Review on Penn Plax Cascade Canister Aquarium Fish & Aquatic Pets ~ Aquarium Pumps & Filters by Joe Daniels

I just installed this yesterday and although it is exceptionally quiet my GloFish Tetras are very active and happy, the water is very clear and they have not run out a drop. What more do you want? I've read a few critical reviews and while I'm sure they were credible, I think some had air leaks causing filling and noise issues. I'm sorry for those dying fish, but I suspect that unless you're very careful about temperature, chemistry, and bacteria levels, supplements may need to be addressed (especially adding bacteria) when you get a new filter and especially adding new water in a smaller tank, stress can easily kill fish. I made sure I used purified water and added prime and a little bacterial supplement to get it started right and that probably helped the fish a lot. The O-ring, the two on the sides, doesn't seem to do anything other than loosen the seal when opened later for cleaning. The handle feels solid like all other materials. The assembly of the 4-pipe end connection was very easy, tight and efficient, the U-shape on the rear connections was not a problem. Of course, it fits my custom wooden tank body much better than expected, so overall I'm very satisfied. Having watched a few YT videos detailing the importance of both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in the nitrogen cycle, I have no plans to change filters at very long intervals, other than maybe changing carbon bags. Mine came with 3 charcoal bags (I only put 2 out of 3), about 7 white fine mesh bags, I used 3 of these in a canister) and a coarse black extra on the bottom as the 1st filter. as well as cylindrical test tubes containing solid anaerobic bacteria (which I placed above). So there were a lot of replacement filters included. I only have a 20 gallon aquarium and I wanted this canister to primarily control ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels so I could keep a lot more fish than a standard 20 gallon aquarium could hold. I only have 4 currently but I would love to triple the amount of GloFish in this tank and I think once the filter biology is in place I can do that and control the chemistry. Just take a look. It probably also depends on if I can stop 4 grandkids from accidentally throwing away too much food? Btw I had to throttle the water flow by about 50% with the inlet valve because it was too much for a 20 gallon aquarium, I hope this doesn't void the warranty but all the fish experienced some stress. bubble and swim against new water currents until I make it. Photos of Fe before and after adding the 1000 Elite canister. Updated 03/26/2018. I've had them for almost 3 months. no problems so far. But I still need to replace and clean the filter media. i will soon The main thing I like is that it gave me confidence that I could control the water parameters well enough to move to a planted tank with a lot more fish. I really liked this 20 gallon tank and a lot of it has to do with this filter. Okay I just replaced the middle one and brushed it for the first time and had fits trying to keep the flow going. Pouring was easy but after a couple of trips to re-inspect the seals and impeller and everything looks fine, the motor runs smooth but when standing upright the water flow is not enough to keep the water moving. On the other hand, if I tilt it, like in this photo, by about 40 degrees, it works perfectly, but I can't leave it like that. As far as I can tell it doesn't let water through and doesn't suck in air. why should this work but only on one side, PLEASE HELP. Update an hour later: After removing all the trays again and some of the old Biofloss (which I was hoping to keep due to bacteria) I reassembled everything and made sure all the connection hoses between the plates were correctly installed as they were stacked on top of each other and that the o-ring sat right on top of the riser and now this time it started without any filling and had double the flow in the upright position. and a normal standing position. So, I think it was probably my fault for misplacing the trays. to the exhaust pipe and it solved the problem of the high pressure jet tearing the leaves of my Revain Sword plant perfectly and also reduced the moisture problem from all the bubbles. Now it still has good water flow but no more high pressure jet. :). no reliability or noise issues, and it does an excellent job of balancing chemical levels. Updated April 28, 2018. I can't get the water flow unless I tilt it. It started after a simple 30% water change. I've rechecked all the impeller and pan seals and can't fix it. I'll get another canister :) Update: 05/11/2018 Last night my churn stopped again but this time I was prepared with a 1000 non-elite backup and only changed it to find an issue of the past months. has never been in a canister. There was a very small tear in the intake hose fitting at the top that connected to the hard plastic U-tube. A crack can develop right where I tried to fix it by taping it, sucking AIR out of the aquarium instead of water, and as a result you won't be able to refill it and you won't be able to fill the canister as it was before no siphoning is possible until this air leak is sealed. If you contact Penn Plax Customer Service within the first three years, they will replace the defective part. It turned out that the reason my canister only worked when tipped was because a slight bend in the hose caused the crack to close enough to allow the water to flow again each time. see photo where I temporarily attached it with white vinyl tape.