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Marineland Emperor 400

Discussion in 'Product Reviews' started by LemonDiscus, Mar 15, 2009.

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  1. Ms. Wright

    Ms. Wright Member

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    I'm running an Emperor 400 on my 150, as well as A Fluval submersible and the big Aqua Clear. They're wonderful filters, but, as somebody pointed out, when they lose their prime they're worthless. And over the summer, with our frequent t-storms, we get power blips. When the juice comes back on, the other two pick up where they left off, but the Emperor always needs water added.
    Thanks for the reminder; we're at the lake for two weeks, and the pet sitter needs to know this.
     
    Ms. Wright, Jul 15, 2009
    #21
  2. gsoul55

    gsoul55 New Member

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    And the manufacturer inserts are horrible they clog to fast and have carbon in them. I don't know about anyone else but I hate carbon in my filters. Wreaks havoc on the trace elements on my cichlid tanks. I would rate an aquaclear 110 way higher than the emporer. I love the foam on the aquaclears I use 1 foam for over a year before I even need to buy a new one. And it can hold a lot more media than those small baskets on the emporer. The only thing I liked was the bio-wheel so I bought a long replacement bio-wheel at pet smart and mounted it onto my aquaclear's and it works awesome. Actually turns better than the emporer. So for me emporer 400 is a big thumbs down.
     
    gsoul55, Jul 16, 2009
    #22
  3. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    hey. you have to show photos of how you did the mod on the ac110 for the biowheels! (have some spare bios and was thinking about the same thing...it needs bios!)
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jul 16, 2009
    #23
  4. gsoul55

    gsoul55 New Member

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    I'll do step by step pictures on one when I get a chance. I even have a home made spray bar on this one. I didn't come up with this myself though someone on anothe forum showed me how a few years ago. I'll try to do a new one in a couple weeks with step by step instructions.
    mod.jpg
     
    gsoul55, Jul 16, 2009
    #24
  5. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    you defin have to do one in the diy section for me!
    *is excited*
    I'd love to use the spare bio-wheels on the ac110
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jul 16, 2009
    #25
  6. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Thread Starter Active Member

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    I have to agree with you 120%... Actually I dont use the store bought inserts... I take them apart and remake them... If you have an old filter you can tear it apart too... all you need is 1 plastic frame and you can use it forever (or 2 actually as they have 2 filters :) )

    • I take the blue filter floss off first (just tear it off)
    • I dump out the carbon
    • I add peat moss in the plastic frame (I use this as my chemical to alter water for Discus)
    • I wrap the filter in the white filter floss that looks like cotton
    • I slide the entire thing into pantyhose (thigh highs)
    • Tie off the top and put it back in the Emperor

    This works well for my use... it does not clog that easy as I do the white filter floss VERY thin and dont add too much peat moss to it... it takes a few times to get it right to allow the water to flow but this works REALLY well....
     
    LemonDiscus, Jul 17, 2009
    #26
  7. California Cowgirl

    California Cowgirl New Member

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    i'll look into what you guy's did on yours. At least with my SW tank it won't be a necessity to have a filter as i will have the LR and good skimmer.
     
    California Cowgirl, Jul 17, 2009
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  8. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Member

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    My Emperor 400 is on its last leg I think. I did a 50% water change last week and took the water below the intake. It took me almost an hour to get it going again. I've tried taking it apart and cleaning it and it still gives me grief if I cut it off. I've had the filter forever but it looks like it may need to be replaced again.
     
    jrow8162, Jul 28, 2009
    #28
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