I was over at a friend's house and noticed his power filter. It was a Penguin 170 and is was very quiet. He had removed the wheel from the filter. A question for the board: which if these two filters are the more quiet.
I own an Emperor and while it has settled down a bit, it is still a tad noisy for my taste.
Full Version: Penguin V Emperor Which One Is More Quiet
I don't know,maybe because I have so many tanks I don't notice that it's loud,I'm quite happy with my Emperor though. It's the only one I have,the rest are all Aquaclears-which I love! 
I have all Penquins and Emperors. They are not noisy at all, unless the water level is low and the water splashes or the spray bar on the Emperors is set incorrectly and you get a lot of spray noise.
In a Penquin, if you remove the bio-wheel, you have esssentially removed all the biological filter potential of that particular filter. All of your beneficial bacteria then is forced to reside in the disposable filter cartridge, and, when you end up changing it, you lose your cycle. You really need the bio-wheel.
The Emperor has a closed basket that you can fill with bio-media and this backs up the bio-wheel as a platform for the beneficial bacteria. The filter still functions MUCH better when used as it is designed but at least it would still function without the bio-wheel.
I like these filters - they provide good water volume for a relatively small filter, they are reliable, fairly quiet, easy to service, and not particularly expensive.
Edit: I have found that if you have the flow control lever partially engaged, it can cause the filter to make some extra noise.
In a Penquin, if you remove the bio-wheel, you have esssentially removed all the biological filter potential of that particular filter. All of your beneficial bacteria then is forced to reside in the disposable filter cartridge, and, when you end up changing it, you lose your cycle. You really need the bio-wheel.
The Emperor has a closed basket that you can fill with bio-media and this backs up the bio-wheel as a platform for the beneficial bacteria. The filter still functions MUCH better when used as it is designed but at least it would still function without the bio-wheel.
I like these filters - they provide good water volume for a relatively small filter, they are reliable, fairly quiet, easy to service, and not particularly expensive.
Edit: I have found that if you have the flow control lever partially engaged, it can cause the filter to make some extra noise.
daryl. what do you use for the bio-media in the emperor?
I have a Emperor and I love it. I think it is very quiet. I use to have a Whipser and thought it was quiet until I heard the Emperor.
Now I don't know what the Penguin sounds like but I can't imagine it being more quiet than the Emperor.
Just my 2 cents.
Now I don't know what the Penguin sounds like but I can't imagine it being more quiet than the Emperor.
Just my 2 cents.
I generally keep the basket stuffed with lava rock, sintered glass pieces, or ceramic cylindars - I have all three in various Emperor filters. Whenever I need to start up a new tank, I can pull out 1/2 the media or so and replace it with "sterile" media, and use the stuff I pulled to seed a new filter. The basket holds plenty for that.
I suppose you could put carbon in there, also, if you had a mind to, or just about anything for that matter.
I suppose you could put carbon in there, also, if you had a mind to, or just about anything for that matter.
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