Penn-Plax Cascade 1200 Canister Filter, 315 GPH for Tanks Up to 150 Gallons

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.

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.

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.

UPDATED 2-18-15: Amazon offered only a 30 day return on this item, and I'd had it almost 4 months when it broke down and FLOODED my aquarium stand. I emailed Penn Plax, but they sent and email saying "We do not issue refunds." So Penn Plax' defective product breaks down, dumps 30-40 gallons of water into my aquarium cabinet, possibly permanently damaging a very expensive piece of furniture, yet Penn Plax will not stand behind its products and will not, at the very least, refund my purchase price. I will NOT buy Penn Plax products again. This was A LOT of money for something that not only does not work, but could have caused major damage to my furniture. If I could give this product and this company negative stars, I would. UPDATED 2-11-15: In October 2014, I bought a 2nd Penn Plax Cascade 1500 GPH Canister Filter for my 125 gallon turtle tank. Yesterday, I came home from work to find about 2/3 of the water, approxmiately 30-40 gallons, were missing from the tank. There is no leak in the tank and I found no water on the floor, but I found water in the aquarium stand/cabinet below the tank where the Canister filters were sitting. It appears that, instead of pumping water back into the tank, the filter leaked it into the cabinet. I now have a very expensive, water soaked aquarium cabinet. I'm not sure if it leaked from the top somewhere of the filter or from the bottom. Since there was no water on the floor, all of the water must have leaked into the wooden floor of the cabinet. I am scared that the water has permanently damaged or weakened the stand. I hope I don't come home one day to find the entire tank on the floor in shambles. I won't buy this brand again. *********************************** I'm using this filter for my 125 gal, 6 ft long, turtle tank after some other Amazon reviewers recommended it. I have one Eastern River Cooter who is about 6-7 inches long in the tank. This filter is doing a pretty good job keeping the water clean. I think that the intake is not strong enough to pull in everything on the bottom from all areas of the tank though, probably because it is so long. I had the intake spout on the far right side of the tank, and the bottom of the tank on that side looked pretty clean, but the left side not so much. So after cleaning the bottom on the left side, I moved the intake spout to the left to try to clean up more of the muck from between the rocks on the bottom. I guess I'll have to alternative right and left to get all the waste across the bottom. One thing that I don't like is the spray bar periodically makes a "squeaking" sound. It looks like air pockets somehow get into the spray bar, gets trapped at the very end of the bar and it causes a squeaking sound. I've tried tilting the bar to make the air pocket break up or float to a different area, but it doesn't work. It can get pretty loud sometimes for me since the turtle tank is right next to the sofa. Rotating the sections of the spray bar helps to break the air pockets up and get them out. It is just a pain to have to continually fool with it.

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.

I have waited about a year after purchasing this to write a review and I am glad that I did. When I first purchased this filter and set it up, I would have given it a 3 star rating due to my own faults. Now that I have cleaned it out and set it back up several times, I absolutely LOVE this filter. 1st it does not need to be manually primed (eeeww) like some other filters out there, which was the main reason I purchased it. 2nd it purrs like a kitten. This filter is VERY quiet, I don't hear it running until I open the stand door and even then I have to listen for it. 3rd It keeps my water crystal clear (which has more to do with the media than the filter, but more on that later) 4th I have had no issues with this filter in the year that I have had it. When I first got this filter and tried to prime it, it didn't fill up right away. It was a pain in the butt. I followed the instructions and I just couldn't get it to work. I almost considered returning it. Other reviews said the same thing. Since then, I have learned a much easier way to get it to run. After I clean it out and put it back together, and all the hoses are connected, I plug the filter in and turn on the valve for the intake hose only. Then I push the prime button 4 to 8 times until I hear the water filling up in the canister at which time I turn the valve for the outtake hose ON. This filter will start filling up on its own and running smoothly immediately. It is so easy. I have been playing around with the types of media I use in this filter and how I pack it. I use this filter in a 55 gallon aquarium for a AST (American snapping turtle) who is a very dirty guy. My aquarium is only half full of water so probably about 25 to 30 gallons of water. I have left over ceramic rings, and instead of tossing them I put a VERY thin layer on the bottom of the canister BEFORE I put the trays in. This keeps most of the muck on the bottom while the cleaner water moves up. I pack the bottom tray with 3 different sponges (coarse, medium and fine on top) the middle try is where I put my coarse media, I found that Matrix Bio Media works better than the white ceramic rings as it is more porous, where the ceramic rings are smooth and don't help keep the water clea. In the top tray I use a mix of Marineland Diamond Blend Ammonia Neutralizing Carbon and Black Diamond Premium Activated Carbon, I also add a cuttel bone to the top tray for added calcium in the water. So far this has worked great for me along with the filter, my turtle tank is crystal clear and I clean it out about once a month. Hope this helps anyone considering purchasing this filter. It is a great price and works great. I would purchase this again in the future.

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.

This thing cleared up my turtle tank that was previously using a simple HOB filter in no time, and for the past few months has kept it sparkly clean. Only just last week did I notice some algae building up in the filter, I took it apart in minutes, cleaned it no problem, and had it back set up, all within 30 minutes. Super easy to work with and does an incredible job. And at a much lower price than some bigger brands. Absolutely phenomenal filter.

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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June 2023 Update: The 2019 Cascade 700 & 1000 and the 2022 Cascade1000 are all still running beautifully. Age has not made them louder or less effective. I'm not sure if people will see these updates...yet here I am. March 2022 Update: The original Cascade 1000 has died. the output hose developed a leak at the screw-in fitting. Upon further inspection, it seems the motor housing has split apart and as such, creates enough back-flow to seep through the hose fitting. I'm now nervously looking at the other 3 filters. And yet, the AC HOB I bought over 2 decades ago still runs like a champ. My original review is below, this being an update. I have since purchased an additional 1000 and a 700 for another tank. I can certainly confirm priming issues with long hoses but for me, it was worth the extra effort. My original 1000 has since recieved maintenance and was tricky to get sealed again. Much fussing was had to ensure there was no debris trapped in the lip. Running only canister filters has resulted in me needing to run air wands in all the tanks. Before this, adequate surface agitation was provided by the HOB filters. Still, I have quieter tanks, larger media holds and nothing hanging off the sides except for slim black tubes. For a mid-level filter, I would definitely recommend cascade's line. First review: The product arrived in a short amount of time, even with it being shipped from the USA. Came packaged well enough and was easy to set-up and install. The pump on it to get it to prime is great; think I pressed it 2 or 3 times. I think the people who are having issues priming are not cutting their lines. The instructions clearly state that all lines need to be above the top of the unit. It is standard pond tubing so there should be no fear in accidentally cutting it too short. My unit came with a damaged base in the form of a missing piece that looks to have broken off. Said piece was not in the box but it has no ill effect on the unit itself so I didn't bother with a refund or exchange. It runs quieter than my AC HOB and has lots of room for different media. Only time will tell how well it runs long-term. I'm tempted to buy a smaller one for my other tank.