Lil tricky but works good.
I bought this for small 3 to 10 gallon aquariums knowing it was too long. It's simple however to cut the tubes it comes with (it's a lot for small aquarium needs) and make it very compact. I flush mount the pickup bell (shortest possible. How it's pictured here) for the 3 gallon, and have custom cut the remaining tubes to fit my other tanks, set so the pump is just under. Simply swap out the small tubes. Use xtra care and always wet the rubber sealing ring. I hard wired a power supply to it, but the correct plug in power supply is in others comments on here. It cleans well and so nice not having a time limit from draining water. Always lots of debri in the sock. I love it for water changes too. Much easier than starting a reg siphon. I've never used batteries, but the power seems pretty good. Primes and starts as soon as the pump gets below the water. I've lifted it back up with just the shortened bell under and it kept pumping. Not tons of power but I have shrimp and other tiny critters so it's actually just right for avoiding them. Gets the poo. Bottom line.<br /><br />Update: The youtube hacks for more suction work. Eliminate the slots on the pickup bell. Normal siphon vacs don't have them so why does this need them? It doesn't. Some use tape. I wouldn't. Tape + water can fail, and the ashesive could be poisonous. Best way is to shorten it. Cut it off at the base of the slots and sand smooth. An added bonus is it's even more compact. The pics are now before and after.
Rating: 5 stars