Best Siphon / Water Replacement Tool?

[Beanie Seagus]

Hey guys,

I'm thinking of ramping things up with my fish room pretty soon, and thus looking to invest in a high end tank cleaner/siphon/water replacement tool.

What do you guys use, and how would you review them?

Any suggestions on brands/models would be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[CSnyder00]

I've used Python and Aqueon brand water change systems. I love my Python. I have two now. One short one and one long one for different jobs. Sure the initial $80-100 is steep, but they save so much time and effort. They are wonderful things! I would go Python.

 

[Btwcp]

I agree python is a great product and been around for a very long time.

 

[mchambers]

I don't like the faucet attachment on the Python, so prefer the Aqueon, but they're both good. and essential for the fish room. You also might want to buy a pump to use for emptying your tanks.

 

[dogofwar]

Python's are great, except for the water use for draining (they work with gravity and you can turn the faucet off when you're draining downhill). I'd bet that there's at least someone in the club who has a used one for sale. Heck, I might even...

That said, I use a garden hose with a home-made PVC-attachment (basically a "U" with a ball valve so that it hangs on the side of the tank and I can turn it on/off) so that I can maximize flow rate. I invested in a good quality 1" hose for the new fishroom and it's great.

For draining, I'm in the process of setting up a semi-auto-drain and top off system (come to ACLC for their Nov meeting, where I'm speaking, to find out how ).

In the meantime, I use a large diameter siphon and buckets...and dump them into a large rubbermaid container with a pump that puts the water through a garden hose into the yard. They sell (I think) 1 1/4" sump pump plastic tubing at Home Depot for a few bucks. Makes a perfect siphon and fills a 5g bucket in less than 30 seconds. I just put a bucket or two in front of each tank (I have a bunch of buckets) and go down the line and dump them into the rubbermaid with the pump. It's quick, gives me a little exercise...and is a little messy but my fishroom is in my garage, so it doesn't really matter.

Matt

 

[CichlidAddict]

I just use a garden hose with quick disconnect adapter on one end and a siphon tube connection on the other end. The same hose is used for draining and filling. To start the siphon, simply set it up as if filling the tank, and once water comes out in the tank, turn off the faucet and relocate the quick disconnect end to a lower point to drain. The quick disconnect makes it easy to connect and disconnect, and the narrow end allows your thumb to shut off the water while relocating. The beauty of this set up is simplicity.

 

[dogofwar]

Were you in my basement taking pictures of my sink?

I use the same rig, except my PVC thing is on the end of the hose (to keep it from falling out of the tank)...

Matt

I just use a garden hose with quick disconnect adapter on one end and a siphon tube connection on the other end. The same hose is used for draining and filling. To start the siphon, simply set it up as if filling the tank, and once water comes out in the tank, turn off the faucet and relocate the quick disconnect end to a lower point to drain. The quick disconnect makes it easy to connect and disconnect, and the narrow end allows your thumb to shut off the water while relocating. The beauty of this set up is simplicity.

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[jonclark96]

I use a similar set up to Matt's, except I have a Y fitting that I screw on to my sink faucet. One end has the hose to fill the tank, one dumps directly into the sink. I run water through the open end until I'm at the correct temperature, then close the valve and it goes to the fill side. To drain, I have a submersible pump hooked to a garden hose. For larger tanks, I drop the pump directly into the tank and pump the water outside. For smaller tanks, I have a 20 gallon +/- Rubbermaid tote that I siphon water into and pump from there. I stopped using the python years ago for draining, as it wastes way too much water for my taste. Also, I found the valves with the python to be leaky, so I was wasting a lot of water using that set up.

 

[xny89]

I've used both the python and aqueon valves, and they both eventually broke, I replaced the valve with a waterbed fill valve from Amazon, and used a short piece of garden hose to attach it to the faucet. This valve has been in service for at least 5 years now.
https://www.amazon.com/Waterbed-FIL...477672657&sr=8-1&keywords=waterbed+fill+valve

I also didn't like the hose that came with the aqueon, too stiff compared to the python hose.

