What was interesting is that there wasn’t one clear winner here. Rather, all these gravel vacuums I tested are very good depending on what type of tank you’re running.

Also, this gravel vac setup has a unique flow control device. It has a plastic ball valve that you can install at the end of the siphon hose. This lets you easily adjust how much flow is coming through the hose. All of the goods listed above are excellent choices, and you may make your final decision based on your own particular tastes. An aquarium vacuum, although not the first thing that popped to mind when getting fish, but it’s one of the aquarium cleaning tools that you’ll use the most. Also included is a water flow clamp that you can slide onto your siphon hose. The farther you slide it on, the more it restricts the flow.Flow control– some sort of device, like a hose clamp or a valve that lets you slow down the flow for more precise control over the whole process. Gravel guard - This prevents debris from clogging the tube extension, it is a fine mesh screen within the VAC.

I’m currently running five different tanks, all over 30 gallons, so there’s a whole lot of water changing going on at my place on Saturday afternoon. There are a lot of different tanks out there, so it makes sense that there’s a lot of different gravel vacuums on the market. Maintaining the health of your aquatic life requires routine removal of organic debris from the substrate, a procedure known as gravel vacuuming. Solid waste, such as ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate spikes is what makes this process necessary for these products are toxic to fish and can cause problems to their health and aggravate whatever disturbances they already might have in their system. That’s why cleaning the fish tank plays an important factor in your fish life This gravel vac is designed a little differently. The gravel tube itself is fairly short and it connects to a thinner rigid tube that then connects to the siphon hose.

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As mentioned, there are a few types of gravel vacuum cleaners. Electric gravel vacuums rely on a submerged water pump to work, and they won’t operate properly if the pump isn’t submerged. Similar to some filters, that needs priming before use or otherwise the motor will burn out. Operation involves closing the inflow of the canister, but keeping the return open. When you open the valve on the bottom port to which the gravel vacuum is hooked up, flow will begin, drawing water through the cleaner and returning it to the tank. Easy start siphon bulb - The siphon powers the rest of the gravelVAC multi-substrate cleaner and is easily primed to create suction. Just like that, electric gravel cleaners motors are designed to work underwater, and if they are not used as such, they will either not function at all or spin until they burn out. While an electric aquarium vacuum isn’t a smart choice for a 5 gallon aquarium, it may save a lot of time and hassle if your aquarium is bigger in size.

If you find yourself between this and the battery version of this cleaner, this one has a more powerful AC motor and the difference is obvious. Overall if you’re looking for a gravel vacuum that will make your life tons easier, this is the way to go. Pros If you’re still unsure of how to operate it, Fluval even has a pretty good ‘silent movie’ tuition video using universal hand gestures — scroll down to see it. Verdict If you’re rough on stuff (like me and my entire family), the Python can handle cruel and unusual punishment like a champ. It’s durable and heavy duty.

I think this would be way too slow if you have something like a big 55 gallon (208 liter) that you’re trying to drain 30 gallons (113 liters) out of. The new Fluval FX gravel vacuum cleaner is currently only available as a free gift when you buy a new FX4 or FX6 filter. We're hoping that they will soon start to offer them separately. I would recommend this vacuum for tanks 30 gallons and up (There are models that are larger or smaller for different tank sizes). The nozzle would be great for a bare bottom tank, or if you don’t really need to get down into the gravel much, but I don’t recommend using it if you need to really get down and dirty with the mulm in the substrate. This gravel vac is best suited to larger tanks, I’d say 30 gallons (113 liters) or larger. Aqueon makes bigger and smaller gravel vacs for other tank sizes.