How Does A Python Work?

[Durbkat]

How does a python work? Is there a super long hose that can reach to the sink or what?

 

[Vegan Peaches]

A long hose that attatches to a faucet, it uses the pressure of the water from the faucet to syphon water out... no more sucking ^^ It will also add water directly from the tap to your tank.

 

[steelhealr]

The python is attached to your sink outlet so that the tube enters perpendicularly to the flow of water. The downward rush of water creates a negative vacuum on the python hose which causes the water in your tank to get siphoned out into the sink. A small twist reverses the flow and allows you to refill your tank. Greatest invention for aquariums. SH

 

[Durbkat]

Yeah but wouldn't it be bad if you had it pour tap water back into your tank without the water being treated?

 

[Matty]

well, you add the chloramine remover as you add the water back to your tank. Usually, this isnt a problem for the tank's inhabitants

 

[qwikimpss]

PPPSSSSSSTTTT...saying a "negative vacuum" is basically a double negative and would mean it's building pressure....sorry, just noticed that

 

[Vegan Peaches]

Well, it could be a moving vacuum with a negative vector quantity for it's position function and hence a negative vacuum 0.o But I suppose the water is what's moving, and not the vacuum, eh? Physics is fun -.-

 

[Ethos]

Sometimes, like me, you have to buy an attachment from the hardwear store because the facuet on the python doesn't match with yours.
I still haven't gotten it yet, so I have to refill the tank using a bucket. But vaccuming is a ton easier on my 55G!

 

[Teelie]

Yeah but wouldn't it be bad if you had it pour tap water back into your tank without the water being treated?

That's why I don't use one. Despite the fact you can add dechlorinator to the tank, my water is too hard and has too many minerals to be used in any major water changes unless it's filtered first to remove as much heavy mineral and metal content as possible.

 

[Bignose]

Well, it could be a moving vacuum with a negative vector quantity for it's position function and hence a negative vacuum 0.o But I suppose the water is what's moving, and not the vacuum, eh? Physics is fun -.-

But, pressure is scalar quantity, not a vector quantity. That said, there are negative pressures in many situations. Centrifuges for one. In the xylem trees use to uptake water for another. Many pumps used in industry have regions in them where there is negative pressure.

I've not done the calculations, but I highly doubt that pythons get anywhere near negative pressure. I'm pretty sure it is just sub-atmospheric pressure.

 

[steelhealr]

Getting back to the other question.....you add your dechlorinator into the tank before returning the water. So far, my tank is just over a year old and I have not lost one fish from water changes. The dechlorinator works almost instantaneously. SH

 

[ncjharris]

As SH said - and if you're doing a larger water change, add it in two goes.

When you have more than one tank, or one where a typicall water change is more than a bucket load, its invaluable.

And, if you make it yourself, cheap! ;-)

 

[Mr.September15]

I have a Syphon that just has a big end and a small tube thing that the water goes through into a bucket.

-Arrowhead

 

[dmsnodgr]

The downward rush of water creates a negative vacuum on the python hose which causes the water in your tank to get siphoned out into the sink.

Actually, if you want to look at this part again, it is not creating a "negative vacum", its creating a pressure difference between the contents inside the tube coming from the tank and the fluid coming out of the faucet. It is created by the fact that there is a fluid with a high velocity moving next to one with a low velocity. The higher velocity fluid has a lower pressure than the fluid with a lower velocity (velocity and pressure are inversely related per Bernouli's principle) this presure differents creates a "pushing" action by the contents in the first mentioned hoes (high pressure seeks low pressure) which draws water from the tank (because now the vluid in the hose has a lower pressure than in the tank). it is similar to a carburator in and engine where the air flowing past a gap creates pressure that draws gas into the carborator.

also, its not nessisarily negative pressure. that part is relative to what pressure you take to be your frame of reference. From the tank hose side, the pressure is lower, so it could be consider negative, although this is not recomended. another reference would be to take the faucet side, then the pressure would not really be seen, because you wohld be suberge in it. or, you could take the atmospheric presure side, wher 0 ATM is the relative reference. then no, it would not be negative, just a difference that creates a force on a fluid.

if you take an absolute vacum to be the absolute lowest pressure, then I don't know how you would get a negative pressure with out getting into quantum physics and wierdstuff with vanishing partical pairs. but beside the point if you know of how to generate a vacume that has lower pressure than 0 ATM, let me know

Sorry for any spelling errors.

 

[Vegan Peaches]

Wow. Somebody said a mouthfull for their first post... welcome to the forums... and uh... what do you charge for physics tutoring?