# Using a garden hose to fill up my tank.



## 4RSo (Aug 13, 2011)

Would it be unwise to use a garden hose to fill my tank up? I haven't purchased the attachment hose for my sink yet, so I was curious if it would be alright to use my garden hose, it's a couple years old so I would rinse it off and run water through it for 5-10 minutes to clear out any unwanted debris before filling up the tank.

Not sure if this is important or not, but the tank is 125 gallons with pre-rinsed Tahitian moon sand.


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## MalawiBlue (Dec 11, 2002)

That should be no problem at all. Just make sure you've got someone on the other end ready to turn it off! :thumb:


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## 4RSo (Aug 13, 2011)

haha, of course! Thanks a lot.


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## TrashmanNYC (Dec 10, 2007)

I would use one that is "drinking water safe."


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## 4RSo (Aug 13, 2011)

It's the same water from the tap!

Already done, filled up in about 10 minutes. It's cold so i'm going to wait a few days to warm up, get my filter and heater running, get the rest of the sand in there, skim the surface and clean out any extra debris floating about then start cycling. A little later than I expected, but it should be well worth it.



thanks a lot, i'll be back with more questions if everything sounds good later on.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Some people think the hose itself can leach undesirable "something" into the water. They do sell special plastics for RV's that is used for drinking water. FWIW.

I like the Python for it's flexibility too...no stiff klunky hose knocking into stuff around the house.


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## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

MalawiBlue said:


> That should be no problem at all. Just make sure you've got someone on the other end ready to turn it off! :thumb:


I like to have a valve on the end of the hose too, even though I put mine into a barrel first for adjustments. If you put a valve on the hose and make a 'hook' out of pvc pipe, you can hang it on the rim while it fills.


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Honestly, I've used both hoses; garden and potable. The water is fine.

Run water through the hose first and you won't have a problem.


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## AulonoKarl (Mar 9, 2012)

I've been using a hose for a while. I've never lost a fish due to quality of the water I put into the tank. That said, I'm pretty excited for the aqueon water changer I ordered on amazon to get here this week. Hose isn't overly complicated, but the aqueon just seems like it's going to be super convenient and fast.


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## 4RSo (Aug 13, 2011)

well for water changes i'll probably get a 50ft Aqueon or a Python brand, it keeps things so clean, and I don't think it's possible to syphon out water with that hose! :lol:


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## kwajr (Nov 1, 2011)

4RSo said:


> well for water changes i'll probably get a 50ft Aqueon or a Python brand, it keeps things so clean, and I don't think it's possible to syphon out water with that hose! :lol:


sure it is its called gravity if you put the end of the hose well below the tank the water will flow out :thumb:


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

4RSo said:


> well for water changes i'll probably get a 50ft Aqueon or a Python brand, it keeps things so clean, and I don't think it's possible to syphon out water with that hose! :lol:


Oh ****, then I've been defying laws of physics for years!! How should I now siphon water out of the tank?


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## theoryguru (Oct 11, 2011)

Shouldn't be a problem.
I use a rubber garden hose fill my tank; I do have 'no name' python I don't use often.

Sometimes after I turn on the faucet and the hose end finds it way out of my tank and 
sprays everything around, I'll jam it behind my bg, but I have to come up with a weight or clip to keep it from making a mess.


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## 4RSo (Aug 13, 2011)

nodima said:


> 4RSo said:
> 
> 
> > well for water changes i'll probably get a 50ft Aqueon or a Python brand, it keeps things so clean, and I don't think it's possible to syphon out water with that hose! :lol:
> ...


I meant my hose, since it's connected to my house, I couldn't suck on it to create the siphon to clean my tank. Not that you couldn't siphon water out with your tube! The laws of physics are still in full working order good sir.
:dancing:


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## 4RSo (Aug 13, 2011)

theoryguru said:


> Shouldn't be a problem.
> I use a rubber garden hose fill my tank; I do have 'no name' python I don't use often.
> 
> Sometimes after I turn on the faucet and the hose end finds it way out of my tank and
> sprays everything around, I'll jam it behind my bg, but I have to come up with a weight or clip to keep it from making a mess.


the clip in conjunction with a tube of PVC works well, no mess! I just have to make sure the tube doesn't come out of the PVC! lol


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## 4RSo (Aug 13, 2011)

kwajr said:


> 4RSo said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I wouldn't be able to do it with my hose very easily is all I was saying, I understand how gravity works I think I just worded my statement poorly.


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## robertlewisca (Mar 11, 2012)

I use a 25 foot 'suitable for drinking water' hose for filling and draining. On the 'tank' end of the hose, I picked up a $1 valve at Walmart. Then, connected to that I have about 2 feet of clear tube with a hose mender on one side (screwed onto the Walmart valve). So, I can either just stick the tube in the tank, close the valve, start the water and open the valve to fill, or I can attach a gravel vacuum to the end and siphon.

I started out with 25 feet of nylon tubing from start to finish, but I ended up getting the hose because the nylon tubing kept getting cut.

For the person that has issues with the hose not staying put - it may sound funny, but I use a 'chip clip' to clip the hose to the side of my canopy. That, and the two feet of clear tube dangling in the tank is enough to keep it in place for me. I just hook the hose up to the sink with a siphon attachment, clip the other end to the tank, start the siphon by turning on the water, then turn off the water and away she goes. Then to fill, just close the bottom valve on the siphon attachment, turn on the water, add a little Stress Coat + to the tank, and sit back till she's done.


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## Mbunagasm (Mar 22, 2012)

Garden hoses and some other plastics do indeed leech petro oxides and small particles into water, however it is not a great concern unless the water has been stagnating inside the hose between uses somehow


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## kenko (Jan 19, 2012)

Yup, I use garden hoses all the time for both fill and siphon. Though rather than a chip clip, I found a $6 bag of durable tool clamps from one of the home shops. I think there were four different sizes, good for different hose sizes, and I clip it right to the rim of my tanks. Easy peasy...


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## shocker123 (Mar 20, 2011)

Love my python!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fast and easy!!!


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## theoryguru (Oct 11, 2011)

4RSo said:


> theoryguru said:
> 
> 
> > Shouldn't be a problem.
> ...


I was going to affix a PVC elbow to the inside of my canopy so I could just feed the hose through during fill up, but it was too big so I screwed a 1" conduit clamp - saves me from buying a "chip clip"


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## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

As I had mentioned earlier, I use a 'hook' for refilling. What I mean by that is two pieces of pvc about 8 or 10 inches long, connected at the top by a short piece about 1.5 inches long, with a garden hose valve on the bottom end, onto which the fill hose is attached. This makes a rectangular shaped 'hook' which hangs on the side of your tank or fill barrel so you can work hands free while it fills, and then shut off the valve when it's full.


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