How do you guys do water changes?

[SePPii]

I run my syphon out of my bedroom window and I fill it back up with 5 gallon buckets


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[mopani]

bettas get the ole fiver and the 55 ups get the aqueon, my downstairs laundry sink is 10 ft away from my tank, though downstairs water pressure sucks, so it takes a bit to drain a 50% on a 120, but i can sit on my lazy ass and do somthing while it drains,

 

[yogurt_21]

seriously 4 pages of posts and not a single mention of a python? you can get extenders for it but mine's 50' by default which depending on the location of the tank vs the bathroom downstairs may or may not work for you. But they come in 25' to 100' lengths and you can add extensions of either 10' or 20' at a time.

http://www.pythonproducts.com/aqprod.html

very easy and comes ready out of box for use. The only up and down the stairs is of course setup and when you switch between empty and fill. You could also hook it to your hose just outside your window and alleviate the up and down...but you'd have to get the hose outside your window so...

at any rate once I went python I haven't looked back. Used to run auto water change systems but honestly long term the python is easier.

 

[JonY3k]

I have never understood why people uses that type of system. you run your sink to pull the water out of the tank. I understand how it works but I have never though dumping good water down the drain to get bad out was a good idea. I have never had a problem getting a syphon started to drain a tank that was on a stand.

 

[Chicxulub]

I have never understood why people uses that type of system. you run your sink to pull the water out of the tank. I understand how it works but I have never though dumping good water down the drain to get bad out was a good idea. I have never had a problem getting a syphon started to drain a tank that was on a stand.

This is exactly why I made the gizmo I mentioned earlier in the thread. Pythons really are quite difficult and wasteful.

 

[hulk181]

I have 2 big tanks and I drain them at the same time. I use 2 big garbage cans and vacuum the sand in each one with a gravel vac. Then I use a pump attached to 75ft of garden hose and drain from each garbage can as its filling up from the gravel vac. I run the garden hose to my trees and lawn.

I like this way bc I can clean the sand instead of just draining the water. I have 1 sunshine pleco and that guy alone makes half a pound of turds every week. So that's why I need to gravel vac with a garbage can instead of just putting the pump inside the tank to drain. Plus I don't need to lift any buckets and don't waste water draining like you would with a python and its fast.

 

[yogurt_21]

@ chicxulub
your assumption is wasteful, that's not a fault of the design, I drain mine out to my garden. You know what happens when you assume right?

 

[Whitey1121]

I use a large Rio pump with a hose to the sink or toilet or outside to the trees. Or I use gravity to suck it out the window door or drain in the basement floor. I do not use the sink attachment for the python. That is the most wasteful thing you can pretty much do as a fish keeper.

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With the python system you don't need to keep the water on the whole time. Turn the water on to start the drain then turn it off. Might take a little longer but just sit down relax and drink some beer.

 

[hulk181]

@ chicxulub
your assumption is wasteful, that's not a fault of the design, I drain mine out to my garden. You know what happens when you assume right?

He's right though. You DO waste a lot of water using a Python. You could always turn off the water at the adapter while you're draining (after you've started the suction), but the suction force goes down by a lot. I've tried it and It goes down to a trickle when you don't have the water on. It's just too slow to drain with the water off.

So with a Python, you're forced to either waste a lot of good tap water to drain old tank water quickly or not waste water and drain water very slowly. Either way it's a bad way to do things. Using a sump pump attached to a garden hose is much more efficient and faster and you waste no water like that.

 

[Owens]

He's right though. You DO waste a lot of water using a Python. You could always turn off the water at the adapter while you're draining (after you've started the suction), but the suction force goes down by a lot. I've tried it and It goes down to a trickle when you don't have the water on. It's just too slow to drain with the water off.

So with a Python, you're forced to either waste a lot of good tap water to drain old tank water quickly or not waste water and drain water very slowly. Either way it's a bad way to do things. Using a sump pump attached to a garden hose is much more efficient and faster and you waste no water like that.

It's only crazy slow if you have multiple tanks, I don't run the water and just get on my computer for 30 minutes or so while it drains. All I really do unless I vacuum is switch a switch on and off.

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