Mr. Cleaner Gravel Cleaner
3.1
5
9
9
Terrific If Used Like This...
I saw the ratings ranging from mediocre to negative and had to weigh in. I'm an AVID aquarist with a basement full of tanks. This product, dollar for dollar, is the BEST aquarium product I've ever bought and I've got just about everything out there! I'm not exaggerating! In fact I always keep a backup because it's that indispensable to my fish room! But...you can't use it as designed! The little bag attachment doens't work very well because as others have said it's too small. So here's what you do.
You use it in conjunction with a bucket, a fine mesh net and some tubing. It comes with a little black adapter that you can put on the slot where the bag attaches. Put that adapter on and you can now put tubing on it, I believe it takes 1/2" tubing. You set the fine mesh net on top of the bucket and then use clothespins to keep it there. put the end of the tube into the net and again make sure the tubing stays in place by clipping it to the bucket. Then put the cleaner in your aquarium and go to town. If you're doing a water change you can just skip the net and go straight in the bucket. If you're just cleaning up the tank when the bucket fills rinse the net out in a sink, dump the clean bucket of water back in the tank and repeat until you're happy.
I've found this to work wonders! Actually, after doing this for a while I took it a step further and I've got a 10 foot section of small PVC pipe inside of a 10 foot section of large PVC pipe with an elbow on the end. I put the elbow into my sump in the basement and I have the tubing from this product duct taped into the small PVC pipe. So in other words I can use this product as a siphon and gravel vac pretty much anywhere within 20 feet of my sump! This has made water changes so much easier for me!
January 9, 2013
It works but has a few flaws
First off, the suction works fine to clean sand. It does pick up some of the sand but I just removed the bag and emptied it into a bucket. I then rinsed the sand and put it back. It picks up great but if you use a hose instead of the net connection, it sucks the water out too fast. Great for large tanks but not for smaller ones. Doesn't give you time to get the tank clean before the water gets to low. I used it with the large attachment and without any attachments. If you take the piece off the end you can get into more places with it. Makes emptying a tank fast. I like that you can attach the bag and do cleanings in between water changes. It worked great for me like that. The only problem I had was with the extender tube. After the first use the smaller tube would not slide out of the bigger tube to adjust. I tried everything and it would not adjust after the first use. The smaller tube cracked from all my attempts to get it to slide. It still works I just can't adjust the length of the cleaning tube. Other than that I am pleased with it after a couple of uses. Now to see how long it lasts. Then I will update.
April 14, 2013
What are the others thinking!?!?!?!?!?
I love this product. I have no idea what some of the other reviewer s a complaining about. The directions on the box are a little vague but they are not hard to figure out. The unit went together in about twelve seconds and as soon as I popped some batteries in we were off to the races.
The suction is a tad on the slight side, however, once I threw some tape around the ends of the suction cup unit to get a more complete seal, my gravel has never been so clean! Matter of fact, I'm becoming a little OCD about my gravel now and clean it three or four times a week, much to my Cory cats' dismay!!!!!
A must have for a good price. Yes it's not the nicest thing out there but for the money and what it can do for a beginners tank like mine...a must must must have.
March 20, 2013
No Aquarium should be without one.
This is a great little tool. It is very useful when removing or planting new plants. It can be left running for long periods of time when the water level is too low for the filter pump. Just hook it over the tank rim and keep working. It will run continuously for over an hour on rechargeable C cells.
February 6, 2013
 "Mr. Cleaner")
