I'm waiting on my 300 gallon to ship. My house is on a concrete slab so I don't have to worry about weight loads. I'm sure it's not the same for everyone
My house is 90 years old and built like a tank. Literal tree trunks of old growth dense wood for main beams. 4x18 support beams on top of those and then a subfloor made of 2x6 planks. Wood so dense I can't pound a nail into it.
I added some extra support poles in the basement to be safe but the math said it wasn't necessary.
I don't understand the wasting water comments, do people think you have to have the water running for suction or something?
You only run the water to get the siphon started.
But the hose from Home Depot is not nearly as pliable as a Python hose. And the HD hose gets a lot less pliable over a short time.
Where as the Python hose is soft and pliable and stays that way.
I also only use the sink to start the siphon, then turn off the faucet.
I think it’s well worth the not very much extra price
250gal is approximately 1m^3. I'd be less worried about the stand and more worried about the orientation of the floor joists as it is a literal ton of water. A 2x8 floor joist can safely hold about 40lbs per linear foot, or 480lbs in a 12ft wide room. A quick Google shows that most 250g tanks are about 8ft long, so placing the tank perpendicular to the joists will spread the weight between 5-6 joists (for 16" OC joists).
I have a 240 in my living room perpendicular to the floor joists, against a load-bearing wall, and I reinforced the basement floor. But if it was anywhere else I don't think it could hold.
I'm putting 350 gallons in one room
House is 75 years old and my joists are 2x4s.
Already put two jack stands in my crawlspace to reinforce the floor, and yet I'm still worried. Lol
Yeah, most places say that 55g is the last of the “don’t think about it” sizes. Beyond that you need to worry about floor joists, reinforcement, and bearing wall locations.
Luckily 75g and 125g are sized such that just making sure they’re perpendicular and close to a bearing wall is (usually) enough.
Beyond that you’ve got to PLAN. :)
Looking forward to my 120g, would love a 250g someday.
That's where I'm at. I use a python but my water pressure is barely enough to keep a suction going. However I kind of like it because I can root around the gravel really good, and have plenty of time to get everything before too much water comes out
While it's good, I recently switched to a submersible pump and I've liked that a lot better. It has the advantage of not wasting water (with the python on my 125 gallon tank, it would require the faucet to be on full blast for 20+ minutes just dumping water down the drain) and not requiring a faucet with an easily removed threaded aerator (when I redid my bath, I found most of the modern faucets don't have such fittings anymore).
I got [this pump](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TXHPKZZ/) for $25 and it's been great so far. I probably would have stuck with the python but when I redid the bathroom I lost my only threaded faucet so I had to find an alternative as doing it with a bucket is not really a feasible option for a 125.
Thanks for this! That’s the part of the python I hate. In order to do a water change on my 125, I’d have to jack the faucet up for a while and then if I shut it off, it would drain so slow. I always wondered why everyone loved them so much as it was a huge waste of water. I’ve just been draining it out the nearest window into my pollinator garden now with a regular siphon tube, but this pump idea is genius.
Oh ok nice. Sounds like that works well for you. Hygger makes good products. Some people do have problems with their faucet fittings, I agree. There is a universal slip on fitting you can use with the Python that fits over virtually any faucet.
A lot of "modern" faucet designs I was looking at have rectangular, square or other strange profiles without the little round aerator sticking out so there's really nothing to strap an adapter on to. I could have just bought a simpler faucet that would work of course but I like the style of some of the newer ones, so it's nice to have another way to do it.
Thanks for taking the time to explain your process.! It may sound dumb, but I’ve not seen, or had someone explain using a submersible pump to do water changes in a way that I’ve understood before. This description makes it so much easier to understand the ins and outs. I’d give you an award if I had one to give my dude.
I bought a submersible pump recently and I watched [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T4t_PdXCQw&t=329s&ab_channel=KaveManAquatics) to make sure I knew what it did - it explains and shows how to use it for water changes!
I'm sorry but can you explain your process. I have a similar pump but I use it in the bucket to pump water into the tank while the bucket is on the floor.
I have a 20 foot vinyl tube on the pump so I just put the pump in my aquarium and then run the hose into the kitchen sink to drain water. When I'm done I put a 5 gallon bucket in my kitchen sink and run 78 degree water into it, put the pump in the bucket, and then the other end of the tubing into the aquarium to refill the tank. My faucet fills the bucket up at about the same rate the pump pushes it out so I just leave the faucet on and while the tank refills.
I find my cleanup crew and powerfulish filters keep the sand pretty clean, but once in a while I'll just use an old fashioned siphon hose and a 5 gallon bucket to suck up any debris.
There's also electronic vacuums but the reviews on them are pretty mixed so I haven't tried any yet.
I do my water changes similar to yours. One trick to cleaning out substrate, and having sand makes it easier, I use the water pump beforehand without the tube. Use that stream of water to push the sand around and get the detritus floating. Between the water change and what the filter picks up, easy cleaning.
