Cobalt Aquatics Power Gravel Cleaner Review
Updated August 12, 2019
Author: Mike - FishLore Admin
Social Media: 
The Cobalt Aquatics Gravel Cleaner is a vacuum tube hooked up to a power filter that recycles the water back into the tank as you clean. There are two sizes to choose from - the 10-30 for smaller tanks or the 30-125 for larger tanks. The smaller size runs for about $70 while the larger size is about $90 online. The power filter on the 30-125 size is 8.2 x 5.8 x 9.8 inches and weighs about a pound. Note that you need to be able to hang on the power filter to the side of the tank because it works by recirculating the tank water through a filter sock.
Assembling the gravel cleaner was fairly straight forward and they provide a manual with helpful pictures. If you are the least bit familiar with setting up a power filter (nothing to it really) then it will be a quick assembly. I couldn't wait to use this on my sump which was accumulating a lot of debris from the main tank since I don't use a filter sock.
My initial impression after using it for a few minutes was that it works really well. I liked how the vacuum tube came in three pieces which allows you to tailor the length of the vacuum tube to your needs. It took a minute or so to prime the vacuum and get the flow going. Make sure you fill up the power filter with aquarium water before turning on the unit. After using it longer I was getting a little frustrated with the size of the hose that they give you. The hose needs to be about 2 or 3 times longer in my opinion, but that means the pump would need to be stronger as well and I do wish it were a little stronger. It made short work of the smaller debris but was having difficulty picking up the calcerous tube worms that my sump is loaded with. The tube worms would get about half way up the cleaning tube and stay there.
After about 10 minutes of use the filter sock was getting pretty full with detritus. See the pictures below. I had to manually remove the tube worms with a net. The good news is that my sump is now pretty clean. The sucky part is cleaning out the filter sock after use. You take the sock off the attached plastic and dump the contents into the toilet and then rinse it out in the sink.
I give this gravel vacuum 
. I wish it were more powerful and the rubber hose that it comes with should be longer. Honestly I think my python water changer is stronger and would do a better job at pulling up the tube worms in my sump. If you're just looking for something that will do touch up work on your tank without having to replace the water this vacuum will work nicely.
Reviewed by: Mike FishLore
Summary: Review of the Cobalt Aquatics Power Gravel Cleaner.
Description: The Cobalt Aquatics Gravel Cleaner is a vacuum tube hooked up to a power filter that recycles the water back into the tank as you clean.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
