The 11 Best FISHTANK substrate cleaners (2023 reviews)

There are several advantages of having a fishtank substrate cleaner. Let’s take you step by step, type by type, and find the best fishtank substrate cleaner for you.

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Our Top Picks:

Best Overall: Buy: Laifoo FISHTANK substrate Cleaner READ REVIEW

Best With priming bulb: Buy: boxtech FISHTANK substrate Cleaner READ REVIEW

Best For Aquarium Water changes: Buy: ll products FISHTANK substrate Cleaner READ REVIEW

Best For One person: Buy: Upettools FISHTANK substrate Cleaner READ REVIEW

Best For Betta Fish: Buy: Qzq FISHTANK substrate Cleaner READ REVIEW

Best For Fish lovers: Buy: boxtech Gallon Tank READ REVIEW

Best For Water Change: Buy: Jacksuper FISHTANK substrate Cleaner READ REVIEW

Best For Tank Cleaner: Buy: Hygger Fish Tank READ REVIEW

Best For doing ot Of Aquarium Maintenance: Buy: AQQA Outlet Pipe READ REVIEW

Best For light Cleaning: Buy: AQQA FISHTANK substrate Cleaner READ REVIEW

Best For large And Small Fish Tanks: Buy: Hygger FISHTANK substrate Cleaner READ REVIEW

Best Overall: Laifoo FISHTANK substrate Cleaner

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We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a cleaner. The laifoo fishtank substrate cleaner is exactly that - it's a simple cleaner that hits all the right notes. The comparable python aquarium vacuum has a much longer tube tube. It lifts quite a bit of solids from the rocks. It works well to get the water out of the fish tank. It’s long enough to reach the floor and tank with no issues THR water easily pours out and there’s even a small plastic lining that stops large objects from getting through or getting clogged.

This works great and makes water changes a breeze. It takes forever to pull the water through. The pump is easy to get started, a few squeezes on the bulb, and the water is flowing. It is great for getting plant debris though.

• Easy to use and cleans the tank well
• Works just fine for water changes and light cleaning of gravel
• Easy to use and even comes with a storage bag

Best With priming bulb: boxtech FISHTANK substrate Cleaner

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Not everyone likes to purchase cleaner for their regular usage, but the boxtech fishtank substrate cleaner would be an anomoly. The suction is very very good, if you don't pinch your hose, you will not have any water left in your tank. It is easy to use and gets the crummy stuff off the rocks. The extra long tubing & hard pipes allows you to reach any dirty spots immediately without getting your hands wet. The suction is strong and even works in low water depth.

Water changer, washing sand, cleaning, it’s a multifunctional cleaning tool. The design is perfect and the suction power it great. It works good for not only changing the water in the tank but also for cleaning the gravel.

• Extremely well made, quality tubing, 2 pumps and the aquarium water is flowing
• Easy to use, excellent drawing power, good filtration
• Works great for all size aquariums
• Very easy and convenient for quick clean ups

Best For Aquarium Water changes: ll products FISHTANK substrate Cleaner

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The ll products fishtank substrate cleaner gives the top-tier cleaner a run for their money by offering flagship specs at a much more affordable price. You can clean your fish tank with this robust aquarium gravel cleaner at a fraction of the cost as other, making it great value for money. The aquarium gravel vacuum is highly efficient in cleaning dung and fish waste. It cleans up debris nicely additionally it is made with suction tube net. The syphon works quickly to remove water from the fish tank. It is great for small tank, up to 60 gallons.

All the components included in this kit are non-toxic and don't contain bpa so it's completely safe for your scaly buddies. This will make cleaning a 10 gallon tank very easy, its lightweight and easy to use.

• Good suction just enough power for sand filled aquariums
• Great product to combine your water changes and vacuum your gravel
• Makes cleaning fish tanks a lot easier

Best For One person: Upettools FISHTANK substrate Cleaner

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Upettools offers a variety of cleaner for personal choice and yet maintaining quality in all the variants. It makes a messy job so much easier. It's a very good vacuum water exchanger, sand algae cleaner, filter changer, with strong suction, thorough cleaning, simple assembly, easy to use, very good. The suction power is great and this tool can be used as a filter. It works well, and catches a lot of debris.

The suction is good and the motor is efficient and quite as well. It is perfect to clean the bottom for daily water changes. It’s automatic suction power helps ease the hassle of getting the water to start flowing/changing. It’s easy to use to pump the water in and out of the fish tank, making the water change for the fish tank very convenient and easy.

• Strong and works all the time
• Great product for cleaning tank or removing water
• Making it easier to fit through rocks crevices for cleaning entire tank

Best For Betta Fish: Qzq FISHTANK substrate Cleaner

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Compared with other cleaner in this category, the qzq fishtank substrate cleaner has a convenient design. This aquarium gravel cleaner makes water changes quick and easy. It gives fish a clean and comfortable aquarium living environment. It helps you save time and effort to clean the fish tank and provide a healthier living environment for your cute fish. The aquarium cleaners can work stably and efficiently without electricity and without noise, which greatly saves your time and brings more convenience for fish tank cleaning.