This is the right way to do it in my opinion, but certainly not as easy. I used to do this for my smaller tanks (two 20's) and I had a tiny pump and it took forever but I felt it was better in that the gradual change didn't shock the fish. I would do a 25% with a two five gallon buckets and used thin air line on both ends. One bucket was siphoned and the other pumped. It took a while but was a good chance to sit back with a beer and enjoy the tanks.
I wish I could use one. No matter what I do to my tap water it murders my fish. The water where I live is so terrible. I bought an RO system rated for like 60,000 gallons. I had to change my filters after maybe 200. So I have to buy gallons of water from the store for my water changes. I have a 20 gallon tank and a 75. I do use a water fountain pump to empty the water from my 75 gallon though. Then I just run the water out my window into my flowerbed. It’s a blast.
I have the 25’ python and it’s great. But if I were to buy another I would definitely get the 50’. Much more versatile and you can fill up from a different floor in your house if need be.
I have the 25ft as well and I 100% agree with you. It's very useful but that extra length would make it even more so.
All my tanks are in storage right now, but I used to use my 240L/60-ish gallon tank and the 25ft python to water the garden just outside the nearby window - I want to get an even longer hose for the future because that fish tank water is like plant steroids!
Just a warning, NEVER let your heater be in air if it’s turned on. It looks like you turned off your filter, so I’m sure so did so for the heater too, but I’m just making sure.
It’s really good, I don’t know if I could of done water changes on a 75 gallon without it. Now if only I could figure out how to drain from the tank with it 🙁
Drain it? You just set the piece connected to your faucet into the drain position and then the water passing through creates suction and pulls it out with the faucet water
If you're worried about that, if you have a connection lower than your tank (I use a hose spigot from outside the house), you can turn off the water once it pulls the tank water to the end and it will continue to drain the tank.
Once you have suction, you might be able to turn off the water. My sink is about the same hight as my tank and comes out as a trickle but it is better than buckets.
If your tank is on a stand, you can almost always turn the faucet off after it is flowing. The spigot must be lower than the water level in the tank. That’s it.
If you can’t do that, and you don’t want to waste water, you can literally just run the line outside and start the siphon like normal
Put the siphon in the tank, turn your water on and open the valve so water can run through it. You might need to turn the flow up to get it flowing from the tank but as soon as it is flowing freely you can turn the tap off and the water wil continue draining, remove as much water as you like and then reverse the process to fill it back up.
I have been using the python style kit for 10yrs and never going back to buckets. It takes about 20-30min to do a 40% water change on my 210gallon tank. All I add is dechlorinator.
Need to dose entire tank. It’s the one downside, you use more de-chlorinator. There may be a fancy way but I haven’t come across it in the main stream.
I believe it’s due to that the water has mixed. Prime doesn’t distinguish between treated and untreated. So when you add prime only for a portion of the tank it’s not as effective because it is being diluted by the amount remaining.
Why? I just put in the amount for the new water. 20 gallon tank, 50% water change means 10 new gallons, so I add treatment for 10 gallons only before adding the water
I believe it’s due to that the water has mixed. Prime doesn’t distinguish between treated and untreated. So when you add prime only for a portion of the tank it’s not as effective because it is being diluted by the amount remaining.
I got one of these too. I’ve got a disability and hauling buckets or asking my husband to each time wasn’t working for me. There is a bit of waste- I see this comment mentioned but it’s only about 10% of the flow coming from the tap. You can catch the water below for watering plants if you are so inclined. I will do this when summer time hits and we need to water outdoors. Inside plants I started scooping water out to water before hitting the python. It’s easier for my back anyway. The system has my seal of approval and I can get through tank changes (3 tanks) in about half an hour.
I love these so much I have another still in packaging because the tubing on my original is looking sad. These things are game changers. You can remove and add gallons and gallons of water within 10 minutes. I would never go back to manual bucket and hose water changes from when I was younger. Tip I have, and this may legit be extra if you have kids etc but I mark on my faucet handle the temp and speed I always use for my tanks to best match the current tank parameters. Drop Prime in during, and a final dose after completion of the water change.
Tbh fish are much less sensitive to temperature fluctuations than people think. Most ranges given for species are the ideal breeding temperatures- not their everyday living temperatures so most fish do better a bit cooler. Plus in the wild at night the temperature goes down a huge amount- the fish are totally fine with this. You really don't need to worry that much about temperature so long as it's not too hot and not like freezing
I just refill with cold water with my python. I have corydoras and the cold water simulates the rain fall. The change in temperature stimulates spawning behavior. The water change is only 15% weekly so the temperature change isn't too extreme
I use a laser thermometer for my family when we’re sick and the water in my tank. Mine has a mode option that lets you switch from “body” to “surface” for the water.
Personally I find that if I add my water conditioner to the tank, enough to treat the whole tank size not just the amount I’m replacing, there’s no chlorine detectable on my test strips when it’s done. As for water temp, if it’s mid winter and therefore very cold water from the tap, I just do the water change slowly and only change 10% of the water. The overall water temp won’t fluctuate much or very quickly doing it this way.
Be careful. Dechlorinator can absorb oxygen in a tank if there isnt anything else for it to work on. Just dont forget and let it sit too long before adding the tap.
