For any fish lover with an aquarium at home with little lovely beings wandering around in, gravel cleaning is one of the most daunting tasks that has to be done.
There always seems to be that one most hated task every pet owner has to do when it comes to the pet they have at home - dog owners hate scooping after their dog's poop, cat owners hate having to deal with their cat's litter, and fish owners hate having to clean their fish tank's gravel.
As time consuming and hard-work requiring as it may seem to be, cleaning your aquarium's gravel is very important if you want to keep the aquarium in good shape for all form of life inside it.
And, good news is, it doesn't have to be all that time consuming and tiring either.
How?
With any aquarium gravel cleaner from the list of the best aquarium gravel cleaners below, of course!
Our List Of Top 5 Aquarium Gravel Cleaners - (Updated List For 2019)
Top Pick: Python No Spill Clean and Fill Aquarium Maintenance System
Pick #2: EHEIM Quick Vac Pro Automatic Gravel Cleaner and Sludge Extractor
Pick #3: Fluval EDGE Gravel Cleaner
Pick #4: TeraPump Aquarium Gravel & Sand BPA-Free Pump
Pick #5: Aqueon 06228 Medium Siphon Vacuum Aquarium Gravel Cleaner
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*Note: The links in the table above, as well as several links in the remainder of the article below, will take you to over to Chewy.com where you can find out more information about the products, such as current prices and customer reviews.
Best Aquarium Gravel Cleaners Reviews
Nowadays, many fish tank cleaners have emerged on the market, some of which are not even close up to the standards we're looking for (which we obviously won't be talking about, since no one wants those anywhere near their aquariums) and some of which are a gift sent from the heavens above (which we obviously will be talking about, since that's what you're here for!).
So, we've done all the research that needs to be done and have come back with the following list of what we believe are the best aquarium gravel cleaners that you should ever know about - let's get into it, shall we?
Even though sorting these products in descending order for the list of best aquarium gravel cleaners was nothing close to an easy task, we've based our decision on a certain list of criteria that never fails to distinguish between what aquarium gravel cleaner deserves the #1 spot and what aquarium gravel cleaners deserve to come after.
Of course, two people's needs from an aquarium gravel cleaner may greatly differ from one another, which is why you can't go wrong with any option you choose from the list below - they're all beyond amazing gravel cleaners that each have some sort of unique feature to them that may cater to certain fish owner's needs more than others.
Pick #1 - Python No Spill Clean and Fill Aquarium Maintenance System
Two In One Products: Besides being an amazing aquarium gravel cleaner, this product is also an excellent fish tank water changer with the ability to siphon off water and replace it with new, fresh water for your fish and any marine life inside.
Time & Physical Effort Saver: This a crucial factor when it comes to telling which aquarium gravel cleaner is good from which aquarium gravel cleaner isn't as good, as that saves you on a ton of manual work having to carry water back and forth in the process of cleaning the aquarium.
Instead of having to go back and forth changing the old water in your aquarium and replacing it with new and clean water, something that is a very time consuming and physically demanding process, you can siphon off whatever water you want with this product and insert new and fresh water with it right on the spot.
Easy, Stress-less Gravel Cleaning: Besides the ability to easily change water, this product also makes it a breeze for you to get the gravel inside your aquarium cleaned and any debris removed, all without causing any unneeded stress to your fish or bothering them at all.
Impressive Length: There's a 25 foot range you're free to work with between your fish tank & tap and basin, which is a very good length for almost everyone who wants an aquarium gravel cleaner to work with - rare are the cases where this length proves to be a bit shorter than the customer had in mind.
Easy Add-Ons: Even if it turns out you need more than 25 feet to work with, there's an incredibly easy fix around that if you were to take it to a hardware store and explain the situation to them about how you need a little more length in order to have it hooked and ready to use, and they'll take care of all of this for you in no time.
The water is meant to pass through the hose within the range of 25 feet in a very efficient manner, but a hardware store that knows what they're doing can easily bump that up for you all the way up to 60 feet, as some customers have had done to their Python aquarium gravel cleaner.
