Stronger vacuum for tank cleaning?

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blacksnow

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 8, 2009
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Monoculus ;)
I have to use a 50' python because my faucet is far away. Not to mention water pressure isn't that good here so I don't get much suction. Having large fish in my tank I need a thorough cleaning once a week. Finding this very hard to achieve without good suction.

Hoping for some advise on how to get a better vacuum going? Should I buy some sort of pump to run inline with my python?

thanks in advance
 
Anything close you could use as a drain?
Shower, bathtub, doorway to the outside, window.
Just use the python for refills???
 
Once you get the siphon started disconnect it from the faucet and get the hose end lower and let gravity do the work.
Using larger hose would give it more suction as well.
 
If you have got the basic canister that goes into the gravel you can just purchase longer wider tubing to go on to that, What I have done is cut the tubing that came with the canister so that there is only a small piece of it left on the canister. Then bought Ehiem piping to length I needed and put that on there, gives much more suction.

U can also use pond tubing.(I use this for water changes) I bought enough of it to go straight out the door, what you can do then is get a stiff piece of plastic tubing and put that in there, I would advice to put mesh on the top on the stiff tubing before putting it in though as the suction is so strong it will take your gravel aswell.
 
I use a 'PYTHON' 50 foot setup without being hooked up to the faucet. I roll out the tubing like a garden hose outside onto my garden beds and let gravity siphon the water outside. There is plenty of pressure and my plants get watered and fertilized by the fish waste. For my basement tanks I use another gravel siphon tube clamped on to a 9 foot piece of half inch flexible tubing and drain the water into a 5 gallon bucket. Inside the bucket I have a 'Pond Master Mag-Drive 9.5' utility pump connected to a garden hose, which pumps out the water continuously as fast as its coming in onto my garden beds. I hope this assists you in any way.
 
Check your faucet for any type of orifice or restrictor. I was using mine with my kitchen faucet, and never got much suction. Then I took apart the faucet one day and found there was a little flapper valve in there that helps divert the water to the hand sprayer that was reducing the flow to a little tiny opening. I took it out and the python totally sucked.
 
All good ideas but I'm looking for some strong suction...is it possible to put a pump on the python? Would it damage a mag pump if I didn't use a prefilter and put it in the tank and had it pump dirty stuff out?
 
You could use a spare canister as a power vac. People have posted about using a magnum 350 for this purpose. Haven't tried it myself, but it seems to work well.
 
Hi,
I use a flotech pump.
Hd has them for about $90.00
It has fittings for a garden hose so the output goes to a garden hose and the hose emptys into a 5Gal bucket in the bath tub and I just let the bucket overflow most of the muck stays in the bucket and is dumped out side in the garden.
The pump inout has a fitting the is a female hose connector with a nipple on the other end I use a hose clamp to secure the hose from the gravel vac.
This works great for gravel.
My 135 has sand and what I do is put the gravel vac on the garden hose and a short hose on the out put start the pump to get it flowing turn the pump off and disconnect the hose with the gravel vac at the far end and let gravity do the work.

To fill the tanks I got a connector that fitts my shower head so I can fill direct from the shower.I also got a shut off fitting for a garden hose and some plumbing fittings so I can get my water up to temp and flush the dirty water out shut it off at the end of the hose. That way I can have the temp from the shower already set walk into the fish room and hang the it on the tank turn it on and away you go.
I also add prime before turning the water on.

I change 25% every two weeks and is on 9 tanks
2 55gal
3 20gal
2 10 gal
1 29 gal
1 135gal
this takes me about 1.5 hours would be less if I had better water pressure.
It takes twice as long to fill than to pumo the water.
 
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