The 12 Best Small Tank Vacua (2023 reviews)

The laifoo small tank vacuum is capable of outshining several other vacuum featured in this list in overall features. It works great and the check value hand pump attachment is great so you no longer have to prime by using your mouth. It maintains suction throughout the whole time you're using it. It has a nice long hose to make it easier to empty/change the water in the tank. There is a plastic ledge on the inside of these types of tanks. It is easy to use, and the removable filter piece is a huge bonus.

The suction head is a bit narrow compared to others. It is easy to prime and use, and does a fairly decent job keeping gravel clean, long enough hose to not be a hindrance.

Why We Like This:

Made hardest part of fishkeeping easier
Suctions well, fast set-up and easy to use
Just the right amount of suction
Works really well for aquarium clean up

Best With priming bulb: boxtech Small Tank Vacuum

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We would, of course, be remiss if we didn't mention boxtech small tank vacuum for daily purpose. This one has great suction and the gravel cleaner does a great job. It is easy to use and gets the crummy stuff off the rocks. The suction power is great for a mid sized aquarium, and the bulb starts the siphon easily. The suction is strong enough to lift the fish poop and algae but gentle enough to allow the sand to stay in place. The pump works very well too, two squeezes and it's siphoning.

The water changer is convenient, light and easy to use. It is simple to assemble, use, and clean. This works good for not only changing the water in the tank but also for cleaning the gravel. The product is very good, easy to use, cleans very well to capture a lot of the trash and pop, just the tube is a bit short.

Why We Like This:

Extremely well made, quality tubing, 2 pumps and the aquarium water is flowing
Works great with ease to clean your tank
Works great for all size aquariums
Easy to use, excellent drawing power, good filtration

Best For someone With More Tanks: Luigis Small Tank Vacuum

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Not everyone likes to purchase vacuum for their daily purpose, but the luigis small tank vacuum would be an anomoly. This new siphon is the pump and filter cap. It is great for a small beta tank. It's got good suction, is easy to squeeze the bulb to get the flow going, and drains the tank well. It is a very short tube with not a lot of suction.

This siphon is sleek and has a wide shower head to suck things up which make it easy to vacuum the top of the substrate and to get things out of the water. The filter on the front end keeps rocks and other objects. It is analog and doesn't require any other equipment. The simplicity in the design makes it easy to clean and properly store the tank well.

Why We Like This:

Super easy to use with water changes
Suction is very strong and good for water changes
One of the new comers and featured product

Best For medium And large Fish Tanks: Enomol Small Tank Vacuum

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Best part: enomol small tank vacuum costs comparatively low and it is available to ship in 24 hours. It is suitable for medium and large fish tanks. It’s very easy to assemble, and it works great for both removing and adding water. There's a small button on one of the brass pieces. The hose is a flexible thick plastic tubing. It will continue to suck the water out once it’s flowing.

The materials are pretty solid and well made. It is easy to use, and no more hauling buckets across the house. There's no need for messy wires and the fish will not be disturbed.

Why We Like This:

Connectors to garden hose or sink
Easy to use quality is excellent and easy to read and do instructions
Great for adding water to tank and also for draining

Best For Easy Water changes: VIVOSUN Small Tank Vacuum

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The vivosun small tank vacuum should be able to handle its purpose and duties with ease. It is the global leader for at-home growing technology & equipment. It comes with two nozzles, a short one and a long one, and the ability to slow down the water flow. It does have a check so you can slow the water flow through the hose, good for a nano aquarium.

It’s made of safe, non-toxic plastic that is both solid and bpa. It drains so slow to nothing on its own after you prime it. It makes cleaning a breeze to add to that it is great in low water level.

Why We Like This:

Able to minimize trauma to fishes in cleaning
Very good suction, cleans well with little mess
More messy suctioning and pumping over and over again
Great suction, quiet, and easy to store

Best For pond: ll products Small Tank Vacuum

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Best part: ll products small tank vacuum costs comparatively low and it is available to ship in 24 hours. 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. It’s easy to use and does a fantastic job getting the funk out from underneath the gravel. The combination of a minnow net and the siphon cleaner makes this kit an essential tool for every fish and aquarium owner.

This gravel vacuum is an essential tool for aquarium owners. It can make a gentle enough suction to not suck up your sand or soil substrate. It’s perfect for anyone who has 20 gallon minimum and above. The hand pump makes it really quick and easy to use.

Why We Like This:

Super easy to take apart and clean
Works perfectly, no mess, easy to use
Great product to combine your water changes and vacuum your gravel

Best For removing little excess Debris: Aqueon Small Tank Vacuum

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The aqueon small tank vacuum is capable of outshining several other vacuum featured in this list in overall features for the price point. Different siphon gravel vacuum sizes are available to accommodate all aquariums. It is ideal for aquariums 1 to 5 gallons. Because of its small size, the self primer is a little hard to get started but once it starts, its fast and easy to use. The hose is really stiff and it has super strong suction. It does need patience and practice at first to use it.

