Thanks for your help.

Right now, I've got a 105 gallon tank, very heavily loaded with holy rock,
bare-bottom (no gravel), two powerheads with the air injector hoses in and
sponge filters (mainly to increase circulation), and the two Emperor 400s.
I usually like to keep the tank overstocked with Mbunas, although it's a bit
light now with an impending move in a month or so. The water is always
crystal clear.

If I go with an alternative to the Emperors, I'll probably leave the
powerheads in for additional top water agitation, air, and better
circulation.

What do ya think?

"Amateur" wrote in message
. com...

"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