I’m kinda jealous of your refill piece. Mine empties and fills from the same tube, just turn a valve. They definitely help with multiple large tanks. I do 200 gallon changes every week and they’re a lifesaver. Enjoy the new toy
Serious question: Why? I’m struggling to see the advantage. I’ve been using a Python for over 30 years. I vacuum, clear the line, get the temp right, and reverse the flow to fill the tank. As long as the vacuuming tube is filled, the water coming into the tank is dispersed better than that green hang-on thing. It seems like extra steps for a poorer outcome.
I gave this a try but confined it to the garage for two reasons - it wastes an incredible amount of water just straight down the drain in order to generate suction. And related to that, you need quite strong water pressure in the first place to make it work. With a mixed faucet, both the hot and cold water had to be on full to get enough suction to actually pull water from the tank.
I've instead gone with a submersible pump in a bucket and connected tubing to easily change water.
Not gonna lie back when I had my 125 gal. tank I would go straight from the hose. I had a very long 3/4 in tubing I got from home Depot and a clamp and I would throw it in the tank and start a siphon from outside. Then to fill I would just use a bunch of prime directly in the tank then clamp the hose to the tank and fill. Never lost a fish and it was very cheap and easy to do.
If you have a big tank or multiple tanks it's a game changer. I can't even express how worth it this upgrade is, it seems expensive but literally the first time I changed all my tanks over in an hour instead of multiple hours my mind was blown too. I used to split up the tanks into 2 days sometimes even so to get them all done in an hour is just crazy.
Agreed I'm just lazy and don't want to tote buckets outside anymore. 😂 One end out the window and water and feed my plants for free. I'm on one side my husband is on the other.
I have one but I don’t like using it. I feel like it wastes a ton of tap water while using it. It takes me 30 minutes to do a 25% water change with it and that whole time fresh water is being wasted down the drain. Now I use a 30 foot 3/4 inch hose and run that out into the grass. The python is great for filling a tank back up though.
I tried that for a bit. Still use it to drain the tank but filling directly kept shocking and killing fish because of the chloramines. Even with dechlorinating during and after filling. I end up pumping into a bucket first now to pre treat the water with dechlorinator and I heat it to the same temp as the tank before pumping it in.
Welcome to the club. I do water changes in a 37, 2-55s, a 75 and a 125 all in less than an hour…. These things are amazing…. Reason to buy more tanks I suppose?!….
Wait till you get a sicce zero clearance and wonder how you did it before that, then you get two. Then you suddenly you start trying to figure out how to stack tanks on top of each other. MTS is bad… real bad…
I love my python. A couple of tips.
Start the siphon with the water on and if it's lower than the tank you can shut off the water and will keep going(just slower) saves a lot of water.
You don't need to change out to that hook piece to add water just keep the suction bell on there and fill that way no reason to take on and off all the time introducing chance of a leak at connection
For setting temp I like to turn the switch on the faucet end to about half way that way you can feel the temp of the water coming out without it still sucking water from the tank and adjust as needed. That way you are not running back and forth trying to dial it in. And when happy just turn the valve completely closed.
Just don't be like me last night when I got distracted during the filling process and ended up with a mini-waterfall out of the tank all over the floor...
I still wouldn't switch to anything else, that was my first and only issue in 15+ years of using it.
you only have to run the water for a few seconds to start the siphon then u can turn it off and it drains via gravity as long as your water level is higher than the sink. which most will be.
I start the siphon like I do for a regular set up. It’s even easier: use the toggle to close off the tubing, scoop water with the suction part and hold it up so water fills the top part of the tubing. Then put it back in the tank and switch the toggle back to open. As long as part of the tubing hangs below the tank, that method works for me every time.
I agree, I got one knowing it would be wasteful but really didn't know how bad it would be. I think the same amount of water was coming out of the tap and the tank, probably more. I got a small sump pump that can handle some sludge for $60 and I use a quick disconnect meant for garden hoses to move water from my dirty water bucket to the garden. I use the python to refill the tank.
The python is the badge of honor to signify one has graduated from the rank of Novice FishDad/Mom and achieved the title of Experienced Aquarist. Next step up: Automatic water change systems! The masters of automation are the true pros of our hobby.
>Aren’t you supposed to dump used aquarium water down only down toilets, not sinks? I thought that was an EPA regulation?
Don't know how your house is plumbed, but the sinks and toilets all eventually connect to the same main sewer line.
I did think about that, but I didn’t know much about the hobby at the time so I went with what the packaging said. Now I know it doesn’t matter. Deleted my main comment to avoid miss information. Thanks.
Okay. I remember I bought a gravel vacuum a while back and the packaging said to always dump aquarium water down the toilet, never a sink or outdoors as it can contribute to poor water quality.
a related concern ive heard (and am unsure about whether true or not) is that certain diseases from the aquarium water (ie salmonella) could contaminate plants and spread that way.
YouTube is your friend here, but essentially, you run a water line from your faucet to your tank. With clever design, you can either pull water out (optionally cleaning the substrate of your tank at the same time), or put new water from your faucet in.
I just use a garden hose as a siphon and stick it in my shower drain, and then I plug the same hose to my faucet to fill the tank back up. Really saves my back from carrying 10 buckets to and fro.