With the tank on a dresser and the bucket on the floor the suction is very strong making the rather small diameter 'gravel cleaning' part not really all that functional as the gravel gets sucked all the way into the tube etc. It might work better for 5-gallon tanks with enough depth. It self starts easily if you know how siphoning works. Nevertheless, it's a great way to siphon things out of the tank without using any electricity or other potentially dangerous methods.

Why We Like This:

Works really well and the one way valve is a nice touch
Small enough to fit in 10 gallon fish tank
Has great suction once you get it to start sucking
Decent vacuum for the smaller tanks

Best For Betta Fish: Sungrow Small Tank Vacuum

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The sungrow small tank vacuum is satisfactory and appropriate and fits well with your daily usage. The wide nozzle feature of sungrow aquarium sand and substrate clearer is perfect when you want to replenish or drain water out of your tank. It comes with a 2.8” wide nozzle, nozzle net, flexible standard tubing, operation/pump bulb and discharge hose. It does suck up some sand even with the attachment if you touch it to the substrate but that's no huge deal.

The suction power is great and the netting on the bottom makes the pump useable on gravel. It leaks and is not really flexible and the tube is hard plastic. It's easy to maintain suction and has a product that works well for cleaning gravel, or changing out water. The squeeze pump works great and the small grate over the intake cuts down in danger for tiny fish.

Why We Like This:

Cleaning kit is very easy to use
Works well for gravel, sucks up sand
Delivers what they promise

Best For Cleaning A Small rank: Aquaneat Small Tank Vacuum

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We would, of course, be remiss if we didn't mention aquaneat small tank vacuum for daily purpose. It is a must have for anybody that has a fish tank. It cleans two aquariums weekly with it and loves it. It works well if used specifically for draining water. It has a filter on the suction end to prevent gravel from being sucked out of your tank. It's easy on the wallet and effective.

The Aquarium gets clean easily with this siphon. It is nice for cleaning bare bottom nano tank.

Why We Like This:

Fairly inexpensive compared to other siphons
Excellent suction power for such a small device
Good no frills siphon and does what its supposed to do, siphon water
Makes water changes very easy, you just squeeze and that's it

Best For One person: Upettools Small Tank Vacuum

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The upettools small tank vacuum is capable of outshining several other vacuum featured in this list in overall features for the price point. The upgraded aquarium gravel vacuum cleaner has 6 in 1 functions with water changer + sand washer + debris cleaning + water filter + water shower + water flow. It comes with a long hose for syphoning for water changes. It’s so fast performing water changes that you have to keep an eye on your water bucket. The 110v/28w powerful water pump motor can provide the maximum flow of 1700l / h. This will help filter the water so you are not spreading it back in the tank.

The sand washer's internal foam sponge is very hard to clean. It comes with a tube for draining and replacing water. The filter bag can be used repeatedly for reuse.

Why We Like This:

Good for ponds and hot tubs
Worked great cleaning a turtle tank
Strong and works all the time
Making it easier to fit through rocks crevices for cleaning entire tank

Best For Fish plants: Qzq Small Tank Vacuum

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The qzq small tank vacuum is capable of outshining several other vacuum featured in this list in overall features in its price range. This little vacuum is quite efficient at removing the surface debris from fish tanks. 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.

The aquarium siphon outlet pipe of the filter basket is also equipped with filter, which not only avoids gravel blocking and all kinds of dirt, but also protect your lovely fish and small gravel from suction out of the tank. It has a practical clip to attach the hose to a bucket. The filter at the top is very easy to clean. It is suitable for fish plants or cleaning out debris from the tank as well. The net is great for getting out dust and scooping out your fish to move it out of the tank.

Why We Like This:

Makes water changes quick and easy
Makes cleaning the tank much easier, and had no problems or a mess
Highly efficient at removing the gravel surface debris
Easy to clean gravel with this

Best For Aquarium Water changes: Hygger Small Tank Vacuum

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Not everyone likes to purchase vacuum for their daily purpose, but the hygger small tank vacuum would be an anomoly. It works nicely for aquarium water changes. It comes up to the tube and blocks suction. The product is so tightly wrapped that multiple parts of the tube is permanently crimped the second it comes out of packaging. It does the job and is very, very useful.

It is suitable for various types of fish tanks, with spliced extension tubes, two-stage splicing combination, both large and small tanks are suitable, and extension tube can be installed according to demand. They also put a screen where the tube enters the handle, so that just gets clogged and it becomes useless. This worked so well, instructions are very easy to follow, very easy to use and very easy to take apart to clean.

Why We Like This:

Cleans debris off the bottom with ease
Suction amazing and huge time saver
New and hot release