This filter is great and would be especially good for salt water or river/stream setups. If you have goldfish, no substrate, or heavy substrate, this would be a good fit. I can see this being great for ponds and turtle tanks, too. It's too strong and not adjustable enough for your typical decorative tanks with slower moving fish— unless you're good at scaping in enough releif/still areas. I'll be using this as a pump and will intermittently use it for when my tank needs a deep clean and filtration.High flow and quick to clear the water column. I like the filter media it came with, but I also added some of my own and there's plenty of maneuvering that can be done if you're picky about your filters like I am.Came well packaged and everything was included. The instructions were cute and very intuitive. It's much quieter than any over the side filters and will be bigger and more heavy duty than most. Well worth the price.I saw that some were struggling with the noise level and keeping this thing working and here are my recommendations for a successful set up:*Prime the filter before turning it on. Make sure it is fully submerged and has had time to fill with water. Turn it around until no air bubbles are coming out.*Add additional mixed filter media on top of the sponges, especially if it's already been cycled with good bacteria. I added clay rounds but kept them above the water inlet so the water goes through the sponges first.*If you want the quietest option, remove the air hose. It's not necessary, but nice to have, and you can always add it as needed.*Turn the filter off before making adjustments or moving it. If you bring it out of the water while it's running you can easily ruin it.*Initially, if your tank is gross, it will need to be rinsed more often until it stabilizes the water quality. That means it's doing it's job. Get a larger filter if it still can't keep up after 30 days.