Penn-Plax Cascade 1200 Canister Filter - 315 GPH Aquarium Filter for Tanks Up to 150 Gallons - 360 Degree Flow Valves, Poly Fiber Pads, Bio-Sponge & Activated Carbon -Fresh & Saltwater -11.5x11x20.5in

So…1 new 75 gallon tank containing maybe 60 gallons of water, 1 very messy turtle who does get fed in the tank, 1 new Cascade 1000 filter with the included filter media only, and 1 person with no canister filter experience. All I knew was that I was tired of smelly cloudy water in his old 55 gallon tank with a fish tank filter only, and did not want to repeat the experience. Unfortunately, we had to put the turtle in the new tank about 3 days before the filter arrived, so as you can see from the first two ‘before’ pictures, we really put this filter to the test with totally smelly unfiltered water. There was a big difference in 24 hours, but It took about a week to get the awful water to become nicely see-through again, and a couple more days to get rid of most of the pond smell. The water did not get crystal clear until after the first filter change. The first filter media lasted about 3 weeks before the water began to cloud up, so I had to start the new media in slightly cloudy water, which it totally cleared after 3 days. I expect to only change the filter once a month or so now that the water quality is under control. **Update: It was 5 weeks before I decided to change the filter again, and the water was still clear.** When I changed the filter, I rinsed the bag of charcoal and the sponge biofilter in the water that was still in the filter after taking the baskets out. I put the bag of charcoal in the bottom basket again and the sponge biofilter in the top. I put a new bag of charcoal in the middle basket as well as floss in each basket. After reading some other suggestions, I also stuffed a little pillow floss around the top basket. **Update: This turned out to e a very good idea-see the last picture.** I will also probably use bio rings and only one new charcoal bag each change or two as time goes on. As a first-time canister filter user, I looked at all the reviews and pictures and filter media suggestions before deciding to purchase. This was the one that both fit my budget and had great reviews, so I decided to try it. It came with all the filter media in the three baskets in order, and with the shut-off valves put together. (Whew). I had no trouble putting it together, cutting the hoses to length, and priming it. I did discover you need to prime by pushing the button very fast. (After the first filter change, I did not need to prime, the hoses were already full of water, and I had put about an inch in the filter, so when I turned it on, everything started). I have included several pictures of my exterior filter and hose setup. It was difficult for me to find pictures that showed the whole setup in detail. I hope these will be helpful to other beginners. I understand how it works now, but had no idea in the beginning. I hung my hoses off the back of the tank next to the wall. (The top of my tank is 1 ¾ inches from the wall, the glass part is 2 inches from the wall. I cut my hoses to about 40 inches in length. The hoses do touch a bit of the wall, but I could get them off by moving the filter.) I put the filter directly below the tank and have it plugged into a power strip, which makes it easy to turn on and off. I have the filter in a plastic crate because I am paranoid, but have not had any leaks from anywhere in the system. It also makes clean up easier if I spill any water when I unhook the filter. The filter is almost silent after it fills. The ‘waterfall’ from the tube is quite loud, but natural sounding. I used three of the 4 aerator tubes to bring the water farther out into the aquarium. I get some water out of the tube holes, and the rest pours out the end. Turtle seems to enjoy playing in the waterfall. The suction cup holders do a great job holding the waterfall tubes out of the water – see picture, but are not able to hold the intake tube in place. I put 4 on it but destructo-turtle easily pulls the tube out of the holders. It still stays hooked over the side and does not move very much, but I will be glad when I can block it off and get gravel in the bottom to distract him. I am so impressed with this filter, my turtle never had it so good. Five stars isn’t enough. Update** I have had this filter running every day for the last 3+ years. Still nice clear water. I have been using bio-floss in each basket, a bio sponge on the top in the lower basket, activated charcoal on top in the middle basket, and bio-rings on top in the top basket. I still stuff floss down the side of the top basket.

