Started a Syphone

[lizard]

What load of wimps, what wrong with a good mouthful of tank water, your fish have to live in it,

it hasn't done me any harm

Hasn't done me any harm either. It doesn't bother me a *lot*, but I think my boyfriend would b every hesitant to kiss me if he found out I recently had a mouth full of fishy water

I've never been able to relate to this issue. I do water changes basically every day, and I do them all the good old fashioned way - with a gravel vac and bucket. I suck on one end of the tube to start my siphon every single time, as it's the quickest and easiest way to do so. I have yet to get any water in my mouth. Good grief. How hard is it to watch the water travelling up the tube and tip the tube downwards to the bucket once you see the water is higher than the top of your tank? Just suck more gently.

Awwww...but that requires me to pay attention to what I'm doing ... (just kidding!).

I've gotten better at it I agree it's the quickest and easiest way to sart the siphon. I can usually avoid getting a mouthful of water, but there is the rare occasion that I do get a "drink"

You people need to practice your sucking techniques.

Pamela
aka Lizard

 

[smb]

Hasn't done me any harm either. It doesn't bother me a *lot*, but I think my boyfriend would b every hesitant to kiss me if he found out I recently had a mouth full of fishy water

Really? I would have no problem drinking any of my tank water. Maybe I'm just not all there?

I also brush my teeth in streams/rivers when I go camping and think nothing of it, so...

 

[AquaNut]

Hasn't done me any harm either. It doesn't bother me a *lot*, but I think my boyfriend would b every hesitant to kiss me if he found out I recently had a mouth full of fishy water

Really? I would have no problem drinking any of my tank water. Maybe I'm just not all there?

I also brush my teeth in streams/rivers when I go camping and think nothing of it, so...

Ugh. This is something that merits further investigation, methinks. Nah.. just kiddin'... I KNOW I could drink my tank water if I had to.

 

[smb]

Hasn't done me any harm either. It doesn't bother me a *lot*, but I think my boyfriend would b every hesitant to kiss me if he found out I recently had a mouth full of fishy water

Really? I would have no problem drinking any of my tank water. Maybe I'm just not all there?

I also brush my teeth in streams/rivers when I go camping and think nothing of it, so...

Ugh. This is something that merits further investigation, methinks. Nah.. just kiddin'... I KNOW I could drink my tank water if I had to.

You aren't going anywhere so you just hush.

 

[AquaNut]

Lmfao :kira: @ you putting your foot down on brushing your teeth in river water and drinking from your tanks *dies* :kira:

 

[cheirodon]

1) I've had to drink water from puddles where you have to avoid sucking the mosquito larvae in! Doesn't taste good, but beats the alternative (drying up like a prune, and croaking). I have heard though, that toothpaste and soap can do a number on fresh water streams, creating an imbalance that spurs algae growth, among other things. I imagine that must require thousands of campers, maybe even millions...

2) Want to improve your sucking techniques? Try syphoning petrol (gasoline), if you do it wrong you'll taste it for hours to come. Believe me, you'll learn quick.

 

[FishNiX]

i usually fill the tank-end of the gravel vac, hold it up in the air with my thumb on the bucket end until the tube part fills up, then lower the tank-end back into the water holding the open end up, then once its under water, release my thumb over the bucket....works great every time, no water in the mouth and its fast...

cheers!

 

[shortd81]

i usually fill the tank-end of the gravel vac, hold it up in the air with my thumb on the bucket end until the tube part fills up, then lower the tank-end back into the water holding the open end up, then once its under water, release my thumb over the bucket....works great every time, no water in the mouth and its fast...

cheers!

yep,
that's the absolute best way. And it's fast and easy too.

 

[Inchworm]

Sorry I took so long getting back to your post, kev, but here goes.

The important thing to remember is that gravity makes water flow down hill. When it does that, it will pull additional water with it as long as there is no break (air) in the stream.

Hold the big end of the siphon in your right hand with the opening facing up. Put it into the tank and fill it with water. At this stage the opening is up and the hose under it is coming up (out of the water) and over the front of the tank and ending up in a bucket on the floor. Your left hand will be keeping track of this end so that it does not wiggle itself out of the bucket when you move the big end.