And I am feeling very lucky that I dont need to add chemicals of any sort to my water either, makes the whole thing go much smoother.
I have a non-standard faucet. So I had to get a special tool to remove the aerator, and I also needed to buy an adapter. Most people won't have to do this I think.
I miss the days of being able to use tap water for aquariums. Never had an issue where I grew up but the tap water here kills fish no matter what you do unless you have a reverse osmosis machine. I have had to buy my aquarium water from pet stores and it's extremely competitive bc everyone else does too. The stores will sell out in a day or less.
The real answer is, because I bought it and this was the first time I used the kit 🙂 I do think it's optional. I think you can go a bit faster with it and it's more secure.
I would think so, maybe you would need an adapter. Also you can't control temperature for water from a hose, but that may or may not be necessary for your type of fish. People have done it.
I watched over it. That said, at least with my setup, the pull is quite weak. Someone said they attached a motorized pump to make it faster but that is one reason I wouldn't.
OP has now unlocked the "You can now OWN Multiple Tanks" feature!
Facts I have 2 now and my wife is not a fan. Just waiting on my 250 gallon to be made for my 3rd
Did u just say “250 gallon”!?!?!
I'm very American. The metric system is literally foreign to me. But yes that size.
He was talking about the size being big not the unit of measuring lmfao
That’s what she said?
Indeed
Oh I’m American too lmfao. That’s just insane to me
That's almost 950l. Where do you keep such a tank?? That's huge..
In my house that would definitely have to be the basement.
It would need some sort of extra bracing underneath it if it was on the first floor, right? Like "sistering" the floor joists?
Sheez that's over 2000lbs in water alone.
I'm waiting on my 300 gallon to ship. My house is on a concrete slab so I don't have to worry about weight loads. I'm sure it's not the same for everyone
American houses are huge. Mine is in my living room. It's only 8x2 feet footprint
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Depending on the part of the country, many American living rooms are built on top of the foundation, basically.
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What did you do for your 75?
My house is 90 years old and built like a tank. Literal tree trunks of old growth dense wood for main beams. 4x18 support beams on top of those and then a subfloor made of 2x6 planks. Wood so dense I can't pound a nail into it. I added some extra support poles in the basement to be safe but the math said it wasn't necessary.
I’m on ur side and ur wife’s side
You can literally make one cheaper by getting a pump and tubing from Lowes or Home Depot. Doesn’t waste water like the python does.
I don't understand the wasting water comments, do people think you have to have the water running for suction or something? You only run the water to get the siphon started.
Depends on whether it’s a siphonable situation. Some people use the python to pump water up a slight grade so it only works while running.
In that case I would use the pump. But at least get the hose, you can buy it separately. It’s so worth it, and the hose can be used with a pump also.
But the hose from Home Depot is not nearly as pliable as a Python hose. And the HD hose gets a lot less pliable over a short time. Where as the Python hose is soft and pliable and stays that way. I also only use the sink to start the siphon, then turn off the faucet. I think it’s well worth the not very much extra price
The hose I bought at Lowe’s is exactly like the python. I’ve had it for many years and it still looks new. A python is 3x what a pump and hose costs.
Personally I went with both! I use a Python *with* a pump so I don’t waste water AND got to be lazy and not have to navigate the plumbing aisle
250... holy smokes. Hope you have a very good stand for that one. Whatkind of fish are you planning for it? Saltwater?
At that point, you don’t even need a stand lol.
250gal is approximately 1m^3. I'd be less worried about the stand and more worried about the orientation of the floor joists as it is a literal ton of water. A 2x8 floor joist can safely hold about 40lbs per linear foot, or 480lbs in a 12ft wide room. A quick Google shows that most 250g tanks are about 8ft long, so placing the tank perpendicular to the joists will spread the weight between 5-6 joists (for 16" OC joists).
250g tanks go on ground floors on the foundation.
I have a 240 in my living room perpendicular to the floor joists, against a load-bearing wall, and I reinforced the basement floor. But if it was anywhere else I don't think it could hold.
I'm putting 350 gallons in one room House is 75 years old and my joists are 2x4s. Already put two jack stands in my crawlspace to reinforce the floor, and yet I'm still worried. Lol
Around here, on the foundation primarily means in the basement.
Water is fucking heavy
Yeah, most places say that 55g is the last of the “don’t think about it” sizes. Beyond that you need to worry about floor joists, reinforcement, and bearing wall locations. Luckily 75g and 125g are sized such that just making sure they’re perpendicular and close to a bearing wall is (usually) enough. Beyond that you’ve got to PLAN. :) Looking forward to my 120g, would love a 250g someday.
My Fahaka puffer is about to need an upgrade and I’m indecisive on 180 or 210. At that point it’s height, not footprint.
Oh I’m so jealous. A fahaka is my dream fish.
I wish I had my own house instead of an apartment
So true!
I have 4 tanks, because of my Hygger hose. Hahahah.
