TERA PUMP TRFTCLN-S (BPA-Free) Nano Aquarium Cleaner Fish Tank Gravel & Sand Cleaner for Small Aquariums Under 10 Gallons

I've used this a number of times to do partial water changes in my fish tank. My biggest warning for users of this product is to make sure you use a drain bucket that's bigger than the amount you intend to take out because it can be hard to stop the water flow quickly. Make sure the flow control is adjusted properly, it can drain very fast once it gets going. Was hard to get going at first until i realized you need to quickly squeeze the pump for a little bit befote you get a consistent flow, and then you can let it go.I'd recommend looking up a couple of youtube videos on how to vacuum a tank, there are plenty of videos and the procedure is generally the same with different gravel vacuums.If you have a very active and resonsive fish like I do, keep an eye on him. When the vacuum is in the gravel it wont hurt him but he may swim up to check it out and it's best to just be cautious. I have a betta who is always curious of what's happening. Also, if you plan to remove over half the water I'd recommend temporarily moving your fish to a different tank, just make sure the water in that tank is a similar temperature and ph. Best to just get a small bowl and put some of the old tank water in there, then put him in it while you clean the tank.Overall, good product, best paired with a bucket that's slightly larger than the volume of your tank. When I first used it I drained it into an empty gallon jug and kept having it overflow. I have a 4 gallon tank so I use a 5 gallon bucket just to be safe and leave space for sloshes as I carry it to the sink. If you can't find a bucket big, try a plastic storage bin, that's actually what my bucket is.This product makes water changes and cleaning gravel very easy. I would NOT reccomend this for anyone with a fish in a small bowl, don't use if your tank is less than 4 gallons because it drains water quickly. Overall, it's a good product and fairly easy to use. It might be more difficult if you have lots of fish in a tank, but as a betta owner with a 4 gallon tank, I found this did what I needed it to do.

I purchased this because my other gravel cleaner/water changer, doesn't have a hand pump to start the siphon, that one tends to get pieces of plant matter stuck where the device is narrow at the joining of the tubing and hard plastic piece, and it has low flow/suction power. This vacuums the mulm from my bare bottom breeder tanks quickly, doesn't get clogged with plant matter, and works very well in gravel too. Great for large water changes as it moves a lot of water fast, and has been a huge time saver for me. Since some of my tanks are up high on a rack, I attached a few feet of clear vinyl tubing to the exit end of this so that it reaches the bucket (and I always clamp hoses to the bucket so I don't accidentally pull the end out, that's never fun!). The filter attachment is handy to keep nosy little fish from getting sucked up; but if I clean a fry tank I always make sure to check the bucket before dumping, the filter won't stop tiny fry from being sucked up. You can rubber band a piece of something like nylon pantyhose over the suction end to prevent that, but that's only a useful trick for straight water changes, not vacuuming mulm.Glad I got this, no more sucking on a hose to get the suction started (not all my tanks have enough top clearance to be able to do the fill the nozzle trick), and has significantly shortened the time I spend vacuuming and/or doing water changes. Simple, but very helpful device for aquarium upkeep!

This gravel vacuum and tank draining tool is great. It is well made and works well for such an inexpensive product ($13.99 at the time of this review). I’m glad that it is BPA free and safe for my fish. Even though it is made of plastic, it is solid and of good quality. The bulb is easy to hand-pump and gets the water flowing with no further pumping needed after just 3-5 pumps. The suction power is much better than I expected for a product that doesn't plug in or use batteries. The longer nozzle works very well at getting the “gunk” out of the gravel and rock substrate of my aquariums without removing the fine gravel. It’s pretty cool to see the gravel get sucked up in there a bit and stop well before the strainer area while the “gunk” keeps going through the tube and into the waste bucket. I always use the longer nozzle as I vacuum the gravel every time I do water changes, and I always close the flow controller as far as it can go to allow time to do this. On my larger aquariums, if I finish vacuuming the gravel before enough water has drained, I like that the suction cup can be stuck on the inside of the aquarium to keep draining the water down to the desired level. Once the crimper has been opened up (for draining vs vacuuming), it drains really fast! I have three aquariums of different sizes (6.5 gallon, 60 gallon, and 75 gallon) and it works very well for all of them, minus a few things that would make it even better. I do wish there was a smaller “mini” version of this same tool for my smallest tank, just because this one is kind of large in scale for that tank which makes it harder to maneuver around. Also in my smallest tank, even with the crimper as tight as it will go on the water flow area, it only takes a moment to empty it down to half capacity while vacuuming the rocks. For my 60 and 75 gallon tanks which are 18-21” deep, I could use a bit more length in the longer straight part of the “gravel/sand” nozzle. I have to wear my rubber gloves because I end up with about 3-6 inches of my hand in the water to reach the gravel. In addition, I would love to purchase a longer hose to hook to the waste end of this product under the hand pumper bulb. For my larger aquariums, I have to put my dirty water bucket on top of a high stool to make sure the end reaches into the bucket, otherwise the hose is too short and will get water all over the floor. If someone knows of an extender hose that fits this, I would love to purchase it! It would be amazing to have a 40-50 foot drain hose that reaches all the way outside or to the sink.