Pump suggestions for water changes?

[The 426 Hemi]

Hey all
I was wondering if anyone could suggest a good submersible pump for water changes. I live in the country and on a well. The water pressure is nothing compared to city water. It takes quite a while for my python to drain tanks.

Looking for any suggestions for a pump I could either hook up to my python or maybe get a bigger output hose for faster draining.

Thanks all I appreciate anyone's input!

 

[jjohnwm]

You're a fellow Canuckistani so I will mention a few stores that you will recognize.

There are any number of small-to-medium submersible "utility" pumps at places like Canadian Tire or Princess Auto that will do the job for you. They pump down to a fraction of an inch, have threaded outlets to attach to standard garden hoses for moving the water wherever you need it to go, and will move water much faster than your Python whether it's siphoning or using tap water pressure to operate.

I have all my basement fishroom tanks drilled and fitted with half-inch bulkheads, equipped with standard screw-in brass garden farcets. A series of hoses run from all the tanks to a valve-controlled manifold, which in turn feeds into a non-submersible utility pump which exhausts the waste water out of my basement through another hose to the outdoors. It's a bit of a PITA to set it up, but it is very inexpensive, totally flexible and easily modified to add or move tanks around.

If you want your installation to look like a cross between a nuclear power plant and a hospital operating room, you might not like this idea...but if you just want to get the bad water out of there, it's a joy. No suck-starting of siphons, no dragging around pumps and cords and hoses, no buckets; just open and close the appropriate valves and turn on the pump.

 

[The 426 Hemi]

You're a fellow Canuckistani so I will mention a few stores that you will recognize.

There are any number of small-to-medium submersible "utility" pumps at places like Canadian Tire or Princess Auto that will do the job for you. They pump down to a fraction of an inch, have threaded outlets to attach to standard garden hoses for moving the water wherever you need it to go, and will move water much faster than your Python whether it's siphoning or using tap water pressure to operate.

I have all my basement fishroom tanks drilled and fitted with half-inch bulkheads, equipped with standard screw-in brass garden farcets. A series of hoses run from all the tanks to a valve-controlled manifold, which in turn feeds into a non-submersible utility pump which exhausts the waste water out of my basement through another hose to the outdoors. It's a bit of a PITA to set it up, but it is very inexpensive, totally flexible and easily modified to add or move tanks around.

If you want your installation to look like a cross between a nuclear power plant and a hospital operating room, you might not like this idea...but if you just want to get the bad water out of there, it's a joy. No suck-starting of siphons, no dragging around pumps and cords and hoses, no buckets; just open and close the appropriate valves and turn on the pump.

That sounds like an awesome setup! I'll definitely think about that whenever I'm able to put all my tanks in one room again. I'm not sure why I never thought of crappy tire or princess auto though lol thanks !!

 

[Toby_H]

I have a 50' hose at 1" diameter I.D. and I siphon out the door. In the winter I sometimes send it to the toilet or bathtub depending on the height of the tank. I've never understood using a pump or python/faucet to drain a tank. Gravity is free.

But since you live in the tundra things may be different. I assume if you leave the door open for more than 12 seconds between October and March you're entire home would freeze solid. Canada is strange. I'm not even sure if you guys have gravity like we do here.

 

[The 426 Hemi]

I can't run a hose out the door as it would make a skating rink where the sled dogs are tied up and I would have to thaw them out before heading to work. That's such a pain. We also only have gravity every other week which makes it difficult to use it for weekly water changes.

 

[jjohnwm]

Well, first of all, nothing in Canada is free, including gravity. You know the drill...death and taxes. Gravity is considered a utility just like electricity, water, etc. In fact, the suppliers have experienced fantastic success with "smart" electricity meters, which allow them to charge more for electricity used during "peak" times...so now they are talking about installing smart gravity meters. We'll pay extra during peak gravity-use times, which are between 3am and 12midnight. Next year we get air meters.

Joking aside, my water-removal system works to pump water up out of my basement fish room to the exterior grade. You'd think that with the high cost of gravity we'd at least be given the option of having it work in reverse when we need it to....but, nooooooooo. So I burn electricity to pump that water outside, through a hole drilled in my foundation and in which an exterior faucet is mounted.

During those frigid October to March months, a water change involves attaching a long garden hose to that faucet and running the other end out beyond the edge of my mowed yard and into the adjacent pasture. Can't have all that water pooling and freezing in the yard itself. The hose must be rolled up and brought inside immediately after the waste water removal is completed. Otherwise, the hose freezes solid, and can crack like an icicle on truly cold days. As can be imagined, I want to do all the water changing at one time, so that the hose exercise is just a once per week ordeal. I love the warm season, when the exhaust water is directed into a buried pipe that carries it out into the pasture...via gravity!... without any attention on my part; I can do water changes as small or as large as I want, whenever I feel like it.

Also can't drain waste aquarium water into a toilet or other interior drain. When you have a septic system, the last thing you want is to put hundreds of gallons of extra water into it each week. If nothing else, it's liable to overtax the poop meter. As it is, I already try "holding it" until non-peak pooping times to save a few scheckels.

True North, Strong and Free! Will that be cash or charge?

 

[TwoHedWlf]

Hey all
I was wondering if anyone could suggest a good submersible pump for water changes. I live in the country and on a well. The water pressure is nothing compared to city water. It takes quite a while for my python to drain tanks.

Looking for any suggestions for a pump I could either hook up to my python or maybe get a bigger output hose for faster draining.

Thanks all I appreciate anyone's input!

Can't just throw the house out the door or a window? That's all I do, start the siphon, throw it outside, spend the next 20 minutes playing video games or something. Maybe move the hose every few minutes to water things.