Penn Plax Cascade Canister Aquarium Fish & Aquatic Pets ~ Aquarium Pumps & Filters Review

Update: A few stars deducted because this filter is a piece of crap. Still noisy and sucks air very easily. At this point, both of them are constantly blowing air, and the fish is in a state of stress. The design flaw is that there is a small gasket inside that is difficult to seal since you can't see if the lid is properly in place. I have a much cheaper potfin in a different tank with a different design and gasket. Not a single sound. Please do not buy this very noisy filter. I wish I had…

Do you think about what you do with it every day? Want a noise filter without the hassle of actually filtering? Do you love your fish so much that you stand in front of the aquarium for hours? Because if so, then this filter is for you! It requires at least 15 minutes of maintenance per day. The canister filter does not let water through and retains air because you are paying to capture air. I spent about 15-20 minutes each day pumping the filter to get a flow. I've tried cleaning it, I've…

This kit comes with lots of extra filter media (total of 3 sets of foam/fiber filter media, 3 activated carbon bags) and all hoses etc. It is also available with ceramic filter media. I'm sure the filter media (non-carbon) will outlive the pump as I rarely change it. My biggest complaint is that for the price it would be really nice to have a self-priming pump. Manually filling a canister pump filter (especially the first time you use it) can be really tedious and take forever. I also broke off

I received this filter at the end of October. It's too big for the pool I have it on so I haven't had to clean it until yesterday. So it worked fine for 2 months. On the first attempt to clean the filter intake pipe, it broke and the hose came loose. I didn't even have to touch that part to clean the filter. It just broke when I reattached the hoses to reconnect to the canister. So now I have a huge piece of useless plastic until I buy a replacement tube and tube. I called Penn Plax Customer…

Very dissatisfied! After installation, the water was white, cloudy. I lost a total of 6 fish within a week of installing it. My angelfish and golden severum suffered in an almost catonic state for several days; The scalar constantly swims in circles, and the severum hangs in the same position for several days. I haven't lost a single fish in over 6 months and all looked healthy until the new filter was installed. I followed the instructions in the email to install. All water parameters were/are

This filter works so well I think it's worth the extra cost compared to the cheap canister filters I've used. Filter maintenance is simplified with the freely loadable design. You won't break the handles on the trays because they won't wedge into the canister. A tiny water leakage between the media layers is negligible. And the grip feels comfortable. The pump button also works without any problems. However, if your canister is filled with water and your hoses aren't filled with air, you…

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…