The kit that this product comes with is practically all you need to start using it right away, as it works with the majority of different types of faucets out there. However, if you found that it won't work with the type of faucet you have at home for any reason, a specific adapter will solve the issue right away.
Specifically Designed For Gravel Cleaning: You may want to give this model a careful consideration if what you're looking for is just a gravel cleaner and not a water changer as well.
Battery Powered: This product is battery-powered, meaning you don't need to have it hooked up anywhere at home in order to make use of it - you just put the necessary batteries in and off you go, something which is convenient to many fish owners.
Superb Debris Catching Capabilities: Something we've noticed about this aquarium gravel cleaner (and many other customers as well) is its superb ability in cleaning gravel, and we're not just talking about the usual debris that fish and marine life leave behind in the aquarium, we're talking about the smallest of small debris that gets caught in the most difficult-to-remove places in between the gravel.
Removing them is a breeze with this Eheim automatic gravel cleaner.
All Power, No Stress: Even though the power on this thing is amazing, meaning that it will gulp down debris that you thought would be hard for it to get to, the good thing is that this doesn't mean that the fish in your tank will be frightened during the process.
Not Really A Fish Tank Water Changer: After it's done with removing any and all debris formed in your aquarium, the EHEIM Quick Vac Pro will keep hold of the debris inside of it and will return any water it sucked during the process back to the tank.
This is why this choice is best for you to go with if you're primarily looking for something to remove the debris from your fishing tank and not a water changer, because it won't do much of the latter task.
So, if you happen to notice a whole lot of debris forming at the bottom of your fish tank and in between the gravel, which means that your #1 priority is vacuuming that stuff out and not changing the aquarium's water, then you should give the EHEIM Quick Vac Pro Automatic Gravel Cleaner and Sludge Extractor a serious consideration.
But, if you want both something like this and a water changer in one product, then our #1 pick above is a much better choice for you.
Excellent For Small Sized Aquariums: The Fluval EDGE Gravel Cleaner doesn't have suction capabilities as powerful as our #2 pick above, mainly because it was manufactured for use in smaller sized aquarium's in mind, but it does nonetheless get the job done if you're willing to spend a bit more time on the process.
Unlike our #1 pick, the 25 Foot Python No Spill Clean and Fill Aquarium Maintenance System that's 25 feet in length, the Fluval EDGE Gravel Cleaner is 5 feet in length, because it was designed for people with small fish tanks at home in mind.
The Fluval EDGE Gravel Cleaner is a perfect option for you to go with if you have a relatively smaller sized fish tank at home, as this is all you need to get the job done.
However, if you have a relatively larger sized fish tank at home, then we would really recommend you check out our #1 and #2 picks above (especially the #2 pick if what you're looking for is only something to clean the debris and not change the water), as you're going to need a more impressive suction power to get the job done in time when it comes to large sized fish tanks.
The Importance Of An Aquarium Gravel Cleaner
Many first time fish owners that don't necessarily have a whole lot of experience with aquariums at home will sometimes first tend to think that since the gravel is already present inside water, that it doesn't need cleaning because, well, it's already keeping itself clean since it's inside water!
But, unfortunately, that't not exactly how things work out.
You can also have the best aquarium filtration system in the world setup in place for your aquarium, however this won't cut it alone and you will still need to do some manual labor, although much simpler and easier work with the tools we mentioned above.
Clean & Healthy Aquarium Living Environment
When thinking about the purpose of cleaning your aquarium's gravel, try to compare it to the environment you live in so that you get a clearer picture of why it's so important.
If your fish were to live in an aquarium with an unclean gravel, this would be the same as you living in an unclean environment that lacks minimum sanitary requirements, filled with possible pollution causing and intoxicating elements. And since you and I would never ever accept living in an unclean environment, be that our own home or the neighborhood we live in, why would we ever accept our fish living in an unclean environment?
A Pleasant Sight
Besides offering them a clean and healthy environment to live in, which is one of the least things we can offer these precious lives that roam around our aquariums, it's also a very pleasant sight to be able to see through the aquarium because of how clean and clear looking the water inside actually is.
