By Far these are the loudest filters I have ever bought. I picked up a 280 and the noise was brutal. If anyone is considering getting a Emperor 280, go with the Penguin 330 instead. Its a better buy, and doesint make as much noise.

"400 gallons per hour! Extra media storage! Large bio wheels with jets! Large bucket design! 3 Stage filtration!" The brag sheet says it all. I agree, it really is a powerful filter. If only it were quieter. It’s not really noisy, but it does make a mechanical noise. Still, if it's not in your bedroom, I would recommend it.

I got this to replace a LOUD and MESSY AC500. I am so glad I did. This is the BEST HOB filter i have ever used. I have it on a 55g tank along with a XP3. My water is crystal clear (not with the AC though). I is also VERY quiet compared to the AC500.

First i bought an aquaclear 500 filter for my 75 gallon tank,
As i was setting up It cracked on the side, I siliconed it and ran it for a day,
I was not really impressed, The intake sube was way up to the Right top corner of my tank which was not taking any debris.
I took it back, and exchanged it for an emperor 400
Boy is this sturdy, I love the biowheels. There is no noise as you would assume. The covers over the biowheels surpress everything, even some of the splash. I also love the Water flow control.
After 2 days i pick up the media tray and can visually see what has been picked up. Instead of fumbling with the aquaclear sponge as soon as i pick it up all of the debris falls back into my tank.

Great quality filter i highly recommend.

I have an Emporer 400 on a 90 gallon Malawi setup along with a AC 500. Easy to maintain, set it and forget it. Its best aspect is the media baskets that can house any type of media you choose to use. If I could change anything about the filter I would give the buyer the option of choosing clear intake tubing and filter over the black. Spend the money! It's worth it on tanks 30 gallons or larger. If you are just doing a small setup go with something smaller and cheaper.

I bought a 400 to replace the Whisper 60 which came with my 55 gallon tank since I didn't honestly think the Whisper could handle good bio-filtration. So far I am impressed!

The only sound from this filter is a little water trickling, no more noise that the silent AC 200 running beside it.

The only think I don't like about it is the ugly, black intake tube, but on the positive side, the intake strainer has small enough opening that even fry wouldn't get sucked up.

I just set up a 29gal with a Emperor 280 and it really seems to get the water flowing well. Love the spray bar feature which keeps the bio wheel from drying out when the flow knob is lowered for feeding.
Only thing I was disappointed in was the noise. Not the water noise but the motor noise. The drone from the motor is driving me crazy. Great filter for the living room, but won't be sleeping much if its in the bedroom. :)

pretty darn quite, takes some getting used to in order to figure out to quickly prime it and to make it nearly silent. Extra media baskets are very nice to have and the bio wheels are nice too.
Overall really good filter.
I am able to fit both carbn and filter floss into BOTH, not just carbon in one and floss in the other in the media baskets.
Definately would buy another one

I'm really tired of the Marineland filters!!! I've been a big user of their products for the last three or four years but I've had several filters just die out on me. I'm not sure why either. The impeller is still twirling around in all four of them but yet none continue to suck up the water to the bio-wheels. It was not until this morning when I noticed the latest casualty that I realized that I had 3 other dead marineland filters sitting in my closet. At the same time I have my whisper filters that have been running on my moms tanks for 6 years. These product suck over the long term but are great when they are working. I'd rather have something that I didn't have to worry about replaceing every 8 months.

i have run these filters for years now and think they are a good buy. they tend to be more noisy than the aquaclears, but also have some advantages over them. i plan to buy some of the cell-pore inserts, since i see that they are making them again. you realy cant go wrong with this filter.

I have 2 400's and they do the job very well. Doesn't require maintenace very often and after about 4 years I've yet to have any problem with them.

After some minor tweaking i hear nonoise at all from my filter. its bio wheels are super big and do a great job. onky gripe i think i have is the intake extender kinda stinks.. Owell
-Leewong

I've always used aqua clears, but after reading all the good reviews on the emperors, I bought a 280 and a 400 for a 90 gal. about two months ago.I don't know if I missed something in the instructions,but my tank is still not cycled, but to me thats understandable since there's really not enough volume,or area for beneficial bacteria to colonize, not to mention the fact that during water change, as soon as the water level drops about 4 inches they loose their prime and won't pick it up again until the level is brought back up to almost the level of the discharge, during which time the biowheels (what a joke) have dried out, destroying whatever good bacteria there might have been.I don't think a filter that looses its prime that easy is pumping as much water as it's rated at.They are both so noisy you can't hear anything in the same room (yes I've tried fiddlin with the intake to no avail).They say live and learn and these things have certainly taught me or I should say Reminded me that If it ain't broke--- don't fix it.I think 1 AC 500 would do a better job than both of these combined and all you need in them are 2 sponges,and they'll keep pumpin with a couple inches of water in the tank.