PeteFree.comFluval GravelVac 11081 aquarium substrate cleaner — and Python small Pro-Clean with optional "Squeeze" bulb — a review
© 2018 Peter Free
04 January 2018
The test aquarium
The picture is of Innovative Marine's Nuvo Fusion 40 gallon rimless aquarium. It is an all-in-one design that has a sump and two filter compartments built into it.
This aquarium project resulted from the unexpected gift of a betta fish. The tank is intended to be low tech and low maintenance. The betta is the only fish in it.
There is not much room between the rocks and plants and the aquarium's sides. The rocks are also too heavy and too intricately perched to move around for maintenance purposes.
The two siphons
Fluval's GravelVac (model 11081) is a large siphon. The GravelVac comes in two sizes:
Model 11080 — aquariums up to 20 inches (50.8 cm)
Model 11081 — up to 24 inches (60 cm)
Python's small-sized Pro-Clean (with its optional "squeeze" bulb) is a diminutive one. The Pro-Clean comes in five sizes:
mini — for aquariums up to 10 gallons
small — 10-20 gallons
medium — to 20 gallons
large — 20-55 gallons
extra large — over 55 gallons
Neither of the two reviewed units proved ideal for cleaning substrate in my crowded tank. Both worked well as siphons.
GravelVac's largish size and stiffness limit its utility
The GravelVac's comparatively large-scale clumsiness better suits it to largish saltwater aquariums that have (i) a centrally located hardscape that is (ii) surrounded by expanses of easily reached substrate.
Crowded conditions, like those in the above pictured aquarium, limit the GravelVac's utility. It is too big to maneuver into the small spaces where it needs to go.
Other GravelVac glitches
One of the Fluval's selling points is its adjustable flow switch. That's dandy in concept, but falls short in execution.
The switch does not shut the flow of water completely down. To accomplish a true shut-off, one has to lift the cleaner end completely out of the water and allow it to drain. Then, let the remaining tube water run out into the receptacle bucket.
Second, the GravelVac's pieces press fit together. This design works well enough for the tubing, but not so well for add-on extension tube that slides into the rigid cleaner tube.
The extension tube lengthens the cleaner end, so as to reach the bottoms of 24 inch (60 centimeter) deep aquariums. The extension's slightly too narrow diameter slides too easily inside the cleaner tube, when at maximal extension. Mine repeatedly fell off.
Third, my sample of the GravelVac arrived with a flattened kink in its drain tube. I had to submerge that portion into boiling water and put a clamp across it to get the crimp to relax. The flat spot never went completely away.
Utility of the GravelVac's included bucket clip is marginal
An included bucket clip attaches to the end of the GravelVac tubing. The clip is intended to keep the tube from leaving the bucket and spilling water all over the floor.
The clip does not work very well. It transmits the Fluval's overall stiffness to the bucket edge. My empty and near empty three gallon buckets tipped over with the bucket clip attached. The clip probably would work well with heavier five gallon pails.
The bucket clip also slides too easily up and down the drain tube. My clip regularly fell off, just carrying the GravelVac around. Not exactly precision engineering.
What the GravelVac does well
In my crowded aquarium, the GravelVac works better as a tank siphon than it does as a substrate cleaner. All the way open, the Fluval drains water quickly. I had to pay close attention to my buckets to ensure that they did not overflow.
The squeeze bulb also works well. Once the rigid cleaner end is filled with water (and one has tilted it up to let the water begin draining into the tube) the bulb is excellent at starting the siphon flowing.
Small (size) Python Pro-Clean
I found the small Pro-Clean more useful than the large Fluval. It does not move water very quickly, but its smaller size reaches between tight spaces better than the GravelVac does. The Pro-Clean's tubing is also noticeably more flexible. There is less risk of knocking things over, when maneuvering it around.
The Python has surprisingly good cleaning suction. If I was not careful in maintaining separation between the Python's cleaner end and my substrate — comprised of CaribSea Tropic Isle Tahitian Moon Sand — it sucked the sand right out of the tank.
On the negative side (of the comparison), the Python's optional "Squeeze" bulb is less effective than the GravelVac's. Getting the Python started is a wetter process.
On balance, that proved to be a minor drawback. The Python was able to accomplish something that the Fluval, with its better bulb, could not. The Python's smaller size allowed me to siphon from the all-in-one aquarium's very small sump.
In this very small sump, squeeze as I might, the Fluval could not draw up enough water to get the siphon going. There was no way to fill the cleaner end with water and then tilt it upward, so as to drain water into the siphon tube.
(Had I tried to fill the rigid cleaner tube in the aquarium proper and then move it to the sump, a watery mess would have occurred.)
In contrast, the optional squeeze bulb on the Python allowed me to spurt small bursts of water directly from the sump into the drain bucket. Even though a siphon flow would not start, each squeeze drained enough water for me to clean hard water deposits from the sump's upper rim.
The moral? — Fluval's GravelVac 11081 and Python's small Pro-Clean both work well
Admittedly, the GravelVac did not work at as a gravel cleaner in my crowded, mid-sized aquarium. It was too large to reach between rocks and the tank's sides. And it was too clumsy to trust around delicate plants and potentially toppled rocks. It was not designed for such a congested aquarium.
The large GravelVac comes into its own in much larger aquariums that have more expansive and easily reached substrates.
The Fluval drains water very much more quickly than the small Pro-Clean. That said, I am not convinced that the Fluval works better than just scooping water out of the aquarium into a bucket.
The Fluval will probably prove most useful, when it comes time to completely drain the aquarium. However, I remind myself (based on experience) that using a garden hose as a siphon and routing it to the outside involves less bucket work.
Currently, for the above pictured aquarium, I am using the (small) Pro-Clean more often than the GravelVac. Under my tank's crowded conditions, the Pro-Clean's smaller cleaner end and much more flexible tubing combine to make it more maneuverable. The GravelVac is much more efficient, when I want to do a 40 to 50 percent water change.
Both siphons are decent products.