I bought the Marineland Penguin 350 last night for my 46 gal bowfront but am wondering if the Emperor 400 is worth the extra cost. As far as I can tell the only difference is that the emperor 400 offers a flow rate of 50gph higher, it has a spray bar which the 350 does not and the cartridges are just a bit larger. Looking for feedback.
Marineland HOB Filters (350 vs Emperor 400)
- Thread starter dhanson1123
- Start date
i don't think it matters too much which you choose. the penguins are a little easier when it comes to cleaning. however, i am in the train of thought that it's better to have as much filtration as you have space for. if it were my tank, i'd have two filters on it. when you double up you can go with a lower flow on each one.
I have some different penguins and emperors. I do think that the Emperor is the better filter and I prefer them. However, the penguins do a very good job. I had a pen170 run for over ten years and the wheel stopped once in the first year. I began cleaning the intake tube and the impeller once a month. It never occured again. My pen350 has yet to fail in over 3 years. I chose the 350 over the Emp400 at that time because the 350 took the same cartridge as the 170 and you can use the cheaper walmart aquatec filters(they are identical to the marineland cartridge).
You could always add a Pen200 to your 350 if you need more filtration and only have to buy one type of cartridge. Add media baskets filled with seachem matrix. Those two filters would be better than one Emp400 and would cost about the same.
You could always add a Pen200 to your 350 if you need more filtration and only have to buy one type of cartridge. Add media baskets filled with seachem matrix. Those two filters would be better than one Emp400 and would cost about the same.
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I have been told that the penguin has a slightly better energizer and impeller assembly but I have yet to see proof of that claim.If you have a 350 should you go out and get a 400? No. You intend to buy a filter? Yes get the 400 if you think you might want to go a bit heavier on stocking or a larger tank. You never know when 50GPH might come in handy.
I been using my EMP-400 for about 5 years now and still works great.
I bought a Peng-350 for another tank and sent it back to Drsfostersmith because the water was flicking out of the tank for some reason and there was no flow adjustment. The EMP-400 has 4 adjustments, off, little flow, even more flow and full 400 gph flow.
I will never buy a Peng again, The 400 is that much better for a little more money.
I bought a Peng-350 for another tank and sent it back to Drsfostersmith because the water was flicking out of the tank for some reason and there was no flow adjustment. The EMP-400 has 4 adjustments, off, little flow, even more flow and full 400 gph flow.
I will never buy a Peng again, The 400 is that much better for a little more money.
I have both. I have a emp400 and a peng200 on my 65G goldfish tank, and its the best HOB I think you can get. with 6 goldfish, the two bio-wheels NEVER have an issue cleaning the water perfectly.
on my 55G native tank with sunfish, I have a peng350 and a peng200. I like them as well. the emp. is a better filter, but the 350 is not far behind. btw, you can diy media for the big bio-wheels like the emp or the 350.
also, for the record... IMO its best to have at least 2x the filtration per gallon.
on my 55G native tank with sunfish, I have a peng350 and a peng200. I like them as well. the emp. is a better filter, but the 350 is not far behind. btw, you can diy media for the big bio-wheels like the emp or the 350.
also, for the record... IMO its best to have at least 2x the filtration per gallon.
Last I checked drsfosterandsmith had the 400 on sale for 38 bucks, same price as the 350. Fantastic deal on a pretty good filter.
