"I purchased this filter to complement my Eheim canister filter on my 90 Gallon. Both filters are rated for 80 gallons, as I prefer to have near twice the required filtration with a heavy Cichlid tank.
I am mainly disappointed with the filter media containers themselves. The slits in the baskets are not sufficient to contain carbon, which was the point of getting the 400 over the 350. The basket only holds the largest pieces of carbon and the interlock of the basket halves is not very solid. I ended up filling them with Eheim substrat pro as I had it on hand. Even the prefilled filter media was spilling carbon, I feel that the old whisper 30-60 full floss wrapped insert is better designed. I would probably be 100% satisfied if the Emperor media was of the same design, and there was a mesh on the additional baskets to keep the medium and small pieces of carbon from coming out.
The performance of the filter is on par with the old 30-60, which is still running after 5 years and is on my 29 Gallon Juvenile tank. If whisper had the 30-60 with Bio-wheels I would have purchased it, although I will have to wait for it to colonize to see if it really makes any difference, or if it is all marketing. If it does I will see if Whisper has filter media that fits the Emperor. Although for the price I shouldn't have to."