PENN PLAX Cascade 300 Fully Submersible Internal Filter – Provides Physical, Biological, and Chemical Filtration for Aquariums and Turtle Tanks

i had a "hang on tank" style filter that came with the tank kit. it was woefully undersized and could not keep the tank clean, always had cloudy water. i spent quite awhile researching filters and reading reviews. i decided to give this one a try since it had the options of verticle or horizontal placement and it came with a spraybar.i was a little skeptical about how well it would work since it was smaller than i expected. it proved me wrong! within a couple hours of installation, the water was clear! it is really versitile with the spraybar and bubbler attachments plus the flexibility to set it upright or sideways in the tank. i played with a few different placements until i found one that both the fish and i could live with. (hidden behind a plant) be aware that even on the lowest setting, it does have a powerful flow. my fish love playing in the current, but yours may not.it is so quiet (incredibly so especially when compared to the old filter we had that "snorted" & "growled") after i installed it, i would keep going back and checking on it, thinking that maybe it stopped working because i couldnt hear anything. there is a very very low humm which you can only hear when everything else is completely still. (doesnt happen often at my house!) i was concerned about any vibrations it might have, but my fish are fat & happy. no problems at all.I really like the fact you can refill the carbon and does away with the need for constantly buying filters. a quick rinse and the sponge is good to go. replace the carbon (i toss in a few ammochips too) and you are back in business. i may do what some other reviewer have said and put some filter floss in the bottom portion with the sponge for a little extra filtration. i like the fact you have the option to customize the filter media to what you need.I have had this filter about a month now. there has been no decrease in effectiveness, no increase in noise. it is running like a champ!this filter is powerful, it is quiet, it has adjustable flow, it can be used with or without the included attachments, it can be placed nearly anyway you want inside the aquarium. its very versatile. i definitely recommend it!

This is my go to internal, submersible filter.I’ve tried and had so many other filters to begin with and all of them were ether trash or didn’t last long.I bought 2 cascade 300 for my two smaller tanks (5-10 gallon) and 1 cascade 600 for my bigger medium size tank (20-50 gallon anything bigger you would need to run two filters or something better)It’s been 6 months and they’re all still running great, the water is crystal clear I’ve had no problems with them so far, and it’s quiet!!! The only downside I don’t like about these filter is that they’re a bit tough to take apart to clean (unless that’s just me)It’s a strong enough filter to get your tank cycling, I’ve also use it for my hospital tanks too. The thing I like about these filters you can customize it out with any filtration (sponge, rings) it comes with a spray bar and the blue cap thing (The pump head) where you connect it with the little hose it comes with it produce a good (a lot actually) amount of oxygen for the tank so you wouldn’t need an air stone when using this filter.There is also a little switch at the top to adjust the flow which is a plus for fish that prefers a slower water current/flow.I definitely recommend this filter for any beginner tanks with small- medium size fish.

I bought this as an upgrade from from a little ZooMed filter that's been chugging along for years. This one is definitely larger, as well as louder, although it's still not unreasonably loud. The Cascade it has a really good flow rate and so far seems to be working well in my tank containing one smallish turtle in about 10 gallons of water.The filter seems nicely sturdy, easy to clean, and comes with the accessories you need for various aquarium or terrarium setups, like a spray bar, nozzles, air induction attachment, etc. It has a mechanical (sponge) filter in a cup that allow you to chose a different medium if desired, and a carbon/charcoal cartridge that can be either replaced or refilled. The replacement sponges and cartridges are reasonably priced, which is nice, as some filters seem to suffer from that 'inkjet printer problem' of the refills costing as much as the filter.I appreciate how flexible it allows you to be with both what's in the filter and how it is set up. It can be placed in the tank fully submerged in a variety of orientations, and the flow rate is also adjustable.EDIT: After several years of use, I'm here to update with my experience. My turtle has grown, and is now in closer to 20 gallons of water with the same Cascade. Filter motor is still going strong, although maybe somewhat louder than it was when new. All the major components are intact BUT the suction cups totally gave out after about the first year, and I haven't found them to be easily replaceable. Overall it seems like this is a filter with quite good build quality, particularly as I am using it with a turtle, and they are notoriously messy and hard on filters.

I keep my bettas in 10 gallon tanks, divided in two with homemade dividers (made with hardware store lighting "egg crate" plastic, and cross-stitch plastic canvas). This gives me lots of room to create a nice environment for my bettas, using live plants, and gives each of them 5 gallons of swimming space. The problem is how to filter the tanks? In one tank, I have two mini sponge filters, one on either side so that the whole tank is well filtered. But these do churn up the water at the surface quite a bit. In another tank, I had an internal filter on one side, right near the divider. This has gentler flow - too gentle! The non-filter side of the tank was stagnant and the betta on that side was not doing as well as I wanted. I felt like Goldilocks, unable to find the filter solution that was "just right."To get to the point, the Cascade 300 has solved my problem - albeit not in the way I had envisioned - and I will be ordering another to use in the 2nd tank. I had thought that I could use the spray bar to return a little water to the 2nd half of the tank, but because the filter has to be fully submerged, the spray bar wouldn't go over the divider. Penn-Plax, an extension wand to lift the spray bar higher would be a great solution, and could be used for some really creative set-ups, like paludariums, waterfalls, etc! However, simply putting the filter on one side of the tank, and directing the output straight at the divider, is providing enough flow to the 2nd half of the tank, while also buffering the flow on the filter side. The bettas are happy, and so am I.I will note that the filter is not huge and doesn't have tons of space for media, but does have some flexibility for those who want to customize things (using your own media in place of the charcoal insert, for example). It looks like a good solution for a lightly stocked 10 gallon, not an overstocked tank with messy eaters, etc. It came fully assembled, and was easily put back together after I had rinsed everything off (as per standard instructions: to remove manufacturing residue, charcoal dust, etc). There are several small suction cups attached to the unit, and they worked well. Hopefully they hold up over time, as they don't appear to be replaceable. All in all, I'm very satisfied with this purchase.

Tank is much healthier 🙌Fish much happier 🐟

Performs well, but really quite loud. Better not to use in a tank within or near bedroom.

I set this up for my turtle yesterday and he's surprisingly not attacking it! It does make the tank vibrate a little but, has kept it quite clean. He's usually able to make the water a bit yellow by now and thankfully it's still clear! However, the filter isn't picking up all of his skin sheddings and they're just circulating at the top, I've included a picture. The filter also makes a slight whirring sound but, I never hear it besides when I'm feeding my turtle. I'd recommend for turtle owners.

A bit noisy but for the price, it's definitely worth buying. Comes with a two cartridges that are already filled with media (Carbon and sponge). My Guppies love it. Especially the tiny babies that "play" in the current. I used the long attachment on the second lowest setting and it's fine for my fish. Brilliant filter. It was brought as a replacement until I buy a better one but I might just stick with this. It's only been in for an hour so will update as time goes on if anything happens that I feel might be worth noting here. The suckers are fine on my fliter and work well.EDIT : 9 JUNE 21 Started buzzing loudly and didn't work as it should on the 8th. Had to add an emergency air stone now as it's stopped working and my water is horrid. Fish are evidently stressed. It's killed off my pregnant guppy because of the sudden change. Not as worth it as I thought.