Aqueon Aquarium Siphon Vacuum Gravel Cleaner Mini - 5 Inches

The product is very useful and motion technique is simple but effective..I never expect that sipping out the water makes is so fast..Recommended to high this product..This small size is good for small aquarium (6L of water)

Bit tricky to use but it will get the job done.

These things making cleaning a fish tank so much easier. It took a couple of trys to get it to work but once it did, I was able to clean my 5 gallon tank in about a quarter of the time it took me before.

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!

Good quality, but it suck too much water (even for mini) to clean the gravels meaningfully. I'll just use this to change water then, unfortunately

i thought it was not power full but you need to make sure you get all the air out and it will work amazingly if you don't know how watch youtube vid

This product is great.. maybe a little too great?! I have another that siphons much slower, which allows me to move along the bottom of the tank and suck up bits at a slow pace. I use this product when I want a faster water change done. The siphon itself is smaller then my other one, but the suction is by far greater and the hole/tube is bigger, so I have to watch it doesn't take the Fluval substrate with it! I also have to watch my little fish! But it does a speedy job and works great if you just want to get water out with little fuss.