Emperor 400

[RES]

Need help with starting the Emperor 400. I have 75 gal tank, with about 45 gal of water, for 1 Red-Eared Slider (RES) & a Fluval 4 Plus submersible filter. The Fluval didn't seem to be doing the job (cloudy water) & the Emperor 400 was highly recommended so I bought one. The problem is with getting it primed. I followed the instructions & that didn't work. I took it apart to make sure debris was not blocking the impeller, etc. I bought it at a PETsMART & one of the employees told me it could take a day before it's fully functional & that I would have to "be patient" & let it run. I'm concerned that the motor will burn up if I do that. The intake tube is submersed in about 5 inches of water, but it's not filling with water. This is the 2nd one & I'm beyond being frustrated with it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. My RES would appreciate it too.

 

[vantgE]

I don'y have one, but if the impeller is not moving it's brocken try dry running it just for a second so you can see other wise i think just try and fill it up with watter and run it no more then ten minutes, but don't jsut let it run if you have the chance tak it back for an Aquaclear there is not even the slightest reason why a bio-wheel a biowheel specicaly a emporer could eb any better then a ac

 

[jmccalip]

First of all:

Fill it up till it overflows into your tank.

Make sure the impeller is not stuck.

I have an emperor 400 myself, and it's awesome. It keeps my fully stocked 55g clear anough to read a newspaper through long ways. It'll be loud the first couple of months until the bio wheels establish them selves, then they will slow down and be pretty quiet. The bio wheels aren't just for show, they keep my ammonia and nitrite at 0. And it's awesome knowing I can just rinse out the other media without worrying about ruining the good biological bacteria. I've always had the filter re-prime its self after a power outage(we have them all the time lol).

 

[swampcat]

Turtle tank? 45 gallons in a 75 ? Water level not high enough! An aquaclear would work better but same thing water level too low. I use an aquaclear for my turtle, takes a while for water to prime, do to level. What I use for the turtle now is a large plastic tub used for storage ( @45 gallons). Cut a hole about an inch above desired water level and place filter there.

The aquaclears are able to pull water from a lower water level than penguins and emperors (same thing really). If water level is to low even the aquaclears will not be able too.

They sell turtle tanks for this purpose, glass cut at one side for filter.

 

[vantgE]

I have an emperor 400 myself, and it's awesome. It keeps my fully stocked 55g clear anough to read a newspaper through long ways. It'll be loud the first couple of months until the bio wheels establish them selves, then they will slow down and be pretty quiet. The bio wheels aren't just for show, they keep my ammonia and nitrite at 0. And it's awesome knowing I can just rinse out the other media without worrying about ruining the good biological bacteria. I've always had the filter re-prime its self after a power outage(we have them all the time lol).

An ac 110 is comparable in price, and uses a higher gph pump then a marineland for clearer watter.

The biowheels are just for show hagen makes a much more efective filter by providing much more surface area what is generally the limiting factor in a filter effectiveness, not oxyegen which only slightly incresess efficiency

And it is nice too know you can leave your filter running unattended without the biowheel stopping and all your bacteria dieing, plus the ac holdz enough media you can wash most of it without hesitateing because of decreased filtering potential

I think an internal would be best for a turtle tank but maybe they won't like the current

 

[jmccalip]

Do you have an emp 400? Until we see an unbiased head to head test of both of them, neither one of us has the right to say which one is better.

 

[freddyk]

The point is bio-wheels work very well, but they also came out to fix something that was never broken in the first place. I've used both and they work equally well, which is why I now prefer the simplicity of the AC.

 

[vantgE]

Ive done my research and don't need to waste money testing both kinds, what hapens when Inevitably find the 400 inferior, because of it's high price, lower gallon per hour, lower efficiency, lower capacity, complicated design, and noisy operation, maybe somonehere would buy something worse then an ac for more and exactly what it costed me. And in reality trying it won't in most cases create a difference notable the the average aquarist, but do the maths and notice how simple the AC is to really see which comes up first

 

[jmccalip]

It only takes me 15min to COMPLETLY dissasimble, clean, an reasimmble it. The first month it was loud, but now it's very quiet, hardly any water splashing at all. And another reason I bought it is because it looks a whole lot better sitting in the tank, it blends in, and it isn't an eye sore in my living room. I have dropped it on hard wood flooring from 5 feet up, and nothing happened to it. Try doing that with an AQ! AND, I GOT THE FILTER BRAND NEW FROM PETCO FOR $32.00 SHIPPED! You can't beat that with a stick.

 

[swampcat]

Your all missing the point, 45 gallons of water in a 75 gallon tank. THE WATER LEVEL IS TOO LOW TO PRIME THE FILTER! Plus a turtle doesn't need any cycle and bacteria.

 

[vantgE]

This post is old noone came up with a solution, so let us fight it out
Plus a turtle still needs filtration or you will have a very messy tank, amonia is toxic to humans and even turtles
Also sorry If i'm offending you it's nothing personal jmccalip

I'm not willing to do so but I bet I could drop my ac

I've cleaned my AC in five minutes

If it's cheaper you may have a point but where I live an ac 110 does 110 gallons and is 55 dollars, on bigals online the emporer is 79.99 and does 80 gallons, you could get about two 70 gallon ac filters for the price of a emporer 400

 

[freddyk]

As long as there is actually water in the filter the motor won't burn out RES.