Powered aquarium vacuum (Eheim, Fluval or other) (gravel vac)

[squint]

I appreciate the feed back... especially re the Eheim. I have always had good luck with Ehiem products and bad luck with Fluval products... but every product is unique and I don't weight my purchases 100% on brand loyalty.

By "hand pump" do you guys mean one of those rubber bulbs that you pump with your hand? To me a hand pump is permanently affixed to the ground and has a long handle you pump to bring water up from the well.

This is the exact one I bought:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQGXRB6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The end is 1/2" OD so I was able to extend it with 1/2" ID tubing I already had so it can reach a bucket on the floor. It might be possible to attach a micron sock and not even have to remove water from the tank.

 

[MrsE88]

I have the Eheim vac you showed above. It was a great solution for me because I run my syphon hose out my window and the hose wouldn’t reach across my 6’ tank. So I could vacuum the other half with the Eheim vac.
It was perfect till too much sand got in it and it stopped working
The suction can’t be compared to a normal syphon, but it will vacuum up poop. And I used it to clean up build up in my sump chambers too. Very handy while it was working. Lol

I think it would last much longer for your daughter with a bare bottom tank. Or even gravel if she went that way later. But I advise against sand, since I’m pretty sure that’s what broke mine.

 

[Seedy J]

I've never used a Python but I have a similar product from Aqueon with a 50' hose. It's convenient for water changes but the suction is too weak to really vacuum the tank, even in my bare bottom tank. I've tried using it as intended (using running sink water to create suction) and with a squeezable rubber bulb with the same result. When I really want to vacuum the tank, I just use the rubber bulb vacuum with a short hose and 5 gallon bucket like jexnell and james99 suggested.

 

[Oughtsix]

I purchased the Fluval ProVac AC powered vac that I linked to in my first post. It is NOT IMPRESSIVE but will serve its purpose for my daughter.

I think the ProVac is the the battery powered Fluval vac with the battery compartment replaced by a wire coming out of the handle that plugs into a typical wall transformer. I can't imagine the battery powered version being less powerful than this AC version. There is 10'+ or so of total cord so I didn't have any problems reaching an outlet.

The motor powering the impeller is tiny and the suction is weak! It will pick up poop off the bottom of the bare bottom tank though. The impeller itself is tiny and obviously not designed to move a lot of water... probably so the 59 cent motor isn't overwhelmed. There are two impeller speeds / suction levels... weak and worthless!

The filter pad is small but dense. It doesn't let any perceivable debris through and back into the tank. It plugs VERY quickly though. In a tank of any size I would expect to have to clean the filter pad multiple times during a tank cleaning.

Is it worth the $63 I spent on it? In my case barely to not really. I would not give a big recommendation for the Fluval ProVac Ac powered vacuum. If you have a specific need it might be worth it. I think most will be quite disappointed in it though. It is WAY overpriced for for what it is.

 

[Steve_C]

I have been using the cheap ones (3rd picture you posted) for the past few years now. You can find them a lot cheaper than 414. I get mine off ebay for $8 with free shipping most times. They work well with good suction. The main issue with them that I find is when they suck up sand it quickly ruins the motor/impeller on them. So I go through about 3 of them per year, but at $8 that is not a problem. Since you are using a bare bottom tank then that won't even be an issue for you though. So give the cheapie one a try, they work well for me.

 

[Arthur11]

I'm a new aquarium owner, so I'm learning along the way. It has become very dirty, with a lot of debris in the gravel. So I chose the Laifoo aquarium vacuum cleaner. I always use this whenever I do a partial water change. This helps to clean the tank and remove some of the water in it. The cleaning attachment also helps clean gravel without blowing up sand and standing water. Moreover, it prevents small fish from being sucked into the hose.

 

[Arthur11]

I'm a new aquarium owner, so I'm learning along the way. It has become very dirty, with a lot of debris in the gravel. So I chose the Laifoo aquarium vacuum cleaner. I always use this whenever I do a partial water change. This helps to clean the tank and remove some of the water in it. The cleaning attachment also helps clean gravel without blowing up sand and standing water. Moreover, it prevents small fish from being sucked into the hose.

Although this best fish tank vacuum is technically a siphon that has a sieve to catch gravel and other coarse aquarium substrates, it still did a good job of cleaning most of the dirt and waste that settled at the bottom of my tank.