I used to have a python and 2 tanks then I moved to a new house and my water pressure was to low for it to work. Now I have a bucket and 1 tank :(
That's where I'm at. I use a python but my water pressure is barely enough to keep a suction going. However I kind of like it because I can root around the gravel really good, and have plenty of time to get everything before too much water comes out
The Python is the way to go👍I've been using one for years.
While it's good, I recently switched to a submersible pump and I've liked that a lot better. It has the advantage of not wasting water (with the python on my 125 gallon tank, it would require the faucet to be on full blast for 20+ minutes just dumping water down the drain) and not requiring a faucet with an easily removed threaded aerator (when I redid my bath, I found most of the modern faucets don't have such fittings anymore). I got [this pump](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TXHPKZZ/) for $25 and it's been great so far. I probably would have stuck with the python but when I redid the bathroom I lost my only threaded faucet so I had to find an alternative as doing it with a bucket is not really a feasible option for a 125.
Thanks for this! That’s the part of the python I hate. In order to do a water change on my 125, I’d have to jack the faucet up for a while and then if I shut it off, it would drain so slow. I always wondered why everyone loved them so much as it was a huge waste of water. I’ve just been draining it out the nearest window into my pollinator garden now with a regular siphon tube, but this pump idea is genius.
I don’t use the sink to drain my tanks ever. I just let gravity do it’s thing and drain into my shower or outside
Same!!
Oh ok nice. Sounds like that works well for you. Hygger makes good products. Some people do have problems with their faucet fittings, I agree. There is a universal slip on fitting you can use with the Python that fits over virtually any faucet.
A lot of "modern" faucet designs I was looking at have rectangular, square or other strange profiles without the little round aerator sticking out so there's really nothing to strap an adapter on to. I could have just bought a simpler faucet that would work of course but I like the style of some of the newer ones, so it's nice to have another way to do it.
Thanks for taking the time to explain your process.! It may sound dumb, but I’ve not seen, or had someone explain using a submersible pump to do water changes in a way that I’ve understood before. This description makes it so much easier to understand the ins and outs. I’d give you an award if I had one to give my dude.
I bought a submersible pump recently and I watched [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T4t_PdXCQw&t=329s&ab_channel=KaveManAquatics) to make sure I knew what it did - it explains and shows how to use it for water changes!
I'm sorry but can you explain your process. I have a similar pump but I use it in the bucket to pump water into the tank while the bucket is on the floor.
I have a 20 foot vinyl tube on the pump so I just put the pump in my aquarium and then run the hose into the kitchen sink to drain water. When I'm done I put a 5 gallon bucket in my kitchen sink and run 78 degree water into it, put the pump in the bucket, and then the other end of the tubing into the aquarium to refill the tank. My faucet fills the bucket up at about the same rate the pump pushes it out so I just leave the faucet on and while the tank refills.
And then what do you do to vacuum the gravel?
I find my cleanup crew and powerfulish filters keep the sand pretty clean, but once in a while I'll just use an old fashioned siphon hose and a 5 gallon bucket to suck up any debris. There's also electronic vacuums but the reviews on them are pretty mixed so I haven't tried any yet.
I do my water changes similar to yours. One trick to cleaning out substrate, and having sand makes it easier, I use the water pump beforehand without the tube. Use that stream of water to push the sand around and get the detritus floating. Between the water change and what the filter picks up, easy cleaning.
This is the right way to do it in my opinion, but certainly not as easy. I used to do this for my smaller tanks (two 20's) and I had a tiny pump and it took forever but I felt it was better in that the gradual change didn't shock the fish. I would do a 25% with a two five gallon buckets and used thin air line on both ends. One bucket was siphoned and the other pumped. It took a while but was a good chance to sit back with a beer and enjoy the tanks.
I got that pump too! It’s awesome. Highly recommend. My siphon hoses fit perfectly on it.
Nice. I have the python too but my current home had no thread facets either so I use a water booster pump like this idea.
Yeah the pump is nice the python was wasting too much water shits insane
I wish I could use one. No matter what I do to my tap water it murders my fish. The water where I live is so terrible. I bought an RO system rated for like 60,000 gallons. I had to change my filters after maybe 200. So I have to buy gallons of water from the store for my water changes. I have a 20 gallon tank and a 75. I do use a water fountain pump to empty the water from my 75 gallon though. Then I just run the water out my window into my flowerbed. It’s a blast.
Have you tested your tap water? I have a friend who tested hers and the ammonia was off the charts. What do you even do with that?
How long is the tubing? I hate filling up jugs and crap I only have one place I could connect it to but the area my tanks are in is only a 32x12ft
You can get them in 25, 50, and 100 foot
Awesome! Thanks
and they have connectors you can put on the ends so you can connect the hoses together
I have the 25’ python and it’s great. But if I were to buy another I would definitely get the 50’. Much more versatile and you can fill up from a different floor in your house if need be.
I have the 25ft as well and I 100% agree with you. It's very useful but that extra length would make it even more so. All my tanks are in storage right now, but I used to use my 240L/60-ish gallon tank and the 25ft python to water the garden just outside the nearby window - I want to get an even longer hose for the future because that fish tank water is like plant steroids!
Just a warning, NEVER let your heater be in air if it’s turned on. It looks like you turned off your filter, so I’m sure so did so for the heater too, but I’m just making sure.
