Penn-Plax Cascade 300 Power Filter – Hang-On Filter with Quad Filtration – Great for Freshwater and Saltwater Setups

The story of my review may be like a few others . I ordered the first Penn Plax Cascade Aquarium and it arrived on time and by appearance not damaged. Putting it together was easy. I put it in my 20gal fish tank. I plugged it in and the motor and impeller started up and it started to work just fine. I then checked on it about an hour later and the motor was humming and the impeller had stopped. I took it out and checked the directions and all was correct. I put in back into the tank and it ran for about a minute and then the impeller stopped working. I tried to hand turn the impeller by hand but it would not work. While the unit worked initially it seemed to be doing a good job and the motor was very quiet. So I put in a return request. I received a response within a few hours. I returned the unit and within 3 days my replacement came. I put it together and plugged it in and tested it in my sink. It worked just fine. I then put it into the tank. Again it worked fine. I checked on it in an hour and it was working perfectly. I have now had it 2 weeks and I love it. No problems, motor quit and it does a good job to keep the water clean. I like the option of being able to adjust the water flow. I would highly recommend this product. My only advice is that after you put it together test it first before putting it into your fish tank. I was impressed with Amazon's return policy. I have been buying from Amazon for more then 6 years and purchased almost 80 items, this was only the 2nd time I had to return an item. I gave it 5 stars because not matter what the item is or where you purchased it you will get lemon from time to time. In the end the new returned item worked great.

I decided to switch to this filter for my 62-gallon fancy goldfish tank after running a Marineland Penguin for quite some time... it was the best decision I could’ve made. The biggest pro to using this filter is the silence. It’s the quietest hang-on-back filter that I’ve ever come across. 4 months in and there’s little to no mechanical noise coming from the motor, my mother often puts her ear up to the filter because she can’t believe it’s even on. There’s also very little noise created by the water return (which I absolutely love). If you’re someone who likes to hear the sound of running water this filter will not be it for you, you can hardly hear a trickle. The filter is also incredibly efficient with a fantastic (and completely adjustable) flow rate. They really don’t lie on the box when they say this thing turns over 300 gallons of water per hour. Be prepared to have your water looking clear as day, especially when used with the right filter media. My only concern with this filter is that the materials do feel a little bit fragile, so I’m curious to see how it holds up long term. All in all though, it’s fantastic value for the cost; it’s just as good as any other mainstream brand filter out there.

First one quit working after a day. The other two both came with broken parts, the thing that keeps it level or away from the tank. Both purchased at different times, both prime, not sure the vendors. Quick fix, just added a suction cup next to the part and the loop for airhose does the same thing, the other I put a little pad. Needed filter didn't want to wait. They are very quiet, have it right next to my bed and don't even hear water falling (water level high). Using it for a 40 gallon tank. Have to touch it to see if it's running. Filter runs great, can see the suction. Put squeaker (leak detector) under it, last filter leaked. It's very easy to set up, seems strong, quiet. I like it. The only downside is that it does not cause enough (hardly any) surface movement. I have two on a 55g, one on each end and added a bubble wall in the middle, just to have some surface movement. Second one is on my 20 gallon long, with a sponge filter. There is a humming/vibration noise to this one, only noticeable because it's also next to my bed. So far not too bad. Cheaply built, most problems can be fixed by taking it apart and starting over. If you have the money, go for an Aquaclear filter. If not, this seems to be a decent filter. I'm sure if you keep sending them back you should be able to find one without broken components. Get a feeding station if you have floating plants, blocks output perfectly.

Ok. First, this is so little it's adorable! Would I use it on a 10g? Absolutely not. I have this on a 3g tank that has a betta and a couple shrimp in it. The flow rate is adjustable. It's quite. It fits a 3g rimless tank! I put a sponge on the intake....cuz shrimpies. I also cut my own sponges I have for other tanks instead of the premade ones. Worked just fine! It's only been up a day. So not sure the longevity of product. Will update if it crashes to quickly.

I purchased this filter when I bought a new 10 on tank for my fish in the end of November 2020. I noticed a high count in my 10 gallon. After doing a 50% water change, rinsing out the filters from that filter, I want to make sure it was running. I'm good reason my nitrate count was so high! I'm not sure how long it's been since that filter stopped working. I think I cleaned the filter pieces two weeks ago in my weekly water change and it seem to be working then. Since it's been longer than the return time from Amazon, I've been up having to trash it. It's not the impeller of the actual pump unit, as there is no power generating into the pump. I went to look for a replacement pump for this unit and I cannot locate any. That is a real nuisance. I have a small filter for a 2 gallon rescue tank that I'm forced to use until I order a new filter from Amazon. It does a really good job as I've had to use it in one of my 5 gallon tanks when the small back filter pump got clogged with plant debris and stopped. I used to clear the tank out once I got the pump working again. So, I'm sure I can actually recommend this filter at all. It ran OK in my 10 gallon. I have a lot of plants with a normal number of fish for a 10 gallon. I do, thankfully, have a sponge filter and when I went to clean the sponge off in the discarded water from the tank, I saw the water turn almost black. So, I'm very thankful then at least my sponge filter I was helping. I was very surprised at the nitrate level when I had just done at 50% water change in that tank last weekend. OK, I suggest you beware folks when looking for a new filter for your tank. I'm off to get another filter. I definitely will NOT use this brand if I can avoid it. Also, those internal air powered sponge filters are amazing. I have two running in my 10 gallon now while I figure out what to do about a filter and using that small rescue pump. Just an FYI, I bought 2 UPETTOOLS Aquarium Biochemical Sponge Filter from Amazon. One went into a 5 gallon, And the second one went into that poor 10 gallon tank. Set a 10 gallon tank is now running to sponge filters as well as the rescue filter. If you want to get your tank clean, I do highly recommend any internal sponge filter. I'm surprised how well they work. Not great for debris, like a hanging filter does, but I absolutely love them.

