Just Traded my Penguin 350 for an Emperor 400 and WOW!!!

FishNCash

Goliath Tigerfish
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Correction. Aquaclear > marineland... Lol. Agreed on emperor becoming noisy in the long run.
tried the aquaclear and water level is very close to the top to the point of spilling out.
 

Frank Castle

Potamotrygon
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I wasn't referring to those, referring to the large, full scale, top to bottom corner matten sponges :)
Pics??
I prefer Penquin design over Emperor and own a dozen Penquin 350 and 200. The simpler Penquin design restarts more reliably than Emperor and the slimmer box takes less space behind the tank. I run my Penquins for mechanical only and don't install the biowheels, so the Emperor spray bar does no good to me except for consuming more energy and making more noise. If you like Emperor because of the filter basket, you can buy Penquin filter baskets from Big Al for $2.99.

https://www.bigalspets.com/refillable-media-container-for-penguin-200b-350b.html
Correction. Aquaclear > marineland... Lol. Agreed on emperor becoming noisy in the long run.
My Emperor is quiet as a mouse, idk what u guys are talking about lol

tried the aquaclear and water level is very close to the top to the point of spilling out.
Ya, idk about Aquaclear....they kinda seem like the generic store name brand to me. I have always had good luck w/ Marineland products minus the heater recall back in 2011-2012, but there have been COUNTLESS companies heaters that have died or gone haywire on me
 

ECW

Redtail Catfish
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Oahu, Hi.
tried the aquaclear and water level is very close to the top to the point of spilling out.
I have noticed the marineland needs much quicker maintenance before the water flowing out of the intake section. I prefer the flow design of the aquaclear also. It forces the water down and then up through the media before it returns to the tank. That being said I still use many of my marineland penguins. The emperors have long died. I still have a few penguins that have been going strong from when I first got them forevers a ago. I've had a couple of the newer ones flat out die on me in a few years.
 

FishNCash

Goliath Tigerfish
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My emperor 400's were so noisy and it did take a little longer to restart than the Penguins. It's still a good filter imo but I switched all my filters out for canisters now.
my emperor from 2009 were super quiet.the recent one I got in 2013 were noisey out of the box. I called customer service to complain and they sent me a new impeller. After replacing the impeller it's nice and quiet but not as quiet as my older one from 2009. Is there a quality assurance issue with Marineland?
 

ECW

Redtail Catfish
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Sep 11, 2011
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Oahu, Hi.
I was always a marineland guy myself. It wasn't until members on this forum convinced me with their adamant, steadfast opinion that aquaclears were so much better that I decided to try one out myself. Well, they were right. I bought one and have never been happier. It's quiet, powerful, efficient ,and keeps the water perfect... With maintenance cut into at least half. I bought a few penguins to replace some of the older models I had at that time I bought the aquaclear. Since then I have already had to replace a couple of the newer models back to the old model. The motor died. I also like the fluval c series hob. It's designed very well and has proven itself to be awesome. I just wish they made a larger model. If I need a new hob. I will always pay the extra for an aquaclear. It is far from a generic store brand. The king of the HOB's by far. Simple, dependable, strong, and efficient! No gimmicks needed. Try it and you will see the difference.
 
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fishnatics

Goliath Tigerfish
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my emperor from 2009 were super quiet.the recent one I got in 2013 were noisey out of the box. I called customer service to complain and they sent me a new impeller. After replacing the impeller it's nice and quiet but not as quiet as my older one from 2009. Is there a quality assurance issue with Marineland?
I don't know if they have a quality issue but both I mine were noisy. It was either the spray bar or the impeller.
 

tiger15

Goliath Tigerfish
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Oct 1, 2012
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These are the sponges I was referring too :)

Like your fish room which has the simplicity of a museum. Most fish rooms I've seen are cramped junk room.

Whether Aquaclear or Penquin is superior depending on your usage. I am using Penquin for mechanical only and don't care for the larger media capacity for AC. If I need more bio such as to crowd fish in a bare bottom tank, I will choose AC over Penquin. AC doesn't need as frequent cleaning as Penquin because its foam, despite larger capacity, doesn't trap fine as efficiently as Penquin and can by pass on the edges.
 

Freshwater4Life

Dovii
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Dec 22, 2015
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Pics??


My Emperor is quiet as a mouse, idk what u guys are talking about lol


Ya, idk about Aquaclear....they kinda seem like the generic store name brand to me. I have always had good luck w/ Marineland products minus the heater recall back in 2011-2012, but there have been COUNTLESS companies heaters that have died or gone haywire on me
Aqua clear is hands down the best hob filter on the market. Atleast imho
 
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