TERA PUMP TRFTCLN Aquarium Gravel Cleaner (BPA Free) Aquarium Sand Cleaner/Water Siphon with Long Nozzle & Water Flow Controller (10-20 Gallon Tank)

I started fishkeeping in fall of this year, and purchased a basic siphon from Petco so I would be equipped to perform water changes. I knew the reputation of these hand-pump siphons (where you have to move the cylinder up and down with your hands until it starts siphoning) wasn't particularly great, but I figured I could handle it.And I could... for a time. It took some getting used to but once I got the hang of it, it wasn't too bad until it simply stopped working properly. I still don't know what it was, but ultimately, the up-and-down motion just failed to push any water through the tubing. It was frustrating - I'd found a workaround, but it was messy and unreliable.Enter the Tera Pump aquarium cleaner. I happened to see it on Amazon, as a related product to the popular Python aquarium cleaner. Fact was, I didn't want to invest in that one yet, plus I wanted something that could clean up fish waste on the daily a bit more reliably than my finicky turkey baster, whose suction seems to be weakening.This cleaner is great! It's handy, well-made and reliable. The key is quick, successive pumps on the priming bulb, as opposed to a couple pumps as stated on the instructions. I suspect this is relative to how you set it up (how tight the turn is in the tube going from the tank and into the bucket/sink, and the distances of the length of tube going into the tank, and the length going into the bucket/sink). In my case, the suction-side of the cleaner has to make an immediate turn after the rigid section, out of the fish tank and to the bucket below. In other words, I have the shortest possible suction-side length coming out of the tank, meaning the discharge-side is the maximum possible length. The turn that the tube makes isn't too extreme either - but my setup required 5-6 quick pumps on the priming bulb to get the siphon started. All that being said, it works reliably every time.Little things like the suction cup on the suction end and the clip on the discharge end help a lot with operation. My old basic siphon would sometimes flip itself out of the fish tank if I rested it in the water, which was incredibly irritating. Here, the suction cup will keep it in place, while the clip helps keep the discharge end stable. This is especially important when the siphon first starts up and the discharge end shakes a bit. The two nozzle types (one short, one long) included are also a nice, helpful touch.Additionally, the flow "clip" is a helpful feature. If you've used basic siphons like I have, this is the equivalent to pinching the hose, which is useful in a pinch. Now you don't have to use up a hand - just slide the clip to the half with the narrow cutout and you're good to go.My only complaints are 1) the hardness of the priming bulb, 2) the length of the cleaner and 3) the straight section on the suction end. To address #1, the priming bulb isn't a particularly soft material. I'd describe it as more of a hard, flexible plastic, comparable to a squeeze-to-drink water bottle, and not like an eyedropper or turkey baster bulb. For #2, I felt like the cleaner's tubing could have been a bit longer - in my setup, I need a stool for the bucket just so the hose could reach - which wasn't a problem for the basic siphon. Perhaps a threaded end somewhere along the tubing, similar to what is used for the nozzles, could allow for extensions that can be developed for separate purchase, so that the existing model only requires a slight modification (as opposed to changing the overall length of this base model). Lastly, the straight, rigid section of tubing (on the suction end) can be a bit of a pain to work around, especially if you have a shallow tank. It's best to tip that end of the tube on an angle, instead of having it straight up-and-down in the tank.Despite these complaints though, the user experience for this product, compared to my old, basic siphon, is leaps and bounds better. No frustration, no accidental spills or splashes, and consistent and reliable performance. I'd recommend it to anyone first starting out with fishkeeping and, of course, to anyone who's stuck with a basic siphon from the pet store right now. If you intend to use this for water changes, I wouldn't use it for tanks any larger than 20 gallons or so, unless you really love to make repeated trips with full buckets of water from the tank to your sink. The Python may be better for water changes for large tanks. But, even if you have a really large fish tank, this could be helpful for collecting waste during regular cleanings.

I bought this pump to clean a shrimp tank, where I'm using Flourite Black Sand from Seachem. My previous pump was too powerful, and it sucked up a lot of sand with each cleaning. Since this product mentioned cleaning sand in the description, and other reviewers noted the same, I thought I'd give it a shot. Unfortunately, this sand is probably too fine, as the pump sucked a fair amount up too. I used the separate attachment and also pinched back the flow, but it was no use. So, I have a wonderfully strong suction to clean my other gravel tanks. But I still need to find something that can clean fine sand.

Pretty easy to use and will do the job

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.

Just received, seems like it will work

Great upgrade from my cheap chinese one but the lenght of it all is very SHORT! It's hard to do a simple water change on my 40 gallons because the hose is not long enough to reach the floor... I really wish that it was longer so I could use the clamp accessory; now I have to hold the hose until it's done... I'm a bit disappointed.

So easy to use. Directuons very clear. Nice suction power that you can adjust with the clamp!

Calidad y funcionamiento