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

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.

I love this unit! I was able to do a minimal customization to allow this unit to hang on the side of my 55 gallon tank! It’s small yet large enough to keep the tank clean. Perfect for filter modifications! It’s 3-4 times larger than the quiet flow 10! It’s much, MUCH quieter than the whisper EX! Enough room to add any media you’d desire to the holding/processing tank. Has a flow adjustment which would be great for more delicate fish. With a hand grinder I was able to remove 2 tabs, one from each side of the unit where the opening for the water to flow is, it wasn’t quite small enough to fit the 55 gallon side, so I took a hand grinder and cut off each tab shown in my photos, it fits perfectly into the space now and works great for the area I needed it to fit into! Happiness! PLEASE NOTE: If you appreciated this review please give it a “thumbs up/like if it was helpful” I truly appreciate you helping me to continue to give honest/unbiased insight into products I’ve used and you may have questions about. Interested in a product but don't know enough about it and would like it reviewed? Please let me know and I'll see what I can do... follow me for a vast array of purchased product reviews. Thank you 🙏

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!

It looks really nice! No complaints with the job it does. I just bought it a week ago. Now I just got a fully submersible one to replace this. It's pretty loud. We havd ours in our living room. Annoying when your trying to relax or watch tv. If you don't care about the noise I'd say go for it. But yeah, im sticking with the submersible one. I enjoy not listening to water being cleaned. Maybe that's just me.

Arrived without motor and a note from another customer that noted that the motor didn’t work. Huge waste of money.

I am amazed with this filter. I've tried several different brands, and none of them have had the efficiency of this one. I've used a brand that uses 4 charcoal filters each, and even with 4 filters, the product was sub par to this filter. I recently set up a new aquarium, which was a kit complete with a filter, and after 4 days, the water was still extremely cloudy. I happened to have one of these filters, which I didn't use before because I didn't leave enough back space to install it, however, it fit the new aquarium. In one afternoon, there was a significant difference in the cloudiness, and after 2 days, it was crystal clear. I've since purchased these filters for 4 of my aquariums and today, I'm purchasing 2 more! I'll never go back to the others. I'm so amazed with this filter and will never use another brand! Thank you to the manufacturers for making such an excellent product. Update: I'd like to add that I love the color! The clear blue makes it look beautiful with the tank with the water flowing through it, and please never change it. It's an asset and so much more beautiful than the solid black I've used with other filters. I also would like to add that for my large tank, a 90 gallon tank, I've always used 2 filters (units) at a time. In the past, with the other brand, even the 2 filters (for a total of 8 charcoal filters inside) were inefficient, but with the Penn Plax Cascade 300, it's remarkable. My tank is staying clean and beautifully clear.

I have had this for about 1 year now and it is still going strong. Keeps the tank clean and does its job just as good as the day I got it. I turn it off, pop the lid off and rinse the filter media in old tank water once every 3-4 weeks. Then put the media back, lid back and turn it on. Super easy to access and clean. Easy to put back together. Well worth the price.

3 months and the clup on thw motor broke and water went everywhere. Was good while it lasted for 3 months. Rate a 3 worked well

Works well and does the job. Fairly quiet you might hear a slight hum and the trickling of water. Can't be beat if you're in the market for one and can't be beat at this price.

I have 2 of these on my fancy goldfish tank. They work great. My only issues with this filter is the small gap between the bottom of the cartridge chamber and the cartridge insert. I feel that the bottom should be completely flat so the cartridges sit flush on the bottom. Otherwise I love these filters. Very quite and easy to use and clean.

It's actually noisy, but if you remove the other detachable comb/strainer, lol, i dont know how you call that mb, the splash of the water quiets down. Still does its job, but if you're sensitive to noise, better look for others filters.

Can’t go wrong with the filter for the price. I did switch out the filter cartridges for filter media as it’s hard to find cartridges for it but worked great.

First one came broken. Replacement was so loud I couldn’t even stand it. It’s like something was wrong with the motor. Sent it back and got a refund. Not worth it at all!!! (My fish tank is beside my bed and I had an actual headache from how loud it was. I was able to hear it from downstairs even when my bedroom door was closed. Obnoxiously loud!!!)