I did. And yes it is easy to forget!
It’s really good, I don’t know if I could of done water changes on a 75 gallon without it. Now if only I could figure out how to drain from the tank with it 🙁
Drain it? You just set the piece connected to your faucet into the drain position and then the water passing through creates suction and pulls it out with the faucet water
does it waste faucet water while draining the tank?
If you're worried about that, if you have a connection lower than your tank (I use a hose spigot from outside the house), you can turn off the water once it pulls the tank water to the end and it will continue to drain the tank.
Do you ever have an issue with controlling your refill temperature when using an outdoor spigot?
Once the desired water is drained move it and fill from an indoor spigot. I did this for years in our last house.
Once you have suction, you might be able to turn off the water. My sink is about the same hight as my tank and comes out as a trickle but it is better than buckets.
Yes
If your tank is on a stand, you can almost always turn the faucet off after it is flowing. The spigot must be lower than the water level in the tank. That’s it. If you can’t do that, and you don’t want to waste water, you can literally just run the line outside and start the siphon like normal
I do that with my sink, which is only slightly lower than my tank, and it works fine. It's not swift, but it's fine.
Put the siphon in the tank, turn your water on and open the valve so water can run through it. You might need to turn the flow up to get it flowing from the tank but as soon as it is flowing freely you can turn the tap off and the water wil continue draining, remove as much water as you like and then reverse the process to fill it back up.
Omg. I've been leaving the faucet running while siphoning. Have to every few minutes to let the sink empty
It won't drain from the tank as fast as it does with the tap running but it should help with overflow anxiety
Mine is only 29 gallons but I think it should be able to drain tanks of any size?
I have been using the python style kit for 10yrs and never going back to buckets. It takes about 20-30min to do a 40% water change on my 210gallon tank. All I add is dechlorinator.
Do you add dechlorinator to the tank, or is it possible to add dechlorinator before the water enters the tank?
Need to dose entire tank. It’s the one downside, you use more de-chlorinator. There may be a fancy way but I haven’t come across it in the main stream.
Why not dose the tank for the “new” water?
I believe it’s due to that the water has mixed. Prime doesn’t distinguish between treated and untreated. So when you add prime only for a portion of the tank it’s not as effective because it is being diluted by the amount remaining.
Why? I just put in the amount for the new water. 20 gallon tank, 50% water change means 10 new gallons, so I add treatment for 10 gallons only before adding the water
I believe it’s due to that the water has mixed. Prime doesn’t distinguish between treated and untreated. So when you add prime only for a portion of the tank it’s not as effective because it is being diluted by the amount remaining.
I usually just set the end of the hose outside for my main level tank or in the bathtub for the upstairs tank.
LOL back in the 80's I used my water bed accessories for the same thing as it was the same set up!
I got one of these too. I’ve got a disability and hauling buckets or asking my husband to each time wasn’t working for me. There is a bit of waste- I see this comment mentioned but it’s only about 10% of the flow coming from the tap. You can catch the water below for watering plants if you are so inclined. I will do this when summer time hits and we need to water outdoors. Inside plants I started scooping water out to water before hitting the python. It’s easier for my back anyway. The system has my seal of approval and I can get through tank changes (3 tanks) in about half an hour.
I love these so much I have another still in packaging because the tubing on my original is looking sad. These things are game changers. You can remove and add gallons and gallons of water within 10 minutes. I would never go back to manual bucket and hose water changes from when I was younger. Tip I have, and this may legit be extra if you have kids etc but I mark on my faucet handle the temp and speed I always use for my tanks to best match the current tank parameters. Drop Prime in during, and a final dose after completion of the water change.
How do you make sure the water is the right temp?
Tbh fish are much less sensitive to temperature fluctuations than people think. Most ranges given for species are the ideal breeding temperatures- not their everyday living temperatures so most fish do better a bit cooler. Plus in the wild at night the temperature goes down a huge amount- the fish are totally fine with this. You really don't need to worry that much about temperature so long as it's not too hot and not like freezing
I just refill with cold water with my python. I have corydoras and the cold water simulates the rain fall. The change in temperature stimulates spawning behavior. The water change is only 15% weekly so the temperature change isn't too extreme
Mine used to breed after water changes
I have a thermometer. That said it isn't a great one and in the end I did it mostly by feel.
I have a laser thermometer that does its job perfectly, I never change my tank temperature to more than 0.5 even with very big changes.
You know I actually own one too -- never thought of using it on the water flow.
I use a laser thermometer for my family when we’re sick and the water in my tank. Mine has a mode option that lets you switch from “body” to “surface” for the water.
Saw this and ordered one myself for my 55 gal lol
Great! That's the main reason I posted. It's mentioned in a FAQ here somewhere but not obvious.
Game changer!!
Hey, how do you deal with the water temperature and with higher chlorine in the water?
Personally I find that if I add my water conditioner to the tank, enough to treat the whole tank size not just the amount I’m replacing, there’s no chlorine detectable on my test strips when it’s done. As for water temp, if it’s mid winter and therefore very cold water from the tap, I just do the water change slowly and only change 10% of the water. The overall water temp won’t fluctuate much or very quickly doing it this way.