Dirty water in your aquarium will ruin the beauty of the scenery - the exact same way your experience while watching a movie can greatly be enhanced by watching it in high defenition instead of it being a bad experience if you were to watch it in very poor quality.
Excess Physical Effort & Time Consumption
The old and manual way of cleaning your aquarium's gravel is way too tiring and time consuming for anyone to be bothered to do nowadays.
Who really has time to entirely replace the aquarium's water from time to time and clean the aquarium's gravel on their own? Imagine how much of a slow and tiring process this all is, just the thought of it is enough to demotivate anybody right then and there.
Thankfully though, it doesn't have to be that way - this is where the solution that is aquarium gravel cleaners comes in.
Danger On Marine Life
An aquarium that isn't subject to regular gravel cleaning is at huge risk of having its water chemistry dangerously altered to a degree that it poses very serious risk to the well-being of any marine plants in the aquarium.
When the debris from your fish or any marine life inside the aquarium is left inside for a fairly long time (longer than desired, at least), this causes a change in the pH levels of the aquarium water, which in turn poses a huge risk on the existence of this marine life that thrives on a specific pH level that has now been changed.
Source Of Stress For Your Fish
Last but not least, have you given any consideration to all the excess stress and change of environment your fish has to go through every time you empty the aquarium in order to change the water?
Just as you and I love the comfort of our home and the stable environment it brings along, so do our fish.
Emptying the aquarium on a frequent basis and having your fish go out and then back in each and every time is just a whole lot of unneeded stress.
Different Types Of Aquarium Gravel Cleaners For Different Needs
Just like any other product in any other market, whether it concerns fish care or accounting for all that matters, there are different types of aquarium gravel cleaners (also known as gravel vacuums) according to different needs the fish owner might have.
You may be looking for something in an aquarium gravel cleaner, while I may be looking for something else, which is why aquarium gravel cleaner manufacturers take this into mind when designing their products - something which you should have easily noticed in the list of the best aquarium gravel cleaners we talked about above.
Without getting into too much technical details about this, as this will just bore you to death, just know that one of the most important differences between aquarium gravel cleaners is whether or not they make use of siphons as part of their overall design and mechanism in order to replace any dirty water inside your aquarium that's bad for the fish and marine plants inside with clean water that's good for them.
The siphon that's part of the aquarium gravel cleaner products isn't just for replacing dirty water with clean water, though, you can also take full advantage of it by using the siphon to remove any debris that may have made its way to the bottom of the aquarium and/or in between the gravel in the aquarium. This debris we're talking about is usually in the form of food your fish hasn't consumed and waste products your fish has left behind during the course of their day to day life.
Debris can also be in the form of plant debris from the marine plants in your aquarium, and not just necessarily from the fish wandering inside.
Without this siphon mechanism in place, you'll have to completely empty the aquarium from all the water there is inside of it and then fill it back up yourself so you can get your fish and marine plants to live in clean water again, which is the exact opposite of what would be called an easy task. And who has time for that, really?
The other type of aquarium gravel cleaners that don't make use of a siphon as part of their mechanism rely on getting hold of any debris in the aquarium by means of a wired material, during the process of you manually changing the water of the aquarium yourself.
After this wired material catches all the debris from the old, dirty water, you can fill the aquarium again with the clean water.
Aquarium gravel cleaners that make use of a siphon as part of their mechanism in order to facilitate regular water changes with ease are much more preferred by all fish owners than aquarium gravel cleaners that don't have this feature as part of their mechanism.
A Few Things You Should Be Careful About Before Using An Aquarium Gravel Cleaner
In the same sense that an aquarium gravel cleaner can be an absolute blessing and a huge time saver for many fish owners, it can also be a huge problem-causer if used in the wrong hands.
For example, you have to carefully understand and get accustomed to how you should exactly make use of the siphon, as the last thing you want to do is have it gulp up a piece of gravel when all you're trying to do is clean the gravel.
So many new fish owners who go out and buy aquarium gravel cleaners with siphons for the first time think using them is the easiest thing in the world, only to find out that this isn't really the case afterwards.
There's a certain technique and way to it that you have to get educated about and accustomed to first.
