishes" the water. Basically it takes all the SMALL stuff that the other filter pads dont get out of the water. When u push the lever down it will cut the flow of the water down. It will suck alot of the water out of the filter but the filter should recover. Sometimes it takes a while for it to do but eventually it will..


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## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

Yeah I got my filter floss at Pet Smart it was pretty cheap to and it works wonders. My water is always crystal clear and besides all my filtration I know the floss is doing the job as well.


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## luvpurple (Aug 14, 2009)

Thanks, does it need to be in a bag or can you put it between the grey container and the filter?


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## steelers fan (Jun 26, 2009)

i just stuff it into the grey media containers...then every week i rinse it and squeeze it out really well to prolong its use because it does grab alot of ****


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## cichlidpastor (Jun 20, 2009)

I have a different question on the emperor: Should the spray bars spray directly on the bio-wheels? I had noticed that my bio-wheels weren't really turning very much. When i checked out the spray bars I noticed that they sprayed down into the chamber, but didn't actually hit the bio-wheels. I adjusted them to hit the bio-wheels directly. Now they are spinning very fast. Is that okay?


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## cichlidpastor (Jun 20, 2009)

I added poly-fil to my grey cages. I already had ceramic in them, but I just stuffed the poly-fil in with the ceramic. But it's been running a couple days now and there is absolutely no change in the water. Just as cloudy as it was.


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## steelers fan (Jun 26, 2009)

yes the spray bar should be pointed at the biowheels and they will slow down once they get loaded with bacteria. as for the grey media containers you should stuff any available media containers with mechanical filtration media only with the emporers. i have mine stuffed with filter floss for the second cartidges and scotch-brite scrubbers in the first... your bio-wheels are more than enough bio-filtration for anything you can throw at them. so yeah max out your mechanical filtration and you will see a difference


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## cichlidpastor (Jun 20, 2009)

steelers fan said:


> yes the spray bar should be pointed at the biowheels and they will slow down once they get loaded with bacteria. as for the grey media containers you should stuff any available media containers with mechanical filtration media only with the emporers. i have mine stuffed with filter floss for the second cartidges and scotch-brite scrubbers in the first... your bio-wheels are more than enough bio-filtration for anything you can throw at them. so yeah max out your mechanical filtration and you will see a difference


Well i don't want to take the ceramic out until I know the bio-wheels will be able to carry the load by themselves. the tank has only been up and running for 2 weeks. But I still put the floss in the same cartridges with the ceramic and its actually a little more cloudy tonight than it was before I put the floss in. What gives?

Thanks for the info on the spray bars. I have 3 400's and I have had to adjust all of them. They come out of the box missing the bio-wheels.


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## steelers fan (Jun 26, 2009)

i have 2 400s in a 55gal with 24 4-5 inch mbuna and i never see an ammonia or nitrite spike. and i clean my meachanical media very well every week with the water change.


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## cichlidpastor (Jun 20, 2009)

cichlidpastor said:


> They come out of the box missing the bio-wheels.


What i mean is out of the box, the spray bars are pointed down toward the chamber and they miss the bio-wheels completely. I never noticed that before. Of course these are the only emperors I've ever had.

So everyone with emperors: you need to check your spray bars and make sure they are actually hitting the bio-wheels.


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