# Python ??'s



## DanDee (Mar 7, 2008)

I have never had one of these Python vacuum thingys. It appears to me that it uses water from your sink faucet to create the vacuum that pulls the water from your tank...correct? does that not waste a TON of water if you are going to clean a 180g tank? Plus my sink is 40' from my tank and I am not so sure it would pull much of a vacuum?

Why not use a power head ($20) with my outlet running out the window with a thin walled hose attached to the inlet...submerge the pump and get to cleaning?

I must be missing something...as it seems simple to me and yet I have not heard of anyone else trying this.
Ideas??
Dan


----------



## jaked1985 (Mar 31, 2009)

It does use a lot of water, the only problem that comes to mind with a powerhead would be all the debris that you suck up wreaking havoc on the impeller..


----------



## edouthirt (Jan 22, 2008)

> Why not use a power head ($20) with my outlet running out the window with a thin walled hose attached to the inlet...submerge the pump and get to cleaning?
> 
> I must be missing something...as it seems simple to me and yet I have not heard of anyone else trying this.
> Ideas??


I run mine out a window when emptying the tank and I start the siphon by putting the end of the python up to the powerhead output. Once the siphon is going you can shut off the powerhead as well. And ironically, in my experience, the siphon created by this is a lot stronger and empties the tank faster! So not only do you waste less water, but you are done faster! :thumb:


----------



## fancy diver (Mar 21, 2009)

Why not just get long enough syphon tubing to hang out the window? no powerhead


----------



## Rockydog (Oct 21, 2007)

There are many options to get the water out of the tank but you can't beat the python for putting it back.

I use the tap to start the siphon then put the hose in the tub, since it is lower than the tank it siphons very quickly. I usually vacuum with a hose and a pail though because it's easier to get in and around your rockwork.


----------



## ashilli48 (May 14, 2006)

powerhead? Come on, nothing beats a mouthful of tank water...old school! :dancing:


----------



## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

ashilli48 said:


> powerhead? Come on, nothing beats a mouthful of tank water...old school! :dancing:


Mmmmm! Been there, done that! :lol:

I got a long length of 3/4" ID tubing and a standard gravel vac: End of hose out back door, start gravel vac siphon into the bucket, jam gravel vac tube into the 3/4" hose. Clean tank!

-Ryan


----------



## ashilli48 (May 14, 2006)

Pythons are good as back-up, but they tend to waste water. I find that the time I need to clean the gravel is better at the slower rate found without the hose attached to the running faucet.


----------



## hey_wood1981 (Apr 7, 2004)

I run it out my front door. That way I'm not wasting water trying to fight an uphill battle. :wink:


----------



## LowCel (Apr 6, 2004)

I run mine out the back door of my house and have another hose hooked up the sink. When I get about half of the water drained that I plan on draining I turn the water on going back into the tank. This makes the change a little quicker and helps make my life a little easier.


----------



## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

LowCel said:


> I run mine out the back door of my house and have another hose hooked up the sink. When I get about half of the water drained that I plan on draining I turn the water on going back into the tank. This makes the change a little quicker and helps make my life a little easier.


Two hoses are handy! I like being able to fill one tank, while draining the next one in line!

-Ryan


----------



## Riceburner (Sep 3, 2008)

I run mine with a couple of lengths of drinking water grade hose....basically expensive garden hose. I can reach from one end of the house to the other...lol. I use the tap to start the vacuum and then shut it off and let it drain/vacuum into the tub. If I need more vac power I turn the tap back on, otherwise it does a great job. Makes it so much easier to fill too...set the right temp and let it go.


----------



## mthigpen_02 (Dec 29, 2008)

I have two hoses a fill connected to the python and one connected to a gravel vac that i run outside. I have had success pushing extra hose into the tank and pulling out very quickly to start the syphon, got tired of sucking up tank water.


----------



## GFESQ (Apr 19, 2009)

I am totally new to this chat forum and am glad to find all this useful info on my cichlids but I had to butt in on this one...
I have a 125g 90g and 55g... water changes with buckets were killing me so I went out and bought the PYTHON thing.... set it up today and discovered that it has ALMOST NO SUCTION... I spent more time moving the dirt from the gravel around than I did vaccuuming anything!! I was using the 50 foot b/c my tanks are pretty far from my sink....Is this user error or has everyone else experienced the same wit thhis product.
BTW..after 1 wasted hour with this product I went back to my buckets and finished FASTER!! If this is the way the product works (and please let me know) it will be going back tomarrow!! Thanks.....glad to be a part of this forum!!! :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish:


----------



## LowCel (Apr 6, 2004)

Are your tanks in a basement? If not then just run the line outside and syphon the water out. It should provide you with plenty of flow to remove the waste from your tank.


----------



## GFESQ (Apr 19, 2009)

No tanks are not in the basement. I'm in Florida..there are no basements because of the water table :lol: (wish there was)... the tanks are on the main floor of the house but still far from the kitchen. I guess I will have to go back to siphoning out the back door but I was hoping this would be the miracle product. Guess not....Thanks for responding .... :wink:


----------



## hey_wood1981 (Apr 7, 2004)

If you can run it out the door it should work fine with plenty of flow.


----------



## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

Yeah... back door is the way to go. Siphon sucking is all about the height difference between water level in the tank and output of the hose. Out the back door trumps kitchen sink any day! 

-Ryan


----------



## 55gal (Jan 19, 2009)

That's funny, :lol: I donâ€™t have any problem with using my Python, I don't find that it waste water at all. Once the siphon starts, you just turn you faucet water off, so youâ€™re just pulling from your tank. You can vacuum and perform a WC at the same time, and you don't have to deal with buckets. And when it's time to add water you just, opcorn:


----------



## CichlidWhisperer (Apr 12, 2008)

55gal, that will only work if you have a sink that is much lower than your tank. It is based on gravity and all you need is something to fill your hose with water and the syphon will go. If, however the sink is on the same level or higher than your tank, the syphon will be broken. Also, the syphon is based on the hose diameter, the length of the hose and the force (gravity) pulling the water. So, if the hose is too long relative to the height of your tank over your sink, the syphon will not be efficient enough to do an adequate vaccum job... Sorry, but it is based on fluid mechanics.


----------



## 55gal (Jan 19, 2009)

Well, ....... I guess the fluid mechanics in my case works fine for me. :dancing:


----------

