We have a lot of fish tanks so that means we have a lot of fish tank cleaners but I¡¯m always on the hunt for even better cleaners in hopes of making tank maintenance days easier. So yes I have the old style that this product is supposed to be the upgraded version of. And yes it does have a bulky motor that has to stay fully submerged or else it literally stops pumping which sucks when you¡¯re trying to move clean water from a bucket into a tank, there will always be water left over no matter what. So right off the bat I noticed that the upgraded version does have a lot of improvements. No clunky submerged motor. Much smaller footprint. Much better filtration setup with a metal mesh drum and the circulation thing that kicks debris up to better catch more particles. The hose tubing is also super nice. Like I have thick hoses but something just feels special about this one (only minor downside is it fits very snug, to the point where getting it on and off feels impossible¡Secure, yes. Forgiving, no.) Another small win is the hose clamp. Every other cleaner I¡¯ve owned comes with absolutely useless oversized clamps. This one is adjustable around the hose tubing so didn¡¯t get water flying everywhere (such a minor upgrade but it had a big impact). Okay now let¡¯s get into the parts I don¡¯t love. There¡¯s no simple on/off switch. It¡¯s all controlled by twisting the power dial. Sounds streamlined until you¡¯re mid clean with one hand occupied (probably managing a spill or a rogue hose) and you just want the thing OFF now. Turning the dial is slower and never intuitive because the dial is attached to the cord, not fixed in space. A basic button would¡¯ve been way better especially since the low setting is like so low as to be pointless and the high setting feels average at best. That¡¯s another point¡. This is slower than other electric cleaners I have. Noticeably slower! I¡¯m used to water changes moving fast and this one had me watching it do it¡¯s thing for so long that I zoned out for a moment. I suspect it¡¯s because it filters so aggressively that flow rate takes a hit. So I¡¯m willing to forgive this. Stability is another miss. The older bulky motor version has suction cups on its side so it can be attached to a tank wall in a secure upright position. This one only has suction cups on the base attachment so unless you have a bare bottom tank then you¡¯re going to be holding this the whole slow time or leaning it on hardscape in some very questionable angles. I also had the sponge filter chamber blow off once or twice. But I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s just because I stopped pushing the hose all the way on (again, because it seals too well and is a pain to remove), so yeah¡ The handle is technically an upgrade from just a rod but personally I¡¯m always right up on my tanks when I clean. I don¡¯t need to operate this from across the room like a crane. That¡¯s just me Overall for the price I think it¡¯s worth it specifically for the better filtration and smaller foot print. My only lasting gripe is the power dial and the lack of ability for this to stand upright on its own in tanks with substrate (especially since it works slower, I don¡¯t really want to be held hostage holding it while it works). My video shows how much water is left behind when the pump has reached its limit. Definitely better than the older models but I¡¯m glad that that¡¯s not the only feature they upgraded