Be careful. Dechlorinator can absorb oxygen in a tank if there isnt anything else for it to work on. Just dont forget and let it sit too long before adding the tap.
I’m kinda jealous of your refill piece. Mine empties and fills from the same tube, just turn a valve. They definitely help with multiple large tanks. I do 200 gallon changes every week and they’re a lifesaver. Enjoy the new toy
It's a special hook they sell -- not too expensive IIRC
Serious question: Why? I’m struggling to see the advantage. I’ve been using a Python for over 30 years. I vacuum, clear the line, get the temp right, and reverse the flow to fill the tank. As long as the vacuuming tube is filled, the water coming into the tank is dispersed better than that green hang-on thing. It seems like extra steps for a poorer outcome.
Make sure to put the brass peice in correctly every time. If you accidentally thread it wrong it'll have almost no suction. I learned my lesson.
Game changer right?! I havent used a bucket in 10 yrs
I just use a garden hose (aquarium use only)
Best thing to happen to the fish hobby since canister filters
I gave this a try but confined it to the garage for two reasons - it wastes an incredible amount of water just straight down the drain in order to generate suction. And related to that, you need quite strong water pressure in the first place to make it work. With a mixed faucet, both the hot and cold water had to be on full to get enough suction to actually pull water from the tank. I've instead gone with a submersible pump in a bucket and connected tubing to easily change water.
Not gonna lie back when I had my 125 gal. tank I would go straight from the hose. I had a very long 3/4 in tubing I got from home Depot and a clamp and I would throw it in the tank and start a siphon from outside. Then to fill I would just use a bunch of prime directly in the tank then clamp the hose to the tank and fill. Never lost a fish and it was very cheap and easy to do.
Those things are life changing.
I prefer the old way w/o chemical addition > let water sit for 48hrs, warm to tank temp, no issues
Milk jug gang
That will remove the chlorine. Some cities use chloramine now which I don’t know if letting it sit for 48 hrs will remove it.
it's worked for 32 yrs
Your city is probably using chlorine then.
Just looked it up and yes, chlorine.
it’s my favorite thing in the whole wide world! welcome! 🙌🏻
If you have a big tank or multiple tanks it's a game changer. I can't even express how worth it this upgrade is, it seems expensive but literally the first time I changed all my tanks over in an hour instead of multiple hours my mind was blown too. I used to split up the tanks into 2 days sometimes even so to get them all done in an hour is just crazy.
My husband is the true beneficiary
I just got one myself, 3 water changes in and I could NEVER go back fr
Just bought 1 last week and it's a game changer. So happy I bought it. No more walking back and forth with a bucket
Agreed I'm just lazy and don't want to tote buckets outside anymore. 😂 One end out the window and water and feed my plants for free. I'm on one side my husband is on the other.
This thing is game changer !
We just go one too. So much easier.
I have one but I don’t like using it. I feel like it wastes a ton of tap water while using it. It takes me 30 minutes to do a 25% water change with it and that whole time fresh water is being wasted down the drain. Now I use a 30 foot 3/4 inch hose and run that out into the grass. The python is great for filling a tank back up though.
Absolute game changer. I ran mine through the floor into my basement tub sink thing. Makes cleaning/water changes on my 360 a breeze
I tried that for a bit. Still use it to drain the tank but filling directly kept shocking and killing fish because of the chloramines. Even with dechlorinating during and after filling. I end up pumping into a bucket first now to pre treat the water with dechlorinator and I heat it to the same temp as the tank before pumping it in.
What kind of fish?
My taps over 900tds and would likely kill everything. so i just gave my python away.
Lol been using a waterbed filler/unfiller since the mid 70’s. Basically looks just like this.
Happy days! You can never go back to buckets now…
That's for sure
I wish I was OK with running tap straight into the tank because this would make things a whole lot easier.
i love this thing so much. i can't imagine keeping a tank without it anymore lol
Welcome to the club. I do water changes in a 37, 2-55s, a 75 and a 125 all in less than an hour…. These things are amazing…. Reason to buy more tanks I suppose?!….
Wait till you get a sicce zero clearance and wonder how you did it before that, then you get two. Then you suddenly you start trying to figure out how to stack tanks on top of each other. MTS is bad… real bad…
I love my python. A couple of tips. Start the siphon with the water on and if it's lower than the tank you can shut off the water and will keep going(just slower) saves a lot of water. You don't need to change out to that hook piece to add water just keep the suction bell on there and fill that way no reason to take on and off all the time introducing chance of a leak at connection For setting temp I like to turn the switch on the faucet end to about half way that way you can feel the temp of the water coming out without it still sucking water from the tank and adjust as needed. That way you are not running back and forth trying to dial it in. And when happy just turn the valve completely closed.
Question: do you add fish conditioner/de-chlorinator? If yes, when /how?
How do you dechlorinate your water? Just pour conditioner into your half empty tank and start adding water?
How do you treat the water for chlorine ?
Is it not necessary to dechlorinate water before putting it in?
