Easier Siphon

[sic0198]

I was reading a article in TFH (most recent issue) and in the freshwater Q A section a siphon with a squeeze button was recommended, can I buy one of these?

Kinda like a kerosene hose.

 

[always4lora]

guess ure in the US? in the uk pets at home normally have them i think. You could use a battery powered gravel vac and attach a hose to the bit the bag normally go;'s onto .

if its for emptying the tank there's two great ways to do this , the python which sucks water straight out of the tank into the sink and then pop the stop connecter on and fill the tank straight back up(theres a guide on here how to make your own).

or if you an external just put the outlet into a bucket and its will pump thew water out

 

[OldMan47]

Siphons are made with priming bulbs so I suppose you could use one for emptying a tank. If you are using a gravel vacuum, they have a built-in check valve at the top of the plastic tube. By shaking the tube up and down a few times, water will start flowing without a priming bulb. (Each time you move the tube down more water slips past the check valve until there is enough water in the tube to start the siphon. If you don't mind getting your hand wet, submerge a lot of the gravel vac and its hose, then lift out the hose and place the end in your bucket. By submerging the hose, it will be full and the water can't drain back out of the hose because of the check valve. When the end gets dropped down to the bucket, the flow starts because the full hose is at a level below the tank's water line.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Most people just suck the water through manually...

 

[craig855s]

i have one that u squeeze a starter 2 or 3 times to get it flowing,it cost something like £4 (which is what in USD...$6?)



http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/GRAVEL-CLEANER-SYPHO...%3A1|240%3A1318

 

[OldMan47]

The problem in the US is that I have not seen one with the primer on it and also with a cleaning tube. They may be available but are not on the shelf every time you go into a fish shop. Siphons for other purposes are supplied with a starter bulb like that but gravel vacs seem to not come with them.

 

[waterdrop]

Its funny, I have a Python with a very long hose to go way down the hall to the bathroom. I could use the clever valve which uses faucet power to pull the water out of the tank and start the siphon but I just elect not to use it and find that one simple pull with my lungs is all it takes. I find I always seem to have a use for a bucket's worth of tank water during these maintenance sessions, so I set one in the tub to receive the tank water from the hose. It overflows into the tub but serves as a possible safety catch, I feel, if any of the curious danios or tetras (neons are surprisingly aggressive getting into siphon tubes in my experience, lol) managed to get sucked all the way down the siphon hose. Later I just move the hose in the tub to the sink faucet hookup for the tank refill and go dump some conditioner in the tank.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[drobbyb]

I never use the water driven suction on my python. I just use gravity to drain the tanks. To get mine started I fill the end assembly (the part that you atisk into the gravel) and hold it above the waterline to get the siphon started.

 

[waterdrop]

I never use the water driven suction on my python. I just use gravity to drain the tanks. To get mine started I fill the end assembly (the part that you atisk into the gravel) and hold it above the waterline to get the siphon started.

I guess I'll have to try and perfect that. Its almost started that way for me before but I have trouble with it because my son's bowfront is only a 28g and has a brace in the center, so manipulating the python cylinder and hose is unwieldy!

Do you lift the filled cylinder straight above the surface until the water starts shooting down the hose and then drop the cylinder straight back down beneath the surface prior to rotating it around toward the gravel??

~~waterdrop~~

 

[drobbyb]

Do you lift the filled cylinder straight above the surface until the water starts shooting down the hose and then drop the cylinder straight back down beneath the surface prior to rotating it around toward the gravel??

~~waterdrop~~

That's exactly what I do. It seems to work for me.

 

[waterdrop]

thx robby
WD