The adjustable flow is nice but the range of adjustment is pretty small. The Tidal by Seachem can be adjusted all the way down to a drip (probably not great for the motor), but this filter doesn't let you adjust the flow very much. Other than that, it's a great filter. Very very quiet. I picked up the 35 gallon version and have it on a 20 gallon on my desk. I can't hear the filter at all, aside from the water movement itself. This filter is not self priming (meaning you have to fill it with water when setting it up or after you clean it) but it's not a problem at all, just scoop up a little tank water and fill up the filter, then plug it in. The Tidals are self priming which is nice, but they also require the tank level to be quite full since they skim the surface, which means I have to shut them off before doing a water change. The Cascade I can do my water changes and leave the filter running through almost the whole change, but it does not skim the surface. Could be a con for some, but is a pro for me since I have a lot of floating plants that clog up the Tidal constantly. Not really a point against the Tidal though since that's the intended design, and it works great if you don't have a lot of small floating plants. This filter works great for Betta tanks. I wrap some coarse sponge around the inflow to prevent anything from getting sucked against the grate. The grille on the outflow is great. At higher flows it evenly distributes the flow and softens it slightly, on lower flows it turns the outflow into split streams, which won't annoy or stress Betta :).

I upgraded from a Casdcade 150 that was perfect for years until the motor failed. Thought I would upgrade to the 200. Fired it up and it was a little noisy, checked impeller and seemed ok. Pumped a lot of water! Matter of fact too much.. it overflows back to the tank around the pick up tube on high. Had to remove the second filter and leave it on roughly 50% flow to keep all the water flowing through filter. I purchased this in September and now the noise is terrible. I have cleaned several times but this time I pulled the impeller apart and the shaft is heavily scored. I am now using the impeller from the 150 that died and it’s a little better but still loud. I have put a service request into Penn-Plax and will adjust rating based on the results. UPDATE: 12-11-25 Penn Plax finally replied and after spending $10 for them to ship me a new one, it is now nice and quiet. I do like this filter but spending another $10 for a warranty replacement? Very disapointed with the customer care... upgraded to 3 stars from 1, customer service is important!

I’ve been an aquarist for 50 years, so I’ve used most major brands. I needed a low-budget filter for a proof of concept - experimental stuff. This is an awesome filter. Having said that, there’s no way I’d have this in a 100 gallon saltwater tank, and very skeptical that it would suffice. This filter is quiet and well-made. It took a minute or less to assemble, and everything fit well, had a quality feel, and fit perfectly together. I used this on a 20-gallon long saltwater tank I’m using for propagating bubble-tipped anemones and the flow is just ideal. I would estimate that this filter would be very good to excellent for nano-reef aquariums up to 30 gallons (With a powerhead), and 40 gallons for fish-only saltwater tanks. I’d maybe up that to 60-75 gallons for freshwater. Other sizes, I’d still suggest this pump ...just get 2. Personally, I’d have two of these on a 40-gallon reefer, but I’m also running a low-flow powerhead too. I don’t see any negatives in buying this filter. The price is outstanding for what you get and so what if you gotta buy two...or three...it’s still going to provide quiet, excellent filtration power for your hard-earned money. UPDATE Running a few months now, doing great!

The filter works really well. It’s the noisiest part of my setup, but is still fairly quiet. The waterfall is quieter than you’d expect, but the motor itself is always audible. This is the first filter I’ve used, so maybe they’re all like that, but it’s worth noting.

silenciosos y funcionales

El producto llegó a tiempo y cumple con lo esperado, buena calidad en materiales y es practico. Recomendable 100%

Works great on my 3.4 gal. Very small, for some reason I was expecting it to be a little bigger but its cute and works great. The insert is no good. But I left it in for now. I shoved an aquaclear (20/30) bio media bag in it and it just fit. Of course that media goes in a much larger filter so even if I removed half of it. And used filter floss with it. It would work great. For now just the media is working for me and it's quiet with great flow. It says it will work up to 7 gal. An I'm sure it would. But I would only put it on 5 gal max myself.

Excelente, llegó en tiempo y forma