Last canister filter I had was a old marineland magnum 350 from the 1990s mostly trouble free that was tied into a Eheim dummy filter from back in the day. It ran for almost 10 years with bi-annual cleanings before becoming to much of a problem to maintain. Needless to say its been a few years sense I’ve used or bought a canister filter. Most filters I’ve used have been hang on back type but media has gotten way too pricey to use and I’ve been looking for ways to cut maintenance cost. Every seven to ten years I buy groups of power filters at the same time so not to have different types of filter media to buy. The Cascade CCF3UL media baskets seemed perfect for the media cost reduction that I’ve been looking for. After a month long testing I now own three Cascade CCF3UL to use to over winter the fish inside the house that I place on my fair sized semi-enclosed back porch in the mild spring, summer, and fall periods of the year. Some have posted that the plastic is prone to breakage and I’ve yet to put that to the test knowing that most plastic power filters I’ve use were prone to the same kind of breakage if mishandled so go easy when changing or cleaning media. Before buying I checked around for common parts that might be prone to failure and found almost all available to be had. I’ll be using the Cascade CCF3UL on a 55, 65, and 120 gallon tanks using smaller hang-on filters as back-ups in conjunction with the Cascade CCF3UL. Over 30 years now back in the hobby and I’ve learned never to throw away a working filter even if media is no longer made, something always seems to come up and I’m pulling the scrap out of the old box and putting it back into play. The month old Cascade CCF3UL has been god sent in cycling up the over-wintering tanks before netting the older fish and new youths from the kiddie pool ponds and aquariums on semi-enclosed back porch before bringing them in. This year my first breading of buenos aires tetra, seven adults in the late spring to 30+ tetras in a 45 gallon tall tank, moved to over-wintering on the Oct, 30 2018, even found a couple less than half inch young tetras that managed to survive in the added floating hornwort. This review is more about liking so far the relative ease of set up. Most aspects of the Cascade CCF3UL canister filter were well thought out although I would still place a tray under them before removing hoses for maintenance, some small amount water will come out as the canister depressurizes. Make sure canister in in a sink or on wide lipped tray before popping top. All in all I like what I’ve seen so far. Pro: Set up was fairly easy. Two of the three filters I bought started up without issues the third required priming and some cussing. But I’d expected some issues as the last canister filter I used (old marineland magnum 350) could be troublesome on startup. Parts for the Cascade 1000 seem to be available on-line. I like being able to customize media and use cheep homemade hand cut filter pads. Con: Can be tough to prime. Also didn’t really like that the impeller shaft was made of plastic being the first time I’ve seen a plastic impeller shaft, all I’ve seen before were stainless steel impeller shafts, may look into ordering a spare Cascade 1000 impeller assembly to keep on hand. Did return one of the three Cascade 1000 I’d ordered for exchange, (rattling impeller and not pumping water) (free shipping thank god), the exchange unit worked just fine. June 19 2019 update: Three of these I bought last year are still working. Two of them are going on their third cleaning with same filter media except for carbon I change that every cleaning, the media is showing wear and will have to replace next cleaning for sure. I use one outside in a small back porch kiddie pool my Cory Cat get to swim and breed through the summer in along with some Rosy minnows that remain through winter with nothing but a deicing heater. Also add a couple more pictures.

Setting up this filter was a dream! I had been attempting to use a used canister filter I purchased with my aquarium, but it was leaking and then a part snapped. I chose this brand off of a recommendation on an axolotl care website. I don't yet know how it will work long term, but there is no comparison with the old filter. Set up was so straight forward! It came with filter media already inside! My one gripe might be that the pictures show the carbon filter material on the 2nd tier box, but the text says to put it in the top, and that was a bit confusing, but ultimately not that big of an issue. I loved that I could prime it with the button on top! No issue priming it at all for me! I also love that the outtake pipe lets you put the spray bar perpendicularly to the back of the tank! I'm very happy with my purchase so far! Worth every penny!

