Penguin/Emporer filters........

[mandi]

I am currently shopping to upgrade the filtration on our tanks (currently using whisper 40-60's, one on my tank 2 on DH's). My tank is a 46 gallon bowfront holding 4 blue rams, 2 cory cats and 4 platies -- DH's is a 75 gallon mixed african (Malawi) community.
I have located both Emporer 280 and 400's in a good price range as well as a Penguin 330. Which filter/combination of filters would you recommend for each tank. I have never used either the penguin or emporer and so am unfamiliar with their performance. Also, what is the difference - I see they are both manufactured by Marineland and on initial reading seem VERY similar so I am curious as to the difference between the two lines......

 

[SerLunchbox]

i would go with the Emperor line personally, i find that it is a better made product then their penguin line. the 400's are personally my favorite because you can put different filter medias within the it all. Personally it is up to you and what you really want. Your 46 gallon though would benefit from the emperor 400 and maybe even another one if you want. your 75 would benefit from 2 400's but then again ... as i said it is up to you.

 

[severum mama]

I agree with Lunchbox. I use an Emperor 280 and an Emperor 400 on my 55 gallon tank, and an Emperor 400 on my 35 gallon tank. They are great filters and you can customize them with the extra inserts.

 

[FishLover14]

They are the best HOB filters money can buy. I persoannlly liek the emporers better too. And SerLunchBox the Emporer 280 has customizable media too. I highly recommend them. I would use 1 EMporer 400 on the 46. And 2 Emporer 400s on the 75gal.

JMHO

 

[mandi]

Thanks for the input -- I have just ordered 3 (400) of them and now I can't wait of them to hurry up and get here already, lol. I am really interested in seeing how they work - I've never used a bio-wheel before and have heard such good things about them. This is worse than waiting for Christmas as a kid, lol.

 

[loganj]

To answer your question about the differences in the filters, the Penguin uses the flow of the water coming out of the spillways to turn the biowheels. The Emp, in addition to having higher flow and extra media capacity, has a dual impeller. One end of the impeller feeds water through the filter. The other drives two (400) spraybars that turn the biowheels. There is also a flow adjustment on the Emp that allows you to turn the filters flow way down for feeding without affecting the flow of water across the biowheels. I have used these filters for years and, IMO, they are the best HOB filter available for FW applications.