Well, wednesday is water change day, so business as usual I started to siphon off the old water. ( my method - heat sterilise one end and suck) I got slightly distracted by my son and sucked a little too much out..... needless to say I got a throat full of dirty wate r. As I ran off to honk my guts up, my siphon carried on it's task, all over my floor (thankfully only half a tanks worth)

I'm thoroughly P****d off and feel terrible (memo to self - buy some mints!) Is it just me or has anyone else sampled their tank water?

i have 10 tanks, so guess how many times i have done that, its always a little bit worse with my Brackish tanks though

Once happened to me, vile isnt it!

Ive never started the siphon off with my mouth.
It was hard the first time to get the water running till I learnt how to use it properly.

It was the way my husband showed me, He siphons a lot - fuel from his bike for the mower - and showed me this method. How else can I do it?

If you don't want to use your mouth, I've seen a way where a person 'jerks' the end of the hose up and down in the water. I used to use this little black ball thingy, I don't know its actual name but its about tennis ball size with 2 valves in it, one of them goes into the pipe, you then squeeze the ball and it sucks air out, creating a syphon.
The 'jerk' method: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzRZMMNCvu4


For my tanks now, all I do is suck the hose, its just quicker and easier for me, after a few times you know when to point the hose into the bucket, I usually find that one good 'suck' and its enough to get it going. Though remember which end goes in the tank and which end in your mouth not sure if it matters but it makes me feel better.

Alternatively this seems simpler lol, don't know if it would work for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfEBbjKK5xQ



This post has been edited by shroob: May 7 2008, 09:31 AM

This might help.
http://www.firsttankguide.net/siphon.php

For me, the python is the only way to go
It's like having laser eye surgery - life changing!

I don't have a siphon tube, just a good old fashioned length of hose. Maybe I should invest in one though. Shroob thanks for the link. I really liked the second one! Looks very easy.



Does it come with the 80's lady with big shoulder pads?

Can someone UK based tell me where I can buy a python from?? I haven't seen one in any of my LFS's. And approximately how much do you pay for them? That US site doesn't really help, apart from make me more deperate to buy one! :0

They are very expensive in the UK, from shops they range from £40-70. If you're interested in one look though the hardware section via searches, quite a few people have made them for alot lot cheaper.

http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalogue...asp#product1032
http://www.fishandfins.co.uk/misc.htm

Just a few links, but theres other shops out there but just to give you an idea of the price they are asking.

This post has been edited by shroob: May 7 2008, 09:57 AM

I bought the original python and it's worth it's weight in gold to me. But you can easily DIY one - see pinned topic

done it loads of times with no ill effect mind you i used to do my water changes on a evening so if i did get a gut full
a good swig of brandy or whisky or any thing alcoholic to kill the bacteria or was it just an excuse just to have a drink
.i bought my python from aquticfanatic in yorkshire but you could try one of the big mail order places on the net
you might find one there or ebay maybe



biff

Helen i know another way which is even CHEAPER !!!!!

take it back to the teacher (hubby) lol, get him to start off the syphon so if there is a mouth full of water to be had its the hubby that gets it.

Hmmm. don't fancy making one.... not much good at that sort of thing! Anyone in the States know of a real cheap website to buy from? I have some friends in the States, I could get it sent to one of them and then get them to forward it to me....

Not sure if this is any good for your friends to bid on tibby ??? Ebay python in the USA

yeah done it a million times, much much worse with salt water, that tastes vile.

if you don't like sucking to start the siphone then submerge the tube in the tank fully and make sure it fills up with water, then put your thumb over one end, take that end and put it in a bucket making sure you keep the other end submerged, then take your thumb off the tube and the water will start to flow down and into the bucket.

I use these, got fed up with mouthfuls of pooh water, it just fits onto my hosepipe and no sucking yeah !!!

Bonus is that it is cheap and cheerful.

Syphon

Ya, this has happened to me... Brackish might be bad, but saltwater is the worst... like you ran into the ocean with your mouth wide open....

Its a little gross, but I don't fear any disease or anything coming out so I just spit it out into the sink/bucket I'm draining to and continue on