This vacuum is easy to use and does an excellent job cleaning. The aquarium cleaning tools are securely attached to the aquarium so you can easily release your hands. It is suitable for fish plants or cleaning out debris from the tank as well. This works so well at getting the dirt without sucking up the rocks.

• Easy to clean gravel with this
• Makes water changes quick and easy
• Perfect for a small and large fish tanks
• Highly efficient at removing the gravel surface debris

Best For Fish lovers: boxtech Gallon Tank

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We would, of course, be remiss if we didn't mention boxtech gallon tank for daily purpose. This is perfect for cleaning an Axolotl tank. It feels very convenient, clean and time-saving. It is easy to use, and has amazing suction for its size. It has strong suction, it can completely clean the bottom of the tank, and it has many USES. The suction force is enough to quickly absorb water, absorb food debris and fish manure from the aquarium.

The brush attachment BTW is awesome for scrubbing/vacuuming off the big rocks. The Handle is adjustable for different water depths.

• Works great to vacuum debris from aquarium floor
• Great for fish and turtle tank
• Fast, strong suction, real time saver
• Has good suction and decent build quality

Best For Water Change: Jacksuper FISHTANK substrate Cleaner

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The jacksuper fishtank substrate cleaner is capable of outshining several other cleaner featured in this list in overall features in its price range. This product is an excellent choice for Big Tank (20 Gal and up) Spot Vacuum to remove accumulated Organic waste. It is suitable for fish tanks up to the depth of 90cm/35.5inch. It cleans out detritus in seconds. It more or less works (suctioning), and the tubing is almost too generous, but the wand that goes in the water is made of very flimsy plastic.

The pump action is very simple and suction does a great job. It is great for any fish keeper. The tube is small enough to get around and behind decor. It is easy to start with a push button.

• Makes tank cleaning so much easier and less messy
• Makes tank cleaning faster and way more convenient
• Simple and affordable system for cleaning aquarium

Best For Tank Cleaner: Hygger Fish Tank

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The hygger fish tank is specially designed for your regular usage and has all useful features. You can really make water change without getting your wet with this set. This unit pump is actually located at the base which makes it a bit unwieldy in tight spaces. It has multiple attachments with a handbook to show you how to use each piece. The suction pressure is so much better with this one. The parts fit together nicely and feel sturdy.

The filter housing can filter the garbage in the water and make the clean water return to the tank. It comes with various cleaning accessories that can be used based on your cleaning needs and substrates. This is way easier, easy to use and the water is now looking awesome.

• Strong suction power for sand substrate
• Splashing or dripping like with the manual siphon and dipping water from a bucket
• More step ladder or bending over to fill the tank back up

Best For doing ot Of Aquarium Maintenance: AQQA Outlet Pipe

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Not everyone likes to purchase cleaner for their daily usage, but the aqqa outlet pipe would be an anomoly. It is great for catch up cleaning and light cleaning. It has a powerful motor and is highly capable. It also has an attachment that can secure the pump to the bottom of another tank to let you use it to fill your main tank. It is used to take a shower for the turtle. It is good for scraping off algae from the tank walls, but the hollow handle drops water all over and the large snap does not work.

With the telescoping handle works really well and is nice and sturdy. It cleans sand perfect and easy to use. It may take 3-5 rinses to vacuum a 30 gallon aquarium.

• Easy to use and switch out each tool
• Solidly built nice interchangeable tools cleans the aquarium well with little effort
• Very powerful, not for small tanks

Best For light Cleaning: AQQA FISHTANK substrate Cleaner

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We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a convenient and appropriate cleaner. The aqqa fishtank substrate cleaner is exactly that - it's a simple cleaner that hits all the right notes. This pump is powerful, super easy to use, it really moves the water, and does a great job cleaning the gravel once you learn to turn the pump power down a little. It saves time & energy. It comes in works great as a storage case. It works great, on a dirty tank you have to clean the filter sponge frequently, but once you get the tank clean it is great for maintaining the water quality. There's small foam filter material in the plastic tubing to protect the motor of the unit.

The innovative patented design of water changer, 3 power supply modes can be selected, increasing the convenience of daily use. Your hands, the motor controller with a clip, can be adjustable according to the thickness of the fish tank.

• Great suction power, easy to use and super easy to assemble
• Great for water changes with light cleaning
• Delivers what they promise

Best For large And Small Fish Tanks: Hygger FISHTANK substrate Cleaner

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The hygger fishtank substrate cleaner's material feels more premium than its price would suggest. The aquarium gravel cleaner works on the siphon principle, no electricity and will not harm your fish. The outlet tube that comes with it is also very nice and high quality. A 79 inches high quality long pvc hose, a flow control valve and two hose fixture clamp allow you to easily change water. The trigger mechanism is stiff, since it's the initiator for the suction action, but once it gets going, you don't have to worry about it.

The suction is very good but watch to be sure you don’t want plants or very light items sucked into the tube. The suction is very good and needs to be used in larger tanks. The hose clamp keeps your hose in place so it doesn't spill out.

• Nimble, well designed and well constructed
• Make quality products additionally has really strong suction
• Good investment for long term