Cascade CCF3UL Canister Filter, 100 Gallon, 265gph

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.

I used to have Fluval 404, Fluval 304 and Marineland canister. This one wins them all When my last Fluval leaks ( after 5 years) the new Fluval price went up too high so that I have to look for a different one. I am very happy with this one and so far it runs better the Fluval and Marineland:

Pros:
1. Prime is easy and just a about 5-10 push it pumps out all air and start working, faster than priming the Fluval.
2. Simple setup, you dont have to do much work.
3. Price is very low compare to Fluval or other branch. Cheapest.
4. Quiet.

Cons:
1. None so far but I only used it for 2 months, dont know how long it will last.

UPDATE ON 6/11/2012: Have been in use for almost 2 years now, still works great!! The water flow is very strong. I only have to rinse the unit once.

UPDATE ON 6/18/2013: So far still runs! 🙂 I conclude this unit is the best canister filter that I have ever owned! Good job Cascade!

I have kept tropical fish for over 30 years. I have tried a lot of equipment over those years, from cheap to expensive. When it comes to filters I have tried cannisters by Eheim, Fluval, Marineland and Penn-Plax. In my opinion, this filter is the best choice. In fact, it is replacing a much praised Eheim 2217. Go on any aquarium forum and you will read a lot of debate about what filter is the best. In the end, Eheim earns the highest praise. Especially the Eheim 22XX series. I bought into the hype and purchased an Eheim 2217 for my 75 gallon aquarium. The Eheim while quiet (silent quiet) quickly lost its ability to create water flow (this is where the Eheim fanatics will talk about “pressure” and “no by-pass” making the Eheim special). The water in my 75 gallon aquarium soon became unacceptable. I decided to look for a supplemental canister filter to support the Eheim 2217 and stumbled upon the Cascade 700.

I thought this filter would simply provide filtering support to the Eheim, but within a week of placing the Cascade in the aquarium, the Eheim’s impeller began making noise and the water flow stopped completely. I removed the Eheim determined to repair it, but… the Cascade 700 does a great job keeping the 75 gallon aquarium in tip top shape all by itself! Yes, it is noiser than the Eheim (not nearly enough to be disturbing it’s just that Eheim is silent and this filter is barely audible), but it works and it works well. My aquarium has been running solely on the Cascade 700 for 3 months now and it looks fantastic.

If you want to impress the people on tropical fish forums, purchase an Eheim. If you want a reasonably priced filter that out performs the Eheim line in every way, this is the way to go.