"No-Name" wrote in message
...
I have two (2) Emperor 400s now - would one Fluval 404 provide equal
filtration and biological action - I'm pretty happy with the Emperors right
now - the seem to do a great job!

I don't believe that a single fluval 404 can do the same job as two Emperor
400's. They really do different jobs in some aspect. I think the Emperors do a
better job at providing bacterial filtration with the bio wheels, as well as
aerating the water more with more surface agitation that the fluval. The fluval
is all in all a more efficient filter. It'll do a better job on mechanical
filtration as well as provide biological filtration. But not enough to replace
two Emperor 400's. This leads to the question, what size tank are we talking
about? What is the stocking on the tank? If it's a 55 gallon tank with a single
angel fish, one Emperor is more than enough. If it's a 200 gallon tank with five
neon tetras, one emperor is still more than enough. But if it's a 75 gallon tank
over stocked with Mbuna, you'll probably want an Emperor filter at the end of
the tank with a fluval underneath. Or you can look at the Tidepool overflow
filters and the siphon box they sell separately. There's also Eheim's to
consider, the Filstar XP's I've also heard great things about and a lot cheaper
than the fluvals.
AC