Since the price is so good I thought I would take a chance on this filter despite some of the negative comments. I'm happy that I did. The water was a little cloudy at first (even more than the old lower capacity filter this replaced) but I think that was probably just due to the cheaper ceramic rings I put in one of the trays shedding some of their outer layers. After a couple days that cleared up and the water has been extremely clear ever since, and my test kit is showing perfect pH, ammonia and nitrite levels. I'm now about 1 week into it and all is well. I'll update this if I run into any issues in the next few months. Some people have complained about water bypass, and indeed there is a little water motion visible outside of the trays, but as long as each tray is seated properly on the one below it (don't overfill a tray!) and as long as the top grate is positioned properly, then the gaps will be small enough that only a tiny amout of water can slip through. I would estimate that the bypass is less than one percent of the water that is actually moving correclty through the trays, and I think that is a better ratio than the old fluval 305 on my other aquarium. Besides, with the nice flowrate of this filter even if some water does escape without being filtered, it will be coming back through the filter again within an hour, and odds are it will be going through the filter stack that time around. I also had no problems with priming it as some have reported. All I had to do was press the priming button maybe five times and that was enough to start the water flowing out of the aquarium down into the canister and expelling the air out through the return line.[1] After the canister looked full I turned it on and the last bits of air were pushed out and the water was flowing at a very good rate. After that first time I have not had to prime it again after disconencting the hoses and opening up the canister to fiddle with the media trays. Once the hoses were connected and the valves opened then the water started flowing and the canister filled right up again and it was ready to be plugged in and started after 30 seconds or so. The only dissapointment I have is that it is not as quiet as I was expecting. I knew from reviews that there was some sound from the unit, but I was expecting less than what mine is doing. On the other hand, it is quiet enough that if there is other sound in the room, like the TV or people talking, then it is not bad enough to interfere. But if there is nothing else then the filter can be heard from accross the room and a ways into the next room. My under tank cabinet is not tall enough to accomodate placing the filter there, and I expect that would have muffled most of the noise if I had been able to do so. [1] Priming tips: 1. Make sure that both valves are open when priming so the air in the canister can escape. 2. Make sure that the water level in the tank is high enough that the primer doesn't have to pull the water very far to get it above the side of the tank. 3. Make sure that the intake hose is short enough and positioned such that the water is able to "fall downhill" all the way from the top of the tank to the top of the filter. If there are sections of the hose that dip and then go uphil again then that can make the priming process more difficult. 4. And do the same for the output hose. If there is water in a valley section of the hose and air that is trying to be expelled runs into it, then it may not be able to depending on the air pressure. Instead if it is a more or less straight uphill path then the water and the air can exchange places more easily and the air can be pushed out.

May 18,2020 I would remove another star after dealing with the PENN-PLAX company which sells this. I had the 500 for one year and it stopped working. I sent all necessary information to the company plus paid $35 for an entire replacement. It came timely however it didn’t work. I called and spoke to the representative and she felt it was the impeller. So a new impeller was sent however that was not the problem. So she was going to send me a new motor. It was sent to the wrong address and after waiting another two weeks I contacted her again and she sent the motor which had been returned to the company. I received it and looked inside where I was going to put the impeller I already had back into it and noticed many scratches and water buildup in the so-called new motor. It also had water build up so I suspect this might have been a reconditioned/refurbished but that was not mentioned. This does not meet the warranty replacement. I have now contacted PayPal hoping I can get my money back on this event which I’ve been dealing with for the last month and a half and still do not have a new motor to put in the canister. I give up. It also had water buildup so I suspect this might have been a reconditioned/refurbished but that was not mentioned. This does not meet the warranty replacement. I have now contacted PayPal hoping I can get my money back on this event which I’ve been dealing with for the last month and a half and still do not have a new motor to put in the canister. I give up. The only reason I stayed with Cascade is because I have a 700 and a 1200. I have also had issues with the 700 but that was replaced and I haven’t had any problems with it in over a year. UPDATE. I’ve had this for 9 months now. I changed this filter every 3 or 4 months. There is a coarse sponge on the water intake which I change every 4-6 weeks. Everyday I check this filter to make sure water is flowing no noises no problems. This morning at 6 am I woke to a screeching sound. No water flowing took canister apart and motor is shot! I know it’s under a 3 yr warranty but I would have to pay $35 for them to send me another! Is it worth it? Not so sure. Think I will go back to sponge filters no hassles!!!!I like this canister filter. It is sturdy, easy to set up. I like the 4 clamps to keep it closed. I like the three year warranty or so I thought. I don’t like The fact that you have to plug the sidewalls and basket with filter material in order to keep the water flowing correctly and not up the sides of the canister. I had it for two years and two months when it just decided to quit. I emailed Penn Plax And told them about my problem and they sent me the necessary form to fill out so that I could get a replacement for the cascade 700. The only hitch is I had to pay $35 for postage. I’m happy to get a new one and I know that it’s a good value for 35 bucks, but nobody can tell me it cost $35 to mail this to me and I think I am actually paying the basic cost before they hike it up to sell it on Amazon or in stores So that’s a little bit of a riff for me.

