emperor 400 vs AquaClear

[gudel]

anyone who has tried emperor 400 and AquaClear500, which one is the most quiet?
i have an emperor 400, this thing hums loud! compared to my eheim proII 2028, the emperor is like a harley davidson bike.
i need something that is extremely quiet power filter, preferably one that runs quiet like the eheim.

 

[Somonas]

there has been a lot of discussion on this topic in the last 3 years I've been here, so you might try doing a search for it.

but a quick answer would be -

both filters have their places, Both are excellent filters. I prefer aquaclear for mechanical filtration. I prefer E400 for biological filtration.

 

[gudel]

not really looking for which one is better for biological filter, but looking for the most quiet power filter.

i prefer my eheim 2028 for bio filtration than any power filters. just looking for something that is very quiet for mechanical filtration.

 

[anthoeny]

I can personally say that I have always known Aquaclear power filters to be very quiet...hardly detectable a sound

 

[catfishmike]

aquaclears are far more quite than any marineland hob filter.
and your right the emperor 400 is the harley of the filter world.
mine makes an unholy amount of noise.

 

[Lotus]

The Eheim Liberty power filters are incredibly quiet, not even a hum from them.

 

[Bruckm]

I love my Emperor 400, except...that the pre-filtered water which drives the bio-wheels clogs the spray bar too easily. That necessitates more frequent cleaning, so sound is not the only consideration. Still, I'd buy it again.

 

[catfishmike]

thats because the pre filtered water isn't pre filtered at all.if you look at the design closely,you'll see there is no true provisions for the water to be filtered and returned to the spray bar.
the water is drawn fro a small inlet at the back of the intake/impeller manifold.thusly there is no way for the water to be filtered,if it is drawn from the same spot that it enters from.

 

[gudel]

the spray bar water is not filtered. it's from the intake, to the impeller, driven up through the spray bar.

i will try the Hagen tomorrow if i can find one.
right now the solution is that i just unplug the filter when i'm around. when i leave the house, i plug it back in.

 

[catfishmike]

is that your only filter?

 

[gudel]

nope, i have an eheim proII 2028 as the main filter.

 

[gudel]

i bought the hagen 50, this is the biggest they got in the store. runs a lot quiter although i'm not sure if it can make the water sparkling clear like the emperor 400. i guess that's a trade off.
i also bought 8 neon tetras, but got only 7. it's only $1.19, but i hate it when i got gypped.

 

[jclif1995]

i have an emperor 280 and it does a remarkable job but in my opinion, it is loud. i'm keeping it for a bit because i have a ton of media for it and the tank is in my living room, not the den where the TV is. the main filter on both tanks are eheim 2026's and those are quiet. i plan on replacing the emperor with an eheim liberty as soon as time allows. anybody want to buy a 280 with a ton of media?

 

[Angelfish]

I havent had an AquaClear 500, but I have experienced A LOT of problems with my Emperor 400.
Whenever the power goes out it becomes very noisy for the next few days, I would say the worst thing about the Emperor is the noise. (I know I made a thread about this round here about a year ago). It has been un-bearable!
Id probably go with teh AquaClear if I were you

 

[gudel]

so I've been using this Aqua Clear 50 (200) model for couple of days. It runs silently, but I don't think it can do the job like Emperor did.
Within 6 hours after I put the Emperor back to work, water is crystal clear.
For now I will just have the Emperor running when I'm not sleeping.
I sent an email to marineland asking them to send me a spare impeller, so maybe they would send one, it's got to be it, loose somewhere inside. However, i don't think marineland people can help.

I'm surprised nobody makes a silent power filter that runs silent like the Eheim with Emperor style. Is it really that difficult? I'd shell $200 for that.

 

[Orion]

Well I can say for one that if I were to blow $200 on a filter, I would much rather have a canister than a HOB. Thats prob the reason they havent made one.

Ive had an E400 for around 2 years now. It is noiser than my fluval canister, and my Whisper, but really not that much. I too have experinced the same as what Angel said about after a power outage the filter is loud for a little while, but mines never been that noisey for more than a few minutes. It was used when I got it, I belive now it is prob around 5 years old. Mabey they just arent making them like they used to? Either way, Its still a good filter.

 

[DSK]

The only thing i have to say is that aquaclear filters are work horses. if you dont every clean it. It will still push water very well. of course your going to what to clean it but thats not the point. I have always used aquaclear and i will never change they are quiet. and work very hard for a long time.

 

[BobK]

My Emperor 400 is very quiet. It hardly makes any noise when the water level in the tank (75 gallon) is high. Maybe it's just personal preference. I thnk the noise comes from the spray bar. The only drawback, IMO, is the expensive filter cartridges. Now I just put some filter fiber in the removable media containers and it's very economical. I don't need carbon unless I have meds in the water because I do frequent pwc's.