I have no idea how your Emperor could leak from the back. All HOBs are designed in such a way that when the filter pad is clogging, the flow will bypass in the front around the intake pipe which is the lowest point of the box. In order to make it leak in the back, you either have to tilt the box backward in a strong angle, or you have something blocking the bypass area.
The beauty of HOBs is simplicity in design, so even an 8 year old kid knows how to set them up and run. But Emperor doesn't fit the norm. It has a sophisticated douple pump and spray bar design to operate the biowheel, which IMO are unneeded add-ons so Marineland can charge triple the price for its high end HOBs. I like Marineland's product and owns a dozen of its low end Penquin HOBs, but I won't waste money on its high end Emperor with gimmick add-ons. I don't even believe in the necessity of biowheel and run all my Penquins without the wheels as they just compete flow energy that would otherwise move the water.
Some people believe that the more sophisticated the equipment, the better it must be. I avoid complication as the more complicated the design, the more things can go wrong. This is why I avoid complicated canister and wet and dry and prefer simple HOBs. BTW, I am not an 8 year old kid but a practicing hydraulic engineer and a fish hobbyist for over three decades.
But you contradict yourself a bit by saying all HOBs are designed a certain way , but the Emperor doesn't fit the norm, and then that you've only owned Penguins and not Emperors because you won't waste money on Emperors gimmicky add ons? Which means you have no actual hands on experience with this filter itself.......
Look, I'll step back just a bit here. I'm only commenting on a filter I own. Not one I've heard about or assume things about. The filter design is not the culprit. Operator error is the culprit here. My wife forgot and we paid the price. Life happens. People forget. The Emperor is a decent filter and has been in service in my house for almost 10 years now. I can't blame Marineland for so called gimmicky design flaws when it was user error that caused the small flood on our 60 gallon tank.
I travel for a living.... Alot. So my wife takes care of the tanks when I'm gone, but she is not a hobbyist so I design my systems to be as user friendly, flood proof and quiet as humanly possible for them as much as me. Moving 2500 gph in the main hallway of your house "quietly" is not an easy task. If I had the space I suppose your solution would be to line up 5 Ac110's(which Im using here because they move 500gph with no 'gimmicky" parts) side by side but with a 300 gallon Eurobraced acrylic tank designed to sit flush against the wall, it's just not practical from a space or sound pov. The dual Herbie design moves a ton of water quietly with little chance of flooding. I'm an ex saltwater guy, so these type of systems, to me, are not overly complicated at the end of the day. I am not a hydraluic engineer. I am a guitarist with lousy math skills .Sumps may seem complicated to someone who's never set one up, and I totally understand that point. But this system in particular had a few more things to consider than just filtration. Space, water volume and silent operation where key, and being flood proof is part of the design as well.
I agree that by design HOBs are a great option for those who need great filtration with no concern over space behind the aquarium, or staring at an immovable intake tube . I've owned 5 over the years still have my 2 running in the garage with bio wheels attached at the only source of bio besides the tank and substrate itself. I had a small flood and your not understanding how on a filter you've never owned does not change the fact that it did.
I'll put 5 ac110's up against my sump and you'll find my sump moves the same amount of water, adds about 60 gallons of volume to the system, has 10x the room for bio, heaters and fish, (which I have used from time to time for qt) is quieter and uses no space behind my tank. All for about $500..... Which I would have to give the edge to the ac's here because 5 of those would be about $400 ......and my sump has 2 pumps as opposed to 5 and 1 container as opposed to 5, so to move this amount of water, the HOB route is actually alot more complicated..... And I'd have to stare at 5 intake tubes which would be the worst lol
Enjoy your HOBs and I'll enjoy my sump.....
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