Cascade® Canister Filter Pumps for Fresh & Saltwater Aquariums - UL Listed

by Penn-Plax

Product Features

• Heavy-duty external filter quietly delivers crystal clear water in fresh & marine aquariums up to 30 gallons in size.
• Large capacily stackable media trays allow for multi-stage filtration.
• Quick & easy push-button primer and two independent 360 degree rotating taps.
• Flow rate shut-off valves adjust water flow and provide for easy maintainance.
• Sturdy rubber mounted tip-proof base.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 11.5 x 13.5 inches ; 9 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B0002DJIQW
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,902 in Pet Supplies (See Top 100 in Pet Supplies)

Product Description

Size: Cascade® 500

Cascade® Canister Filters from Penn Plax® offer heavy-duty multi-stage external filtration for your fresh or salt water aquarium. The Cascade® 500 Canister Filter can handle aquariums up to 30 gallons efficiently providing up to 115 gph of flow. These filters allow you to combine the benefits of several types of media delivering powerful mechanical, chemical & biological filtration for crystal clear water in fresh or marine environments. Easy to install, these filters come with all the necessary accessories to connect to your tank and begin filtering in approximately 30 minutes and see visable improvement in less than a day! A quick push-button primer makes start-ups easy and the two independent directional 360-degree rotational valve taps make placement worry-free. Flow-rate control valves and swimming pool-style hose clamps make setup and adjustment easy. The popular cobalt blue color will look attractive next to your tank and the sturdy rubber mounted tip-proof rubber base keeps the unit in place. Each pump comes with large filter trays, start-up filter media & input/output tubing. The large filter trays mean you can use more media and have longer periods between replacement. An air-tight seal assures proper flow rate while maintaing ultra quiet operation. The easy-lift clamps make it simple to release the vacuum and remove the top for changing media or other maintanance. Directional returns help to suspend waste matter so it can be taken in by the filter leaving nothing but clear, clear water. Use any combination of media including bio-floss, bio-sponges, activated carbon and others to accomplish a wide array of aquarium filtration needs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear as crystal, July 10, 2009

By 

C.S. Jennings - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cascade® 1000 Canister Filter for up to 100 Gallon Aquariums, 265gph (Misc.)

As an fish tank owner for over 15 years, I'd always had the big old Penguin on the back of the tank. Reliable. Sometimes noisy. But it got the job done.

Recently the Penguin gave up the ghost. I decided to upgrade. I could not be happier. I am wondering why I didn't do it sooner. (And so are my fish.)

I'd read several people say it was hard to hook up. I didn't have that experience. The tubes went on with a little muscle, and I guess if you're a 90 pound gal, it might offer some resistance. Another review said he got different tubes instead of the ones that came with the unit. I don't see a need to do that. They're stiff, but more than get the job done. Another note, mine came with the filter media pre-loaded. I had to take the carbon mesh bag out of the plastic it came in. I bought media for it with the "buy this with this" option. Now I have media for when I need it. The priming of the pump was not the "press it four times and it will fill in a minute" the instructions said. However, I just repeated the steps they list, and it was up and running in no time.

That said, I put this on a 55 gallon tank. I have never had cleaner or clearer water in my tank. I just stand and stare at it in happy disbelief. It does seem to have a LOT of muscle for a tank that size, but again, it's doing an awesome job. The fish were a little concerned at first, but by the next morning were doing their thing as always.

I really like the profile of the top of my tank now. My aquarium sits on a stand. The filter went inside and I shut the door. There's no boxy black thing sticking out of the top. It looks great.

Also. This thing is whisper quiet.

What had kept me out of the canister market had been the price. A lot of the guys are $200-300. The price on this one is stellar. Considering I've got over $400 of fish in my tank, worth every penny.

Do I love this filter? Love's a strong word, but as far as inanimate objects go, I got a serious Jones for this one.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars get a load of this..., April 23, 2008

By 

V. trusca (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cascade® 1000 Canister Filter for up to 100 Gallon Aquariums, 265gph (Misc.)

ok so this pump bucket...is about 1.6 galons comes with 3 trays in it. you can load them with whatever you see fit to run whatever type of tank you want however they do come with the filter media you need...so you wont have to go out and buy some.

i own two. both 1000 due to the fact that i didnt hear very good things about the larger models and because i run a 75 saltwater with fish inverts and loads of live rock.

ive had one for 6 months now and i liked it so much and i liked the PRICE so much i decided to buy another one of the same type.

i dont use the rubber hoses and fittings they come with altho they are great. i actually did some diy plumming and have them both hooked togheder on the intake but sparate utputs.

water flow is good they are very quiet and if you plan on running them in a cabinet you wont hear them run at all.

the disconect feature is great but sometimes when i unhook the pump i spill a bit of water. not from the intake or output hoses...its the water thats left in the canister...but its only id say about as much as you can fit in a tablespoon.

as far as priming goes...you hook up the hoses...you pump the top button hard about 5 times and then by suction it will get its own airbubbles out.

NOTE at first it will blow bubbles untill it fills itself with water but this is for less than a few seconds. after 3 minutes if you still see slight bubbles coming out that means you didnt set up the hoses right and you might have an air leak but thats not the pumps fault.


once properly set this will be the last of your worries especially when it comes to maintenance.

if you buy this pump you wont regret it.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great filter, better company, March 19, 2010

By 

Kevin McGowan "Linguist" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cascade® 700 Canister Filter for up to 65 Gallon Aquariums, 185gph (Misc.)

I have a cascade 700 canister in my 40 gallon heavily planted tank and it's a truly wonderful filter. It was easy to set up. It's powerful (all of my plants wave in the currents created by the spray bar and the fish seem to enjoy playing in it). My water is crystal clear and I love that I can put whatever media I want into the filter baskets. Best of all, the filter is really easy to clean: disconnect the hoses, carry the filter to the sink, replace the filter floss, reconnect the hoses, and plug it back in.

Last week one of my shut-off valves started dripping. I e-mailed Penn Plax to ask them where I could buy a new one and they replied to my e-mail within about 2 hours asking for my address and apologizing for the inconvenience. Today a large brown delivery truck arrived with a pair of new filters. I'm overjoyed. This is an awesome company.

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