Marineland Emporer 400 vs. Aquaclear 110

[homestar726]

Hey,

I was just wondering what you guys think? Which one is better? Currently I have a fluval 404 canister filter (Silent), and a Marineland EMporer 400 (Water noise). Would the Aquaclear be more quiet? and is their an advantage to either, or is their no difference? is one quieter?

Let me know.

Thanks

[BigDaddy]

The AC is definately the quieter one of the two.  Also, much easier to maintain an AC than an Emperor (ie cleaning sponges)

The Emperor would have superior oxygen exchange due to the dedicated spray bar across the wheels.  And you won't accidentally kill your bio filter doing cleaning... because you just drop your wheels in the tank while you clean the rest of the filter.

There are pros and cons to both.  I have owned Emperor 280 & 400 and all the AC models.  They each have their own pros and cons

[beowulf]

I have both and have no problem with either.  I like the Aquaclear a little more because of the ability to decide what media I want in it (usually sponges for me).

[homestar726]

is it worth the investment to change? Considerable noise difference?

[KLKelly]

Up to you.  I had the emperor 280 and switched to the ac110.  I love it.  You can pack in a ton of biomedia and the risk of it stopping I think are less.  The biowheel stopped a couple times which I found frustrating.

I like the strainer intake that the emperor has.  I modified my aquaclears to put a strainer intake at the bottom.  Keeps plants from catching and its easy to clear away plants that do get stuck to the intake.

I wouldn't switch if you already have it especially if you have a cannister filter on the tank also.

Karrie