Why don't more people use a pump to do water changes?

[asm129]

I hear a lot of people on the forums talk about how fast they can change water using a Python and how great it is. But I think using a submersible pump and quickly gravel vacuuming is the best and most efficient way to do WC's.

With a Python, you waste so much water from draining the tank. If you turn off the water pressure, the suction gets pretty slow for most people. Last month, I started using a spare submersible pump, hooked it up to a 75 ft. garden hose to run to my lawn and I did a WC much much quicker than I ever did with a Python. For the little bits of fish poop left in the water, I used a regular siphon to gravel vacuum. I noticed that my water bills were a lot lower since I started using a pump to drain water because of less wasted water during the Python siphoning.

If you've got a spare pump, I'd recommend using it to do water changes instead of a Python. It's a lot quicker and will save you money.

 

[Oddball]

Why use electricity if you don't have to? I just went with pool hoses to drain my larger tanks. I still use a pyton for gravel washes since I have better control over substrate losses with it than with the 2 1/2" diameter pool hose.

 

[valderi123]

I've been using a rio 3100 to do water changes.

 

[C L O W N K N I F E]

What are some good & cheap submersible pumps? I think this would save me a lot of time from walking up and down the stairs carrying a 5g jug lol

 

[Jc1119]

I use the water pressure to suction the substrate but once I'm done I turn it off and let the syphon do the rest. Takes awhile but I usually do it on Sundays while watching football.

 

[aclockworkorange]

I just drain the tank with a hose going out a window or door. Fill with a python from the sink.

 

[fishman09]

my siphon goes strait into the bathtub during water changes. with a garden hose i can do 50% on my 240 in half an hour. no water wasted.

 

[Undertheradar]

I use a pump for mid week water changes and python once a week for the gravel makes life easy and quick. If you could use the discharged water from the pump to cause the venturi effect you could Hoover your gravel at the same time as doing a wc

 

[wind08]

I just use siphon to suck all the water out to the drainage in my balcony.

then i top up tap water over the other end. 50% WC a week. of course, water is treated with anti-chlorine and anti-chloramines.

 

[Eupterus]

I've never heard of this. However even with the python working at my parents house, I can't change water fast. I only have a cold water source so when I need to do larger water changes faster for instance when there was an ammonia emergency, I needed to haul buckets of hot water.
At my rental house, I would be glad if the python water changer would hook up to the faucet, water changes are so slow there that this is part of the reason I've postponed moving my fish in with me from my parents house.