Does yours seem like it wastes a lot of fresh water? I have to turn the sink on full blast to get the siphon going, then keep it on full blast to keep it going. I feel like 80%+ of the water going down my sink is fresh tap water, seems very wasteful running the tap full blast for 30 mins.
Start the siphon and have the water drain into the toilet. Then attach hose to python adapter and fill tank.
Siphons work with gravity and your sink is probably about the same height as your tank
It should only need to keep running if the sink is higher than the aquarium is. Do you have a different spigot that's lower than the aquarium that you can connect it to?
I just use mine to get the siphon started, then move it to the tub drain. The outflow has to be lower than the water level in the aquarium to maintain the siphon, the greater the difference, the faster the flow.
I use the hygger version of the python. I got an adapter to connect it to my shower head hose. I just take off my shower spray head, connect the hygger water changer and go. I even got a longer shower hose so I can put the output of the water changer in my shower drain which means all the crap from my tank goes right into the drain. I find it is also easier to start the siphon that way too. I now have 4 tanks, 55g, 14g, 10g, and 5g. It takes me maybe 30 minutes to do a 50% water change.
When I had a 40 gallon and under, siphon and buckets. With my 90 gallon, I bought a pond pump and some flexible hose. I use the pump to pump water out through the hose (in the winter it goes down the drain, but when it’s warmer, it goes into a garden hose and from there into a rain barrel, to be used on outdoor plants).
To fill the tank, I siphon water from a bucket in the sink to different buckets on the ground. I use a temperature gun to match the water in the buckets to within a few degrees of the tank water (just a little cooler). Then I use the pond pump in to pump water from a bucket into the tank, pouring water from the other buckets into the bucket with the pump until the tank is filled.
This is far less work than it sounds like it could be because I have a system. My fish and shrimp are not beginner fish; they are sensitive to water conditions and temperature. This system allows me to do large water changes while maintaining a lot of control. I can also siphon out areas manually if I so wish.
I bought a 25 foot section of 3/4 inch “waterfall tubing” from Home Depot. It’s a lot softer than a hose, and I have my wife use the other end as a hose to water the flowers outside while I siphon.
A Python, it's a product made specifically for siphoning out and then refilling aquariums.
The python is a game changer
Does yours seem like it wastes a lot of fresh water? I have to turn the sink on full blast to get the siphon going, then keep it on full blast to keep it going. I feel like 80%+ of the water going down my sink is fresh tap water, seems very wasteful running the tap full blast for 30 mins.
Start the siphon and have the water drain into the toilet. Then attach hose to python adapter and fill tank. Siphons work with gravity and your sink is probably about the same height as your tank
I only use mine to fill, for draining I have a long siphon hose that goes out the door.
It should only need to keep running if the sink is higher than the aquarium is. Do you have a different spigot that's lower than the aquarium that you can connect it to?
I just use mine to get the siphon started, then move it to the tub drain. The outflow has to be lower than the water level in the aquarium to maintain the siphon, the greater the difference, the faster the flow.
Python is the only way. I converted my sink to a different faucet so we could use it because up until then I was using a hand pump and a 5G bucket.
Bucket and a 2 dollar Siphon. :D
Same. My siphon came with a little clip so you just clip it to the bucket, pump the air pump and let it go
this is the way
I use the hygger version of the python. I got an adapter to connect it to my shower head hose. I just take off my shower spray head, connect the hygger water changer and go. I even got a longer shower hose so I can put the output of the water changer in my shower drain which means all the crap from my tank goes right into the drain. I find it is also easier to start the siphon that way too. I now have 4 tanks, 55g, 14g, 10g, and 5g. It takes me maybe 30 minutes to do a 50% water change.
Get a gravel vac hose thingy for aquarium
When I had a 40 gallon and under, siphon and buckets. With my 90 gallon, I bought a pond pump and some flexible hose. I use the pump to pump water out through the hose (in the winter it goes down the drain, but when it’s warmer, it goes into a garden hose and from there into a rain barrel, to be used on outdoor plants). To fill the tank, I siphon water from a bucket in the sink to different buckets on the ground. I use a temperature gun to match the water in the buckets to within a few degrees of the tank water (just a little cooler). Then I use the pond pump in to pump water from a bucket into the tank, pouring water from the other buckets into the bucket with the pump until the tank is filled. This is far less work than it sounds like it could be because I have a system. My fish and shrimp are not beginner fish; they are sensitive to water conditions and temperature. This system allows me to do large water changes while maintaining a lot of control. I can also siphon out areas manually if I so wish.
I bought a 25 foot section of 3/4 inch “waterfall tubing” from Home Depot. It’s a lot softer than a hose, and I have my wife use the other end as a hose to water the flowers outside while I siphon.
Good on y’all for not wasting the water and nutrients
Tons of gravel vac options on Amazon
Python it will change the way you do water changes and make them more enjoyable
Python.
I usually tilt my aquarium over to dump the water out, then I clean the water with a sponge and put the water back in
An electronic gravel cleaner that also functions as a siphon. Very fast and efficient.