Slowly raise the big end until it is out of the water and the water in the hose is starting to flow over the top of the tank and down into the bucket. As this is happening, you will notice that the level of water in the big end is going down. Before it gets so low that it empties all the water into the hose, put it under the water to refill it. (If it all flows into the hose, you will get an air pocket which will cause the process to fail) Again, lift it up and once the water in the hose is over the top of the tank and flowing down hill, put the big end back under water. When the water starts flowing out the bottom of the hose, your siphon is started and it will continue to pull water out of the tank. You can then begin vacuuming your tank.

Once the siphon is started, if you have to interrupt it to empty your bucket, you could, while holding your finger over the opening, lift the little end out of the bucket and put it into the tank. When it is underwater, you will have both ends under water and the hose full of water. Close the lid on it to hold it in place. When you return, lift the little end out of the water while holding your finger over it and put it back in the bucket. The siphoning will continue as before.

This is one of those things that just takes practice. At first it will probably seem like the water flies out of the big end, but as you get used to it this will no longer be a problem. It helps if you don't lift the big end any higher than necessary, because the closer it is to the water, the faster you can get it back under.

Good luck and let me know how it works out for you.

 

[Eelzor]

It looks like several people are not good at the whole sucking siphoning thing. Well, I really don't see what the problem is with it. Like Lithril said (I completely agree with you) just sucking until its about 1/4 out then put it in the bucket. Too easy! I do it all the time and I have never got any water in my mouth, and freshwater ain't so bad is it? I can understand saltwater giving your mouth a bitter dry aftertaste, but just IMO it's not so bad.

 

[kev]

Right I modified my pump start syphone. I took off the tap at the "out" end. snapped of the part that suck the water up and put it back together.

I managed to get my syphone going first time. I put the whole hose in water and when it was mostly full of water i put my finger over the "out" end and lowered it into the bucket. Worked perfectly - a few splutters of air coming out but the fine.

It was a lot more powerful than before sucking up all the dirt and crud. filled my bucket twice as fast. I did half the tank as the water was getting low, I did about 1/3 of the tank. Next week I will do the other half

Thanks for all your help. I forgot how clear my water could be.

 

[rsz]

i just suck on it, and i keep my thumb half covering the end in my mouth - that way, i just block the tube when the water gets closer! i only got a mouthful of water once, and thats cos i was watching a tv program at the same time, and lost my concentration!!

 

[gi4get]

just a note about toothpaste and soap in streams....

you'd be surprised how little it takes to skew the balance of a waterway. you'd be even more surprised at how much it takes to return that waterway back to a healthy state. if you sample the water quality downstream of any popular camping site, i'm sure our presence is felt by its inhabitants.

while we were not testing for the chemicals found in soaps and toothpaste, my environmental studies class did test for the presence and affects of runoff chemicals. to do this, we walked up and down a local stream and noted the number and kinds of mutations and injuries in the fish (catch and release style). we're talking physical, life-impairing mutations and injuries....the kind of thing they joke about on the Simpsons with the three eyed fish. granted, probably few of the people on this board are personally responsible for runoff but, it definitely shows the affect of "us" on our streams and rivers is nothing small. it's understandable if you brush your teeth or wash your hands in a waterway once or twice while your camping. however, just imagine the state of the waterway if only a quarter of the campers follow in your footsteps.

*rant, rant*......sorry y'all had to endure this....

 

[Inchworm]

i just suck on it, and i keep my thumb half covering the end in my mouth - that way, i just block the tube when the water gets closer! i only got a mouthful of water once, and thats cos i was watching a tv program at the same time, and lost my concentration!!

Hi rsz

Congradulations on reaching your 500th post.

Now it's time you learned to start a siphon like a pro. It just takes practice!

 

[smb]

just imagine the state of the waterway if only a quarter of the campers follow in your footsteps.

yea, and just imagine how great this World would look if a quarter of the people took care of the woods and water like I do, cleanup others trash etc and send donations to Ducks Unlimited and other programs and grants like I do.

I do more good than harm. Get to know me before you judge me.