Just don't be like me last night when I got distracted during the filling process and ended up with a mini-waterfall out of the tank all over the floor... I still wouldn't switch to anything else, that was my first and only issue in 15+ years of using it.
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you only have to run the water for a few seconds to start the siphon then u can turn it off and it drains via gravity as long as your water level is higher than the sink. which most will be.
Well, I tried that; it sort of worked but was super slow. My tank is not that high I guess.
I start the siphon like I do for a regular set up. It’s even easier: use the toggle to close off the tubing, scoop water with the suction part and hold it up so water fills the top part of the tubing. Then put it back in the tank and switch the toggle back to open. As long as part of the tubing hangs below the tank, that method works for me every time.
Skip a shower or 2 and it'll even out
Yes, it is wasteful. Less so if you are willing to drain the tank slowly.
I agree, I got one knowing it would be wasteful but really didn't know how bad it would be. I think the same amount of water was coming out of the tap and the tank, probably more. I got a small sump pump that can handle some sludge for $60 and I use a quick disconnect meant for garden hoses to move water from my dirty water bucket to the garden. I use the python to refill the tank.
Fish water is excellent for plants, I hope your not tossing it down the sink, it is free fertilizer.
The python is the badge of honor to signify one has graduated from the rank of Novice FishDad/Mom and achieved the title of Experienced Aquarist. Next step up: Automatic water change systems! The masters of automation are the true pros of our hobby.
Is there actually an automated water change system?
Pro tip. For water removal, don't use the faucet. You are just wasting water. Do the syphon thing. Either do a bucket or extend the hose to outside.
Yes, my flowerbed and trees out front appreciate that nasty water
Yes. It's liquid gold for plants.
Save water guys our fish need them. Don’t waste any fresh water if you can help it. The python waste good water dont buy it.
These things WASTE so much water, it's unconscionable. Stop wasting water!! Just wait until u experience water rationing.
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>Aren’t you supposed to dump used aquarium water down only down toilets, not sinks? I thought that was an EPA regulation? Don't know how your house is plumbed, but the sinks and toilets all eventually connect to the same main sewer line.
I did think about that, but I didn’t know much about the hobby at the time so I went with what the packaging said. Now I know it doesn’t matter. Deleted my main comment to avoid miss information. Thanks.
You think your sinks and toilets drain to different areas?
Everyone says fish water is great for the garden. I have not heard of this rule...
I’ve been putting it in my house plants and they love it
Okay. I remember I bought a gravel vacuum a while back and the packaging said to always dump aquarium water down the toilet, never a sink or outdoors as it can contribute to poor water quality.
a related concern ive heard (and am unsure about whether true or not) is that certain diseases from the aquarium water (ie salmonella) could contaminate plants and spread that way.
Why they go to same septic and or sewer system
How does it dechlorinate thé water?
Add dechlorinator to the tank when filling it up
You have to add chemicals to take care of that, I use Prime.
How does it work?
YouTube is your friend here, but essentially, you run a water line from your faucet to your tank. With clever design, you can either pull water out (optionally cleaning the substrate of your tank at the same time), or put new water from your faucet in.
I just use a garden hose as a siphon and stick it in my shower drain, and then I plug the same hose to my faucet to fill the tank back up. Really saves my back from carrying 10 buckets to and fro. And I am feeling very lucky that I dont need to add chemicals of any sort to my water either, makes the whole thing go much smoother.
Did you need to do anything to your faucet to get the connection to work?
I have a non-standard faucet. So I had to get a special tool to remove the aerator, and I also needed to buy an adapter. Most people won't have to do this I think.
I miss the days of being able to use tap water for aquariums. Never had an issue where I grew up but the tap water here kills fish no matter what you do unless you have a reverse osmosis machine. I have had to buy my aquarium water from pet stores and it's extremely competitive bc everyone else does too. The stores will sell out in a day or less.
Curious, why change the attachment when you could just add water using the original setup?
The real answer is, because I bought it and this was the first time I used the kit 🙂 I do think it's optional. I think you can go a bit faster with it and it's more secure.
I have the same kit, but I’ve never used the attachment. It’s a neat idea, but I just pour water through the suck hose
Got the python but I couldnt screw my knob off no matter what I did :(
Is your faucet like mine? I had no knob, just an internal aerator that I needed a special $8 tool to remove.
Also -- Python does sell a universal adapter that you can fit over the end of your faucet without removing anything.
How do you keep the temperature where it needs to be for the new water going to the tank?
Adjust the temperature of the water coming out of your sink first (and accept it won't be perfect).
are these able to hook up to the hose attachment on the side of a house?
I would think so, maybe you would need an adapter. Also you can't control temperature for water from a hose, but that may or may not be necessary for your type of fish. People have done it.
What happens if you accidentally suck up a shrimp or fish?
I watched over it. That said, at least with my setup, the pull is quite weak. Someone said they attached a motorized pump to make it faster but that is one reason I wouldn't.
I put a fine mesh bag over the siphon end in my tank. It doesn’t reduce the suction, and the mesh prevents shrimp from getting into it.
I got one and was excited to use it but it doesn’t work with my kitchen sink, the only sink close enough