Python...thing...

[Mogs26]

On getting a new 250L tank and half way through filling it up, i decided there must be an easier way which doesnt require buckets and a sore back.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/250013-how-to-make-a-diy-python/ discussion and instructions here-very easy to make-even I managed!

Looks like a nice little gadget from that video.but for me i have to empty all dirty tank
water in the drain outside in my back garden, mums rules .
Would make filling the tank up alot easier though, might have to attempt some D.I.Y work

Could you not just put a long hose piece attached to the third prong of the Y connector and run it outside? Then remove and replace with the end stop piece to refill?
To get the correct temp, I run the water without the end stop on for a bit and feel the temp there, then attach the end stop bit. Keep an eye on the temp by feeling at the end of the pipe, to make sure that everything is still ok though as occasionally the temp changes from the mixer, and the hot cools before it reaches the tank!
Good luck everyone.

Carole x

 

[fluttermoth]

We may not be able to get get Pythons in the UK, but we can get this; http/www.discountedpetproducts.net/WATER_CHANGER_50FT-UKP71942.html

I don't have one yet, so can't comment on how well it works but it looks like it might do the job. They do a 25 foot one that is only £16 or so too.

 

[coldcazzie]

I use a hosepipe with a drink bottle stuck to the end to act as the gravel vac and siphon the water straight outside, no carrying heavy buckets. Use the same hosepipe to fill the tank back up, just chuck some dechlorinator into the tank before i start filling up and jobs a good en!

Me too! It's great for watering the garden - all those nitrates are great for the plants.

Just get a hose that's all it is. Run the hose to a shower drain and that's it. Then get the adapter for the sink put on hose and fill. The python is just a way over priced hose. You can make one.

I also found that it was actually quite impractical because the sink is on the same level as the tank. Siphons only work well if they are operating from a higher level to a lower level. On the same level there is very slow water movement and not enough suck to remove detritus etc from the tank. I tried it once and I won't use it again. Hosepipe into the garden is definitely the way to go for me - I just stuck a hose connector on the end of my gravel vac tube and attach it directly to the hose

 

[Rogue4Fish]

You can buy them off eBay if you want to pay the £25 international postage lol

 

[Mogs26]

I also found that it was actually quite impractical because the sink is on the same level as the tank. Siphons only work well if they are operating from a higher level to a lower level. On the same level there is very slow water movement and not enough suck to remove detritus etc from the tank. I tried it once and I won't use it again. Hosepipe into the garden is definitely the way to go for me - I just stuck a hose connector on the end of my gravel vac tube and attach it directly to the hose

I like the slow flow-means I can do all the glass cleaning, gravel vac, filter clean etc while the tank is empying-I strap the hose to the tank cross bar, and don't have to worry about it falling out, so I can clean at the sink, using tank water collected from the lower outlet! As I gravel vac each week, I remove all the muck like this! The tank and sink are on the same level, which is why I hook the hose over the door!

 

[scouse_andy]

If you don`t have a mixer tap can you not just add some hot water seperately to get a temperature match? That`s what I do

I thought water straight from the hot tap was a no-no as potentially it contains heavy metals.

 

[Lolly123]

We may not be able to get get Pythons in the UK, but we can get this; http/www.discounte...T-UKP71942.html

I don't have one yet, so can't comment on how well it works but it looks like it might do the job. They do a 25 foot one that is only £16 or so too.

You are a little star fluttermoth, as you say you wont know if it works until you try it, but being that I have back problems, i would spend 20-30 pound to make my life easier, if it works

 

[Mogs26]

If you don`t have a mixer tap can you not just add some hot water seperately to get a temperature match? That`s what I do

I thought water straight from the hot tap was a no-no as potentially it contains heavy metals.

There was a good thread on that a while back and the OP explained why it wasn't too bad, but I have a condensing boiler so not a problem any way
Carole

 

[fluttermoth]

If you don`t have a mixer tap can you not just add some hot water seperately to get a temperature match? That`s what I do

I thought water straight from the hot tap was a no-no as potentially it contains heavy metals.

There may possibly be a risk of copper from the pipes if you live in an older house, but most dechlorinators neutralise heavy metals anyway, so it's not a problem.

We may not be able to get get Pythons in the UK, but we can get this; http/www.discounte...T-UKP71942.html

I don't have one yet, so can't comment on how well it works but it looks like it might do the job. They do a 25 foot one that is only £16 or so too.

You are a little star fluttermoth, as you say you wont know if it works until you try it, but being that I have back problems, i would spend 20-30 pound to make my life easier, if it works

Why thank you
I shall be investing in one in the next couple of months; I have four tanks, the smallest of which is 23 gallons and as I do 50% weekly water changes, that's a lot of buckets. I've been wondering whether I would have to either give up the hobby or drastically downsize when I got old; hopefully with one of those I won't have to worry about that any more