Emperor 400 Bubble Factory

frankl15207

frankl15207

Member
Help
Last week I replaced my Penguin 330 with an Emperor 400. After running fine for five days or so, it has turned into a micro bubble factory. It is putting out more bubbles than a protein skimmer before it becomes tuned to the tank.
Is there a problem with the filter or something that I need to adjust on it? The water level is at least 1/2 inch above the lip so the water is being returned below the water line.
Thanks in advance.
 
jbirdy

jbirdy

Member
I had the same problem. I couldn't find a fix. The bubbles did slow after the filter was running for 1 month. They were still too many for me, I got rid of the filter.
 
lionpicasso

lionpicasso

Member
I have a used emporer 400 and haven't seen mine do that, my water is also about 1/2" over the lip.
I don't know whats the matter with yours.
 
marine fanatic

marine fanatic

Member
Frank,
What flow level are you set at? Make sure it is set to FULL....pull the adjustment knob all the way up to maximize flow. Any other setting can cause the water to cavitate in your filter and become infested with micro-bubbles.
Also, if this filter is brand new.....the media pads need to break in a bit. This could also be doing it.
Make sure the 2 media pads and the 2 carbon pads are placed ALL the way into the slots...any gaps will cavitate water as well.
Look and see if your bio-wheels are spinning to fast, fast rotation can cause bubbles to appear, if so adjust the spray bars until the wheels are turning about 1 rotation every second or a bit slower (1 rotation every 2 seconds). Try these things and see if that helps...hope it does :)
 
frankl15207

frankl15207

Member
Thanks, but doing those things made the problem worse (a lot worse). I had to shut the filter off. I'll call Marineland. Something isn't right with this thing. It didn't start the way it was supposed to either. I think it's defective.
 
stacy

stacy

Member
With the emperor you need to make sure that the water level is correct. It takes a little playing with to determine where the filter produces the least amount of bubbles. If the water is to high above the lip, or to far below the lip it creates lots of bubbles. If the bubbles are being produces before the water is emptied into the tank you have a defective filter. You can take the top off while its running and look inside to see if the pump itself is producing the bubbles. One last thing is check to make sure the intake tube is seated all the way in the filter. HTH
 
marine fanatic

marine fanatic

Member
Made it worse???
Wow, that's not good. You may be correct about it being defective. Try the above idea about checking the inlet and making sure it is seated properly. Sorry my thoughts made it worse for you, never thought it would do that. I have had that problem in the past and the reason was the angle of my spray bars. Hope you figure it out.
 
frankl15207

frankl15207

Member
Apparently it's a bigger problem than even I thought. Here is the reply from Marineland's technical support:
Hello!
Due to the complexity of this situation, it would be best if you called
customer service at 1-800-322-1266. Office hours are Monday through Friday
8:00 AM to 5:00 PM - Pacific Time.
Please note that our busiest phone-in times are during the morning hours and
all day Mondays and Tuesdays. To avoid an extended waiting period, we
recommend that you call Wednesday through Friday, 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM -
Pacific Time.
Thank you,
Marineland Customer Service
 
frankl15207

frankl15207

Member
Just an update that Marineland technical support was about as useless as the filter. Been there,done that, didn't work. Filter is gone.
Thanks for the attempts to help.
 
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