2026 UPDATE: I have used this filter now for 13 YEARS for beautiful, but messy exotic goldfish and it still is running well. It is very well made and I think I’ve only had to replace one fairly inexpensive part in 10 years. The only time it leaked is when I put together the hose connectors incorrectly after changing the filter media, so it was not the fault to the product, but me the user. The only addition I might suggest is adding a shielded/covered low voltage underwater sterilizing light inside the water of the tank within proximity to the filter intake. This has dramatically helped me eliminate algae and cloudy water. 2013 REVIEW: I have medium -sized to large exotic goldfish which are hardy, brightly colored and beautiful, but they are generally much messier than tropical fish and they can dirty my 40 gallon show tank's aquarium fairly rapidly. Ideally partial water changes for large goldfish aquariums should be every 2 weeks and filter maintenance every 3-4 months. I had been using a hang-on-the-back type filter, but had to replace the filter material constantly and the motor was getting progressively noisier and noisier and being in my bedroom it got to the point where I almost could not sleep it was so loud. So I started looking into canisters and they seemed to work much more quietly and efficiently as well as requiring only moderate maintenance. I compared this the Cascade 1000's features with other more highly recommended canister type filters such as Eheim and they seemed comparable, but Penn-Plax's price on Amazon was almost half the price of some of its higher end competitors--especially in comparison to independent fish stores and chains such as Petco or Petsmart. But I am a frugal, read other customers reviews and didn't want to through extra money out the window, so went ahead and bought this filter nearly 8 years ago and its still humming along wonderfully and quietly. My ONLY complaint is that the instructions are very basic and not as detailed as they could be. And the replacement or assembly of some of the smaller or specialty parts are not clearly explained. I was cleaning my unit and removing the motor housing and a large rectangular gasket just popped out that I didn't recall seeing before because it had been installed when I first bought the unit. I then went online and watched several "how to" videos, but they were all basic and mainly covered dismantling the filter compartments. One did show replacing the motor impeller unit which was helpful and while we are on that subject the little gasket seal for the impeller units are now almost impossible to find. They generally will last for a few years, but still, you want to be able to buy a replacement rather than replace the entire filter. I finally found online aquarium supplies seller that had an one left from older stock--since to my knowledge Penn Plex does not show them in their online parts catalog anymore and you cannot buy them at retail pet or aquarium stores, so I bought that remaining one right away (they do sell all the other parts, but not the darn O ring which if you don't have it won't work. But I still would highly recommend this filter and I also like its transparent blue plastic housing because you can see the water and filter components through the housing. It is the only canister filter I am aware of that is see through.

I have a 120 gallon aquatic 3 turtle aquarium with a couple of large Plecos. Both pretty dirty. Based on research the canister filters seemed the way to go. I bought the Cascade 1500. Two of them actually, though it's probably overkill. I love the 5 trays which allow me many options for both mechanical and biological filtration. It sets up easily. The instructions have you trimming the hoses so you have a pretty direct line to the output but if you do that you won't be able to get your filter out of the front of the cabinet and you'll need to do that to prime it and clean it. One of mine primes easily, one push and it's going. The other counts as my cardio workout of the day. I bring it out and use my foot to pump the button. It's easier than doing it with your hand. The filter is very quiet. I am very happy with it. I do wish these came with a motorized primer of some sort but for this price you can't complain much. It sells for twice this much in the pet stores. UPDATE, Sept. 5, 2017. I am now running 12 of these filters in my array of aquariums and I'm still very happy with them. I've got a 220 gallon filled with African Cichlids, 75 gallon for turtles, 65 for Bluegills and Green Sunfish and a few 40's, 20's and 10's for breeding and quarantine. I do have a couple of tips to share. The motor head has a couple of seams that go around it. The lowest tends to leak water when you remove the head to clean it. This makes for a messy job. The first few I bought did not have this problem so I returned several thinking it a defect but they all did it. I put electrical tape all the way around that seam stretching it tight and no more mess or leaks. Another ( my favorite) is put the black coarse sponge that comes with it all the way at the bottom, under the trays. Don't let the hole in the sponge line up with the holes in the tray. If you do this you will not find your media all scummy with algae because this catches all of it before it gets there. I had one filter that i had neglected for a few months and I expected a mess but to my surprise the mess was contained in that black filter. My bio-media was spotless. If you put it in the tray it will not do this. You'll end up having to wash your media and that's a pain. I have had one or two that were difficult to prime the first time. Once you get past that if you remove the hoses exactly the way the instructions tell you it's easy. Once the tubes are reattached flip the levers and you'll get instant prime. ( you may need a push or two at the most) It will give out some huge bubbles and noise as the air is expelled. That's a good thing. A warning though and I suspect all canister filters will do this, when you turn your filter back on you will get a huge mess of scum from the tubes sprayed out. I thoroughly rinse out the motor head but there may still be some caught in it so I'm not sure which it's coming from. I therefore recommend that you clean your filter before you vacuum the tank so you can get it all once it settles.

