[Tutorial] Diy Python System

[dgwebster]

I own a tetratec ex1200 and to be totally honest, could not be bothered with all that every week. My filter is cleaned every 4-6 months only, no need to go disconnecting it all the time.

 

[FishFanatic04]

Edit: Just using this tutorial. I wayyyyy over think everything and when more and more ideas are put out, I lose it! lol Good one Cezza!

 

[hackmaster]

Waste of time and money... Just have the hose attached to your multi tap connector, turn tap on untill all the air bubbles out in the tank, then unclip hose from tap draining into sink...

Less parts less money easier to do...

I don't understand what you mean by this. Are you suggesting that I just siphon the water out? Myself and many others aren't lucky enough to have a place to siphon water away to that is lower than the level of the tank.

1 end of hose in tank
1 end connected to tap
You still with me...?
Turn on tap
Listen for gurgling to stop
You still with me...?
Unclip hose from tap, into sink
You got that...?
Voila syphon is in motion
You understand that...?

My pipe goes down to the floor then up to the sink

 

[dgwebster]

Waste of time and money... Just have the hose attached to your multi tap connector, turn tap on untill all the air bubbles out in the tank, then unclip hose from tap draining into sink...

Less parts less money easier to do...

I don't understand what you mean by this. Are you suggesting that I just siphon the water out? Myself and many others aren't lucky enough to have a place to siphon water away to that is lower than the level of the tank.

1 end of hose in tank
1 end connected to tap
You still with me...?
Turn on tap
Listen for gurgling to stop
You still with me...?
Unclip hose from tap, into sink
You got that...?
Voila syphon is in motion
You understand that...?

My pipe goes down to the floor then up to the sink

What distance does this cover?

 

[hackmaster]

About 10/15 m of hose

 

[Timmy_Bee]

Dont forget that a water change is about more than changing water. Are you syphoning the junk from the bottom of the tank? cleaning your substrate?

 

[hackmaster]

Dont forget that a water change is about more than changing water. Are you syphoning the junk from the bottom of the tank? cleaning your substrate?

I use an electric gravel vac

 

[CezzaXV]

My sand is generally pretty clean - I think by some kind of fluke I've managed to get the flow such that the filter sucks up the worst of it. I do have a vac of it every now and then though.

 

[dgwebster]

I use a battery powered vac that filters the water through a sack for cleaning as well. likewise, on sand and there is enough disturbance that a light cleaning every 2-3 weeks is all that it seems to require to keep it clean

 

[Akasha72]

this is a great thread, I wish I'd read it sooner. I'm fed up of buckets! I'm also planning on getting a water butt so my dirty fish water can water my plants this summer (I'm on a water meter so saving water is important to me!)

I'm now trying to work out if I can get a hose pipe to reach from the tank, out the living room, through the hall way, down a flight of stairs and out of the door to a water butt without soaking my carpets and flooding the flat downstairs

 

[dgwebster]

#out a window#

Less risk

 

[Akasha72]

#out a window#

Less risk

not gonna work in my situation. My living room is at the back of the property and my small courtyard garden is at the front. The only way to get dirty fish water into a garden water butt is to take a pipe down the stairs ... hmm, this is going to take some thinking about

 

[andymiller6891]

Seems like a great idea, but i dont understand how i can dechlorinate the water if it is coming straight from tap to tank.

 

[dgwebster]

Add it straight to tank before turning the tap on. Been doing that for years with no ill effect.

 

[CezzaXV]

Add it straight to tank before turning the tap on. Been doing that for years with no ill effect.

Yup. You'll need to add enough to treat the whole tank rather than just the water you're adding. Some sciency thing that says it gets used up more if you dose to the tank. Hasn't done my tank any harm.


@Akasha - I don't see a reason why it wouldn't work with a super long hose. Hoses come in massive lengths so I don't see that you'd have a problem finding one long enough. I was going to suggest a more powerful powerhead than the one I used to get the water moving, but if you're going downstairs you'll have gravity and the siphon effect on your side. As long as you get a "proper" hose and not one of the flat ones I've heard about, there's no reason you should get water over the place. I'm kinda clumsy and I used to get water all over the place when I did it with buckets, but that's not a problem now. You might wanna keep a towel to hand when you remove the powerhead as mine tends to drip loads (no amount of shaking seems to get all the water out) but that's about it.