Amtra Handy or Smart battery-powered gravel cleaner for aquariums

Regular price ¥3,500
Regular price Sale price ¥3,500
¥1,167 × 3 with no fees

The Amtra Handy and Smart are battery-powered substrate vacuums: their motor draws the sludge up from the bottom of the aquarium, traps it in a filter sock and returns the filtered water to the tank. The Smart adds a cartridge that you fill with the filter media of your choice.

Ref. A6017431·Aquarium maintenance
Modèle : Handy
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The summary

  • Handy or Smart: the Smart adds a cartridge that you fill with activated carbon or resin.
  • How it works: a battery-powered motor draws the sludge into a filter sock.
  • Without changing the water: the filtered water returns straight to the tank.
  • Cordless: two 1.5 V C-type batteries, no socket needed nearby.
  • As a siphon: with a flexible 12 mm pipe.
  • Water depth: the Smart works down to 41 cm of water, with a 63 cm tube.

Cleaning the substrate between two water changes, without draining a drop

Between water changes, sludge keeps building up between the grains of the substrate. The Amtra Handy and Smart vacuums remove it without emptying the aquarium: their small battery-powered motor creates a suction that lifts the dirt from the substrate and draws it into a filter sock, where it stays trapped, then the filtered water returns directly to the tank. The water level does not change, and you can clean a corner of the substrate in a few minutes whenever you like.

🔋 A battery-powered motor

The motor sits in the handle, above the tube, and runs on two 1.5 V C-size (R14) batteries, not supplied. It therefore does not depend on any socket and remains usable during a power cut. A hook lets you hang the handle on the edge of the tank. The tube is made up of several sections that fit together, so you can adjust the length to the height of your aquarium, and it ends in a notched bell that stirs up the substrate.

The bell separates the lighter sludge from the heavier gravel grains, which fall back to the bottom, while the water carries the dirt through to the filter sock. Empty and rinse the sock after each use, with clean water, so that it keeps its filtering capacity. Its gentle suction suits regular cleaning, and if you keep shrimp or fry, it avoids sucking up the small animals. For a heavily soiled substrate, a standard siphon, with a higher flow rate, is quicker.

Between two water changes

The sludge comes out without the tank having to be emptied.

Small dirty corner

A specific area can be cleaned in a few minutes.

Water change

With a 12 mm pipe, the vacuum cleaner works as a siphon.

Turtle tank

The modular tube adjusts to the water depth.

A sludge bell for the big clean

The vacuum removes visible sludge over the course of the week without affecting the water level. For the monthly water change, the JBL ProClean Aqua-Ex gravel cleaner bell drains the water into a bucket and cleans the substrate at the same time, with a much stronger flow. Its removable strainer stops shrimp and fry, so you can use it in the same tank as small animals.

🧪 The Smart and its cartridge

The Smart model follows the same principle, with two-stage filtration. The sock first traps debris and sludge, then the water passes through a cartridge that you fill with the media of your choice, for example activated carbon or a resin, not supplied. Depending on the media, the Smart also removes some of the substances dissolved in the water. Its tube measures 63 cm and it works up to a water depth of 41 cm, which covers most living-room aquariums. It uses the same two C-type batteries as the Handy.

🧹 Two uses in one

For suction alone, lower the tube to the substrate, switch on the motor and move the bell over the bed in small sections, pushing it slightly into the gravel; the water comes back out filtered through the filter sock, below the surface. Keep the handle, which contains the motor and the batteries, above the water, hooked onto the edge of the tank. For a water change, remove the filter sock and attach a 12 mm flexible pipe to the outlet: the vacuum then works as a siphon and empties the water into a bucket while cleaning the substrate. On an 80-litre aquarium, a 10-minute session each week over a third of the substrate, followed by a 15 to 20-litre water change each month, keeps the substrate clean. Remove the batteries if the device is going to be stored for a long time.

🌱 In aquaponics

In a small indoor aquaponic system, the fish tank is often given a substrate of gravel or clay pebbles. The waste that builds up there eventually breaks down, using up oxygen, and the water turns cloudy. The Handy removes it without emptying the tank, so you keep the nutrient-rich water that feeds the plants, and the contents of the filter sock can then go on the compost heap. The guide to fixing cloudy water in aquaponics explains the role of sludge, and the one on the nitrogen cycle describes what becomes of it. For a large tank or a pond, a pond vacuum is better suited.

Technical specifications

The essentials

How it works
Battery-powered motor, suction with return of the filtered water
Feed
2 C-type (R14) batteries, 1.5 V
Handy filtration
Replaceable filter sock
Smart filtration
Filter sock, then a cartridge to fillThe cartridge takes the media of your choice, activated carbon or resin.
Tube
Modular, with several interlocking elements
Smart, length
63 cmWorks up to a water depth of 41 cm.

To budget for separately

Batteries
2 C-type batteries, not supplied
Depending on use
12 mm pipe, filter mediaThe pipe is for siphon mode; the media fills the Smart's cartridge.

In the box

  • 1 handle with motor and mounting hook
  • 1 filter sock
  • Multi-section tube and suction bell
  • 1 empty filter cartridge, with the Smart model

Operation, power supply and contents taken on 09 and 11/10/2026 from the manufacturer Amtra's descriptions.

Handy or Smart

Two Amtra battery-powered vacuums, the same suction, two levels of filtration.

Can't decide between the two models? Both vacuum up sludge in the same way. The Smart adds a cartridge that you fill yourself: three questions are enough to tell whether it is useful to you.

FeedFiltrationFilter media can be addedUse as a siphonPrice
Amtra Handy or Smart battery-poweredYour choice2 C-type batteriesFilter sock onlyNoYes¥3,500
Amtra Handy or Smart battery-poweredYour choice2 C-type batteriesFilter sock and cartridgeYesYes¥4,700
Amtra Handy or Smart battery-powered
Feed2 C-type batteries
FiltrationFilter sock only
Filter media can be addedNo
Use as a siphonYes
Amtra Handy or Smart battery-powered
Feed2 C-type batteries
FiltrationFilter sock and cartridge
Filter media can be addedYes
Use as a siphonYes

Specifications recorded on 09 and 11/10/2026 from the manufacturer's Amtra product descriptions.

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delivery time

Delivered to your door by Colissimo or Chronopost, as you choose during checkout. The exact cost is shown in your basket, based on the total weight of your order.

Frequently asked questions

8 questions

6 key questions, 8 in the detailed view

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