We have a 16 year old red eared slider. Needless to say, keeping his tank clean is a chore. We have been using a pet store recommended submersible filter and have had to do half water changes weekly and full water changes monthly. Very very dirty animals. Lol. Half of every bite is left floating in the water. We used to have a hang on the back fish filter. Waste of time and money for turtle use. Within a week we couldn't see through the water. It was a very bad experience. I decided to try this filter mostly because it was affordable. The original plan was to also add a sponge filter to the other end of the tank and i may still do that. We have had this filter running for 2 weeks now with no extra filter media, only using what came with the filter. The water is clear. I've gotten used to the water looking cloudy after 2 days. We havent done any water changes yet. (Don't worry. Plans to do a partial water change this weekend) We have a turtle habitat half built for him. When done, he will have a planted sub filter along with this one. I havent given him any live feedings since putting this filter in place, im hopeful that it will be able to handle that mess also. I've developed the habit of giving live feeds the day before a tank/filter cleaning for obvious reasons. I plan to keep up that habit until we have the sub filter in place for extra filtration but this filter has been doing such a good job that I might be over cautious. I highly recommend this filter as an upgrade. My turtle care workload has been dramatically reduced. If this was being used for standard fish, I imagine it would be amazing. The pic I've uploaded with this is after 2 weeks and with crappy lightning. Its late evening, so the lights are dimmed to mimic sunset. But it shows how clear the water is. Im now wishing I had "before" pics. I watched a couple YouTube reviews before purchase (one youtuber uses this filter for her alligator pool) One of the complaints is priming during initial setup. It was a pain in the butt. Took approximately 2 solid mins of priming before it ran with no air bubbles. But with the end results, can I really complain about 2 mins? And now it runs silent. A hang on the back fish filter is louder. This weekend, when I clean his tank and filter, I will be adding pumice, bio balls, and purigen to my setup. Im on track to a relatively low maintenance turtle habitat and couldn't be happier. I now have fantasies of giving him crayfish as a supplement feed. I've avoided them because they are a dirty feed. Long review made short, this filter has made us better turtle keepers. His environmental needs are being better met and im now ashamed of myself for not doing this upgrade sooner.

المنتج لا يعمل ابدا تواصلت وقالوا لي تواصلي مع الشركة كلمتهم وردوا لي بتعليمات الكتيب وانا سويت كل شي لكن مااشتغل معي ابداً.. خسرت فلوس على الفاضي.

I thought this would've been good because of the reviews but mine arrived and stopped working. After a few hours i could smell a burning smell so i turned it off, ive tried everything but it didnt work and they didnt even get back to me when i tried to contact them. Thats 80 pounds wasted, please dont waste your money guys you can get a cheaper alternative that actually works great.

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I attached this filter to my 60 gallon tank several weeks ago. I am extremely pleased! The filter is very quiet and has excellent flow. Assembly was fast, easy and leak proof. The valves and quck connections make this unit a breeze to disconnect and move to a sink for cleaning. The water quality and clarity is substantially better than my HOB unit. I highly recommend!

primera vez que me meto al mundo del acuarismo, me monte una acuario plantado de 300lt con este filtro, y esta en estupendas condiciones, el agua super cristalina, si o si lo volveria a comprar sin dudarlo