Emperor 400 or Aquaclear 110?

[krichardson]

Aquaclear. Emperors may have once been superior but since they were redesigned years ago as a cheaper unit they can no longer compete quality wise. I'm sure some of the old units are still kickin though!

I was not aware of any redesign of the Emperor....

The AC110. It's got near mythical status in the hobby

But what exactly makes the AC better?

 

[joe jaskot]

You can't go wrong with either filter. Both work well. Some of my tanks have both an AquaClear 110 and an Emperor 400 on them. Some are run with just AquaClears and some with just Emperors.

 

[krichardson]

You can't go wrong with either filter. Both work well. Some of my tanks have both an AquaClear 110 and an Emperor 400 on them. Some are run with just AquaClears and some with just Emperors.

That's how I have felt about them and no one has explained or pointed out what makes one better than the other.My main reason for leaning toward the Emperor is the simple cartridge to remove in order to rinse or replace and one of those can last quite a while with rinsing before being replaced. With the AC I wasn't fond of fumbling around with those sponges and other inserts.

 

[Skalper666]

I was not aware of any redesign of the Emperor....

But what exactly makes the AC better?

Growing up the emperor 400 was loved and was right up there with aquaclears. Then, years ago the United pet group bought marineland, and changes were made. The emperor models got a redesign. Noticeable changes included a noisy cheap@ss motor, and the flow control was removed. It still looks the same but it isnt near the quality it was. Any glowing reviews you ever hear are from owners of the older models. If you buy new, this is what you are getting. It still "works the same way", but it's no longer lengendary, its crap. Sorry.

 

[Skalper666]

At least compared to what it was. Used to be a fan of both.

 

[krichardson]

At least you have supported what you've said,no need to apologize lol.