Aqueon Aquarium Siphon Vacuum Gravel Cleaner Mini - 5 Inches

It was super easy to use, I would absolutely buy it again if I needed it. It helped me clean my tank in only a few minutes' time! It's wonderfully made, and it works exactly how it should! The instructions are very clear and simple! (new to owning/cleaning a tank). I thought it would take a while to clean my tank, but this made it super easy, fast, and simple!

A good size siphon for my 5 gallon betta tank. Several reviews said that it drains the tank too quickly or is hard to start. Here is how I do it.So we all know that water runs downhill, but water will actually run uphill through a siphon, as long as the end of the tube is lower than the top of the tube, and no water gets in. You can keep your thumb over the low end to stop and start the flow as needed. You don't need to suck the water through the tube with your mouth if you just fill it with water before you put it in the tank.So with that in mind, prepare for siphoning by placing a bucket lower than the top of the fish tank water. I put it on a chair next to the tank. The water will siphon out faster if the end of the siphon is lower. After the bucket is ready and you have the lid of the tank off, fill the siphon with water by adding the water to the large end. Keep your thumb mostly over the small end and lower it below the level of the big end. Water will run down and push the air out. Use your thumb over the small end to control the air/water and seal it completely with your finger when the air runs out and the whole siphon is full of water. Keeping your finger over the small end, lift the large rigid end of the siphon into the tank. Its important not to let air in, so don't turn it over and put it in the tank because the water will flow out and air will flow in. Put the bottom of the big end (where it is attached to the tube) in the water first, and then turn it over once its completely submerged. The idea is to not let air into the tube. Otherwise you have to suck it with your mouth and who knows what bacteria is in there?Keeping your thumb over the small end, put it in the bucket and release water to test the flow. Your thumb will act as a valve and let as much water out as you want, as fast or slow as you want. Don't let the water flow out freely into the bucket, in a small tank you need to focus on the dirtiest water and conserve the rest by releasing your finger only when you are actively vacuuming out grunge. The most organic material accumulates in the gravel, so let the flow increase as you push the large end into the gravel. If you hit a good spot, the brown grunge will rise up into the tube followed by gravel. Since the organic material is lighter and goes up before the gravel, you can prevent the gravel from clogging the tube by capping the end as soon as the brown water has passed through. As soon as the flow stops, the gravel falls down. In this way you can search for the pockets of organic material the generates ammonia. Be careful of your plant roots though!

Overall it worked decently. A little difficult to get the hang of but once it was going it worked well to drain the water. But it sucked up the aquarium rocks very easily and kept getting clogged. Overall partly cleaned around the stones but didn’t get everything before the water was drained (10 gallon tank). But it wasn’t very expensive so I’d say it worked well enough for what it cost.

I have one aquarium. It’s 3 gallons, and it’s home to one goldfish and his/her mossball. That fish produces a large number of turds every week. While I have an electric filter for the little guy/gal, it does nothing for the poop. I tried one gravel cleaner (it even came with a scraper, but it worked by way of a hand pump) - it didn’t clean the gravel. Anything it did manage to suck up came right back out as soon as I pulled the business end up above the water line (& then spewed everywhere). I bought this one in a desperate attempt to save my little fish, as the filth in his water was starting to make him/her very sick.First of all, I ordered the smallest one they make for my little tank. As soon as I put it together, I stuck this thing in the water & followed the directions - going up & down in the gravel. In the beginning, it did nothing. I looked down at the bucket, and the other end of the hose was pointing up. I figured this thing was not going to work because of that, and walked away to get some tape to stick that end down against the bucket. As soon as I let go of the end of it (stopping the up & down motion) to walk away, I heard this splashing sound. The pump started draining the water without me! I quickly turned the hose around in the bucket so that it was facing down, and went to work. This sucker really sucks!! It got all of the poop, and then some! It got old food, dead scales, pieces of the mossball that the fish had spat out...it even sucked up some of the gravel! Best of all, it didn’t scare the crap out of my little fish. The other one did. Literally. (It was truly awful - the brand of that disaster is Kasan...don’t go there...or ones that function similarly - it’s a total waste of money.)Anyway, for my one little goldfish in my 3 gallon aquarium, this little cleaner (after one cleaning) has been a success! If I should see a need to update this review in the future, I will. Meanwhile, I’m just relieved that I didn’t have to spend a ton of money on an electric gravel cleaner. I’m very happy with this little sucker.