Tetra Water Maintence Items for Aquariums - Makes Water Changes Easy
Water Cleaner ~ "2-55 gallon" ~ $10.49
Haven't used it yet but initial inspection gets a pass. The tubing, looks to be 3/8 ID 1/2 OD, is nice, not easily kinked, and came kink free. And that size tubing is a nice middle of the road for small to medium sized tanks. And the vac chamber is nice and clear so you can see what you're vaccing. That feature alone is why I chose this one over the no name models that had the same features plus a flow control valve... they all have smokey or milky tinted vac tubes which is idiotic to me. The whole reason you use these things is to vac, you would think you want to see what you're vacuuming clearly. And some of them put the screen on the bottom of the vac tube so it can't even function to swirl the substrate and separate out the detritus. And any that actually had nice clear chambers, maybe even a little longer, had no primer bulb. So this one ticked the most boxes.
Anyway this one has a nice clear vac chamber and it's just long enough at around 4.5 inches to do what it needs to do in small/medium tanks with not too deep substrate. I don''t know why it couldn't be a little longer but you can't have everything. And it has a decent looking screen at the top of the chamber. Given the size of the tubing and lack of flow control you'd have to be kinking the tube to regulate flow on really small tanks under 10 gallons or the tank will be empty before you're done vaccing. And With the short-ish vac tube it seems less than ideal for anything larger or with deeper substrate.
I gave the primer bulb a bunch of squeezing and torqued on the nipples a bit and it seems like it will hold together for the foreseeable future. I will say the way the nipples attach to the primer bulb seem to be female slip fittings that are glued on and you hear a little crackling glue if you distort the bulb too close to the nipples. But even with that it does hold suction and pressure just fine and if it ever came loose with age I'd have no problem redoing it with silicone if I like the vac. And the nipples on the bulb have no barbs to stop the tubing from backing off but the tubing seems to hold on fine once seated all the way on. They were just barely seated on as it came, so needed to be pushed down till they hit home, but that's no problem. And the vac chamber has a barbed nipple.
The bucket clip seems like it's made from good plastic, not brittle, and I really appreciate that being included. I will search for some kind of spare valve or something to put on the bucket end of the hose because as it stands there's nothing to stop the hose from easily slipping up and out of the bucket clip... but no biggie and glad to have the clip.
The one glaring omission other than a flow control which isn't really a necessity as you can kink the tube, is a rigid pipe leading up to the vac chamber so you can easily direct it around. You figure with the total length of the vac chamber being maybe 5" a simple 12" rigid piece would allow much easier control with minimal hand dunking in all the medium sized tanks and still not be so long as to be cumbersome in a 5.5 or 10 gallon, or you could just not use it if you only had tiny tanks. Either that or give us a longer vac chamber.
So all in all not bad, and certainly not bad for $10. I'd be content paying a few dollars more if it came with a flow control valve and rigid stem/wand, but I get them wanting to keep it in the $10 range. And they did hit a really nice sweet spot of quality and features for the price.
Tetra Water Maintence Items for Aquariums - Makes Water Changes Easy
4.5 | 2,299 ratings
Price: 10.89
Last update: 12-25-2024
About this item
TETRA WATER CLEANER: Gravel siphon used to easily clean aquariums.
COMPATIBLE AQUARIUM SIZE: For aquariums up to 55 gallons.
MAKES MONTHLY WATER CHANGES EASY: It only takes 30 minutes to replace 30% of water every 30 days.
REMOVE DEBRIS: Siphons are a great way to easily remove debris from gravel by moving the water cleaner throughout the gravel.
INCLUDED: Tetra Water Cleaner comes with gravel siphon, priming bulb and clip for bucket for a simple set up.
COMPATIBLE AQUARIUM SIZE: For aquariums up to 55 gallons.
MAKES MONTHLY WATER CHANGES EASY: It only takes 30 minutes to replace 30% of water every 30 days.
REMOVE DEBRIS: Siphons are a great way to easily remove debris from gravel by moving the water cleaner throughout the gravel.
INCLUDED: Tetra Water Cleaner comes with gravel siphon, priming bulb and clip for bucket for a simple set up.
Product information
| Item Weight | 9.5 ounces |
|---|---|
| Department | Unisex-Adult |
| Manufacturer | Spectrum Brands Pet |
| ASIN | B091D3DTWS |
| Country of Origin | China |
| Item model number | AQ-78358 |
| Customer Reviews |
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars
1,669 ratings
4.5 out of 5 stars |
| Date First Available | March 30, 2021 |
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 14.45 x 5.63 x 2.52 inches |
| Item Weight | 0.27 Kilograms |
| Brand Name | Tetra |
| Target Audience Keyword | fish, Fish |
| Directions | See label |
| Warranty Description | See label |
| Model Name | Tetra Water Cleaner Gravel Siphon |
| Material | Plastic |
| Age Range Description | All Life Stages |
| Manufacturer | Spectrum Brands Pet |
| Style | Water Cleaner |
| Included Components | See label |
| Specific Uses for Product | Active |
Top reviews from the United States
Bob Dawson
Decent quality and nice middle of the road size
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2022Logan
Life Saver
Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2024Frantzey Cayemitte
Very useful
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2024
Tashevia Nelson
Water filter cleanse
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2024Megan Baerenwald
This is great! Cleans efficiently and easy to use and clean when done
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2024Morgan Godwin
Easy to use
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2024
Sheryl J.
Good suction, no flow control
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2024Heather
Works like it should
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2024