Skippy Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Ok, after reading this thread and seeing some of you routinely risk mouthfuls of water starting off your gravel vac I thought I would share my technique which has zero chance of water ending in my mouth - without needing a pump! *Put the business end of your gravel vac in the tank so it fills with water. *Put the output end of the hose into a bucket. *Hold the water filled end of the gravel vac up so that the water in it drains into the hose. *When water starts to flow out of the hose into the bucket cover the end with your thumb. *With your thumb still blocking the hose put the gravel vac underwater and fill it with water. *Remove your thumb. *Water should now start to syphon out of the tank and into the bucket. *Water in mouth = none . Try it, it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeWs Fish Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Another way is to connect the hose to a tap put the other end in a tank. Turn the tap on for 3 seconds. Pull the hose away from the tap and turn the tap off, leaving the other end in the tank. Water will flow out of the tank into the sink or in the garden etc. No mess at all - great for water changes if u have carpet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducksta Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 MIKE's way only works if your sink/garden is lower than the water level in the tank of course I am thinking of investing in a couple 'python' style water changers Anyone know if there is an Australian importer? Or should I do it and sell them on ebay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catcher Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 hi all, I'm not sure if my vac is a python like Duck suggests but it has a very basic flap on the start of the hose section that doesn't allow water to return. So if you pump the vac up and down in the water column the water has nowhere to go but down the hose, syphon started, easy. glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lepperfish Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Cool thanks for the tip, some gravel vacs are alot harder to start then others. Will have to give it a try next time.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducksta Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 I have seen those Glen, they are handy if your using buckets. A "PYTHON" brand one basically connects one end to your hose/tap and the other end in a drain/garden, the hose is 25-50' long. And the pressure exerted by the tap makes the old water flow into the garden while topping up with clean water. Not the best thing if you dont want to use tap water for changes but i reckon with a 2000lph pump the same effect will be created. I want one because it has a cool name mostly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted December 10, 2004 Author Share Posted December 10, 2004 I am thinking of investing in a couple 'python' style water changers Anyone know if there is an Australian importer? Or should I do it and sell them on ebay? I did see something similiar on an Aussie website a while ago, it was around $80 but I can't remember which one. Put me down for 1 from Big Duck's Aquarium supplies when you get cracking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducksta Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 After the books fiasco I dunno about even trying, but I guess I'm doomed to just keep being nice If I dont find an Aussie supplier at reasonable price (I will look seriously over the weekend) I will look at putting the $$$ up for a dozen or so from a cheap supplier overseas. edit: Just found 'python' (or equivalent??) water changer in my aquamail catalogue. It is a bit over $70. Looking at retail prices OS, they are generally $60US+ and I don't think I know the wholesaler so I think aquamail it is for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve24cro Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 how about sucking on the hose really fast and hard. Never had a mouthful of water. No need for other techniques. dont know why u bother with all that thumb stuff, if you suck on the hose fast, you have plenty of time to get your mouth away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cichlids_au Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Just submerge all of the hose and block one end and when you pull it out the water will flow. No need to suck at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaZ Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 how about sucking on the hose really fast and hard My hose stays outside under the carport at the front of my fishroom, and I bring one end in to drain the tanks, and suck on the other end before chucking it in the garden. Last time I did water changes I used the above method, and INHALED a bunch of stuff which felt like some hair and also some dead crusty bugs of some kind It was NOT a pleasant experience, and I think I will stop being lazy now and go back to using the same method as Mike W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyce Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 After the books fiasco I dunno about even trying, but I guess I'm doomed to just keep being nice If I dont find an Aussie supplier at reasonable price (I will look seriously over the weekend) I will look at putting the $$$ up for a dozen or so from a cheap supplier overseas. edit: Just found 'python' (or equivalent??) water changer in my aquamail catalogue. It is a bit over $70. Looking at retail prices OS, they are generally $60US+ and I don't think I know the wholesaler so I think aquamail it is for me before you do that, you can also buy the python section on the end that attaches to the tap from some lfs. I live in north nsw but my lfs were selling them for around 10$ each, then you just attach a hose to the end of a grave cleaner and voila(sp?) you have a python for about 25-30$. Ok I found the case of it, its made by Lee's Aquarium & pet products. The cat. no. is 11580. And its called "the ultimate" hopefully this helps. Cheers luke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamsherman Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 When im doing the gravel and canister in the same session, i connect the end of the siphon hose to the inlet of the canister and let that do the sucking, that way, you dont lose any "cycled" water, and you dont waste any water either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducksta Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Thanks a million Dyce. I actually saw that (equivalent) product overseas for sale for about $12US and was considering going that path. I wonder why the online stores stocking the lees gravel cleaners don't seem to stock that product. Better look harder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.