Penn Plax Cascade 400 Submersible Aquarium Filter Cleans Up to 20 Gallon Fish Tank With Physical, Chemical, and Biological Filtration, CIF2

My 10 gallon planted tank has horrible substrate that clouds the entire tank up for a week every time I stir anything up. It also had a severe algae problem due to the high light requirements of my plants, overdosing fertilizers, and temporarily being overstocked by my juvenile angelfish. My old filter from a different brand got clogged up with nasty algae and broke, so the tank got really bad in the 2 days it took my to get this new filter. Boy, am I amazed by it!I chose to use the spray bar attachment instead of the jet output, because I didn't want to stir up my plants, and this tank is supposed to be a betta tank. The current is strong enough to gently move the hairgrass but not too strong to blow everything around. I had to remove the middle compartment with the carbon because the filter was just a little too tall for my setup. As you can see, the horrible condition of my tank improved drastically in only 3 days!I believe it's important to note a few of the concerns addressed by other reviewers.1. The spray bar popping off. I found out that when you first stick it on, the spray bar looks like it is attached, but when you look very close you may notice it's not quite on. Push it harder and you'll hear a click. Now it's very secure and isn't going to pop off any time soon.2. Fish sucked up through the bottom. This had to be a defective product for those reviewers, because I tried figuring out how such a thing was possible and if the filter is properly assembled and not broken on arrival it is most definitely not possible. The holes in the bottom are no larger than a typical filter input strainer, so if your fish are large enough to not get sucked into a standard filter there is no risk of them getting sucked into this one. Baby fish, yes. My very small neons love to hang out under the filter and they haven't had a problem. I did sadly lose one to a water change siphon a few weeks ago, so I feel if anything's going to be sucked up they are pretty prime candidates.3. Noise. When my filter came in the mail the carbon compartment had popped open and little pieces of carbon had gotten everywhere, including inside of the impeller compartment. It took a lot of careful disassembling and jiggling for me to get it out, and it was very rattle-y until I did. That may very well have been the problem for those unlucky reviewers as well.This filter is so quiet I can't tell it's on if not for the very nice current it makes. My other tank has significantly louder filters. Overall I think so far this is the best internal filter I've bought, and I've bought 5 different brands over the past 10 years, so that's saying something.

This one is noisy and stops working. Then i have to fumble with it to get it working again. Replacement is on the way but I probably should try a different one.

I've recently upgraded my tank size and changed my filter to a different brand. The time I did use this though it was great. I do plan to use this filter again for an upcoming project that I'm working on so I'm not just throwing it into storage because I really does have good filtration. Like some of the other reviews, I was quick to throw away the carbon cartridge and use my own mixture of media instead. I'm not a fan of carbon which is a heavily debated topic for aquarium enthusiasts. Anyway, pros and cons.Pros:- Works great out of the box and is pretty quite. I slept very easy with the filter on- The attachments are nice to have for multi use cases to ensure you get all the uses you can out of the filter- Cleaning is very easy- The bio sponge is very thick and has a good amount of surface area for beneficial bacteria to grow in. It will probably last you a very long time as long as you clean it properly and don't have any bad water cycles running through itCons:- The attachments are very cheap feeling- The filter itself feels cheaply constructed so be gentle with it- The suction cups do this filter no justice and pop off easily- The way the filter pulls water in can actually start pulling gunk up into the media chamber past the initial bio sponge so I had to make a black square with my own bio sponge to block any open spots to keep my media cleanDespite the cons, for the price: 5/5 all aroundIf you just need a filter to do it's job on a 10-20 gallon tank this is your best bet in terms of having a submersible filter with bio, mechanical, and chemical filtration at this price point. If you are going any larger on tank size I cannot recommend this product line and suggest you look else where. Just my 2 cents.

I bought this as a secondary filter in a larger tank to polish out some tannin staining and fine particles. I removed the included media, cut the sponge in half, added a layer of polishing floss, some ceramic media then a small bag of bio chem zorb. Its working great, it could serve in a smaller tank (like 10G) as a primary filter if set up right. Its very quiet. and has been very effective even with the media swap it still has decent flow.About the "fish eating bottom intake hole": Mine came with a removable guard, I'm considering gluing it in place (regular crazy glue is aquarium safe) but it seems to stay put. I don't know if this is a new update or if they fell out in shipping for others (its a small disc)Weak points:The spray bar: it slides in place, would have been better if it was twist on, or locking, for long term use I think I will just glue it with some silicone later, I have bumped it a couple times and it fell off and it sinks to the bottom.The plastic is on the thin side.The Cord length is fine for short tanks but short enough to limit choices on placement in a tall tank.The suction cups hold glass well, but every time I try to remove it they stay stuck to the glass and separate from the unit. The bases are small, and material flexible. Its not hard to put them back on but its annoying to have to do it every time.Even with these weak points its a great buy for the price and very useful. It would be worth getting an extra as an emergency backup in case your main goes out.

I do like this filter but, when using the water spray connector it tends to be too heavy for the suction cups to hold it in place. It keeps sinking.

Although it provides powerful circulation enough for my 40 gallon tank, the material is very filmsy. The very tiny suction cups cannot hold the filter in place to the glass and as a result it has to sit at the bottom of the tank and once it is a few inches away from the water surface, the aeration function would not work any more. I purchased this hoping it can function as an air pump in addition to being a filter and therefore I am disappointed.

theres an engineered hole in the bottom of the sponge portion of the filter. not sure why somebody thought to do that.... did not remove debris and left water a bit cloudy. worked, just not very well.was very easy to clean.

PEDI DOS Y LLEGO. UNO SIN NINGUN TIPO DE PROTECCION APARTE CON SEÑALES DE USO COMO RASPADURAS, NO EN UN SOLO LUGAR SI NO QUE POR TODAS PARTES. SE NOTA QUE NO SON PRODUCTOS NUEVOS, AL MENOS LA CAJA DE MEDIOS FILTRANTES DE LOS DOS EN PESIMAS CONDICIONES. NUNCA HABIA PAGADO PRODUCTOS NUEVOS Y RECIBIDO USADOS. REAL MENTE ESTOY DEMASIADO DECEPCIONADO.

Open the box, the spray bar and round nozzel is missing. Very disappointed, having able to use the spray bar is the main reason of buying this filter.

Well i own this about a week. and just notice the bubbler isnt working very good. i have own other version like 600 and no issues with that one so far.. If you purchased the Version 400 make sure check the bubbler first..