 

[CichlidAddict]

Yes, I took the pic in the basement sink. I see no need to attach a U tube to hold down the hose. Once siphon starts, the weight of water wlll hold down the hose. When filling, I use the weight of the glass cover to hold down the hose. I am afraid a U tube attachment may hinder my siphoning mobility. I have a small clamp from Homedepot to hold down the hose in starting the siphon if Needed. If I need to increase the flow in draining big tank, I just use double hose to double the flow.

 

[Btwcp]

I have a 1 1/4 hose to drain. It is super fast. A python to fill up. Works well for me

 

[Reed]

I use the Jehmco siphon JSSSP-FGHT-S550 attached to a garden hose working great and is the quickest way to drain a tank. Definitely worth the price http://jehmco.com/html/safety_siphon_aquarium_drain.html

 

[Beanie Seagus]

I don't like the faucet attachment on the Python, so prefer the Aqueon, but they're both good. and essential for the fish room. You also might want to buy a pump to use for emptying your tanks.

Hey, sorry to revitalize such an old thread, but I finally got the python and its already proving quite helpful. However, for some of my lower set tanks, and those farther away from the sink, the suction is actually fairly weak and it can be difficult to get the siphon going. What kind of pump Mchambers, were you referring to, and how would i attach it to the python?

Anyone else feel free to chime in.

Thanks!

 

[Reed]

Get a siphon from jehmco . They are excellent
http://www.jehmco.com/html/safety_siphon_aquarium_drain.html

 

[jonclark96]

Any submersible pump will do. I use one to pump out water and then refill with a home made python.

 

[mchambers]

The short answer is that many types of aquarium water pumps will work, and how you attach the pump to the water changer depends on the pump. I now do it in a variety of ways. Below are pictures with some explanation.

For starters, you need to consider how big a pump you are willing to use. A bigger pump will move water more quickly, but it can be harder to get the pump in and out of the tank. A small pump that works well is the old Marineland Maxi-Jet, no longer sold by Marineland. Cobalt's MJ pump is very similar (I think it's made by the same folks). For this pump, you may be able to remove the gravel vac end of your water changer, then slip the hose over the output on the pump. For my water changer, I had to put a smaller piece of tubing over the output on the pump, then put the water changer tubing over that:

This works well for smaller tanks, but doesn't move the water all that quickly.

For another pump, I was able to put a length of larger tubing over the output tube, and attach a hose fitting to the end of that tube. You can then attach the faucet attachment of the water changer to the hose fitting, as shown below.

This gives you a little more flexibility in moving the pump from tank to tank.

Finally, I've got a bigger pump that has a threaded output, and I can attach the faucet attachment end of the water changer to that.

This moves a lot of water quickly, but is a little awkward.

If you really want to move a lot of water quickly, you can consider the fancy options at JEHMCO: http://www.jehmco.com/html/safety_siphon_aquarium_drain.html

JEHMCO also sells lots of pumps, as does Kensfish. You can also pick up a pump at your LFS, if you have one. Finally, people sell pumps on eBay, of course, and you can find bargains there, if you have patience.

 

[xny89]

I originally bought the python because I had a difficult time draining lower level tanks via gravity method. Both my tanks are now on stands that are about 36" tall. My 55 gallon tank is about 30 feet from the sink on the same level, and never have trouble getting the drain going. You may have a blockage in your line (If you accidentally suck up gravel and it gets into the valve, it could block the flow), or you may not have strong enough water pressure to create the needed vacuum. My current practice is to get the flow going with maximum water pressure at the faucet and vacuum the gravel. Once that is done, I shut off the faucet and let the tank drain by itself; it saves water but take alot longer to do.

 

[sushiballs777]

https://www.amazon.com/KEDSUM-Subme...TF8&qid=1485365503&sr=1-4&keywords=water+pump

gets the job done

 

[Beanie Seagus]

With any of these pumps, is there a concern that debris will clog the pump? I have a few sandy bottom tanks, but the rest are just glass bottom (with no substrate). My concern though is that fish waste, sand, or excess food in large enough amount will harm the pump. Is that something I should worry about?

 

[Beanie Seagus]

Also mchambers , what GPH rate would you say is necessary to make suction happen and go down the length of a 75' python tube?

Extreme speed isn't an issue, because whatever i'm dong is still faster than bucket brigading, but i do want the siphon to be strong enough to lift fish waste particles off the bottom of the tank and down the tube (which i'm currently not getting with the natural siphon)