Header banner
Revain logoHome Page
Dan Unruh photo
1 Level
532 Review
0 Karma

Review on Fluval GravelVAC Multi Substrate Cleaner by Dan Unruh

Revainrating 5 out of 5

I wish I had done this sooner

I have been keeping freshwater aquariums for almost 15 years and have always had trouble with the old manual siphon method of water changes. I tried the water in the fish tank, spilled the water in the fish tank, sucked fish and shrimp, etc., etc., unnecessarily suffered the inconvenience caused by the usual silicone hose for weekly cleaning of the bottom and removal of the water. Recently I finally upgraded my water. Switch hardware for my 30 gallon tank. I replaced the 5 gallon orange buckets with a large gray rubber trash can that has a much larger capacity for storing water and organizing all associated equipment when not in use. I have a small fountain pump/head to return clean water from the trash can back to the tank (instead of lifting the buckets high enough to get the siphon out). And I have this lightbulb powered siphon gravel pump with an adjustable flow. The whole construction is perfect for my purposes. All the plastic feels a little cheap and I wonder how long it will be before one or the other element breaks. But I like the length of the flexible hose. I like the little bracket that snaps onto the bucket to prevent accidental spills. I love that it comes with multiple inlet pipe lengths out of the box (the longer one is perfect for my 30g tank). I like the thumb-adjustable flow control valve; This allows for a much slower cleaning process, meaning a more thorough cleaning without disturbing the tank in my rush to clean everything before too much water is drawn out). And of course I love the siphon starter light so I never have to taste dirty tank water again. money well spent. I only wish I had done that many years ago.

Pros
  • Great product
Cons
  • Something different