Penn-Plax Cascade All-in-One Aquarium Canister Filter – for Tanks Up to 150 Gallons (315 GPH) – Cascade 1200

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.

The media could not be loaded. 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.