Penn-Plax Cascade 20 Power Filter – Mini

I've only had it a week so no input on durability, but it's perfect so far. No leaks, quiet, and plenty of room to use your own filter media combo. The only reason I gave just 4 stars is because the filter cartridges made for it are not very good. Thin, sloppy fit and much of the water goes around it. I just buy media pads and cut to fit. Very easy, WAY better filtering, and cheaper in the long run. A layer of poly pad and a layer of carbon fit perfect and flow great. I have it on a 5 gal betta tank. As long as it proves durable I'm very happy with it. Update: It's been almost a year and it still works perfect. Silent, no leaks, no probs at all. Now 5 well earned stars. I purchased the Cascade 80 a couple months ago and it also has been perfect. 5yr update: Still works fine, but recently started rattling a bit. To be fair though it's gotten jammed on and even ground up literally hundreds of tiny pest snails over the years. That plus the high mileage and I couldn't be happier for under $12. A little petroleum jelly in the impeller hole and a coat on the magnet will silence it, but only for a few days. I'm back to buy another. I'm still cutting my own pads, spaced in front with a lil bit of air hose. My latest picture is with 2 layers of carbon as it's just supplemental on a bigger 10g tank now, but 1 layer of poly pad and 1 of carbon is my usual way to go as a main filter. Oh, and my just as old and constantly running Cascade 80 is still as strong, silent and reliable as new w/o any fixes. It's nice & dirty & coated w/ good bacteria :). Lol