Why is a python SO good?

[Tiggs]

just wondered why so many people on here love their pythons?

this is my set up....

drain water down hall from living room, out front door (via letter box if too cold for door to be open) into front lawn.....could go to downstairs loo but the roses like the water out the front!

to fill i fill a bath tub of water, leave it to dechloriante......then use a small width tube out the bath, over the landing down the stairs, into the tank......this fills VERY slow so no change in temp is noticed.

both these tasks are done without me needing to be there as i set the pipe for draining at 20% drop in water level and fill the bath with 20% of my tank volume.

a python seems to dump tap water staight in the tank? is that not an issue with temp or chlorine? and what about hot water people say they use? isnt that bad from a hot water tank? and i assume you have to watch the tank level as it would overfolw if you forgot it?


as for gravel i dont mix tank drain and gravel clean......i have a mains powered gravel pump with a "hang on the tank" filter tub that takes the water from the gravel cleaner tube and filters it staright back into the tank.......best thing i bought and i tried all sorts of gravel cleaners.

T

 

[Mr Miagi]

I spose a python eliminates the use of buckets. I dont use one, but could see how it could make life a little easier.

As for dechlor, i think you just add it to the tank before you add water.

Temp fluctuations can be harmful for your fish over extensive periods if they occur on a large scale. But small gradual changes should benefit the fish.

 

[Bloo]

This recent thread & poll should provide you with some instant answers

 

[Tiggs]

it was that thread that promt my post.......couldnt quite so what was so cool about a hose! and wondered why no one was bothered about putting hot water tank metals in the system?

 

[Bloo]

Mmm, well I've been using water from hot water pipes for 20 years and it seems to be ok

I don't have a lawn - I live in a flat on the first floor.

My bathroom is on the same level as the fish tanks (the tanks are in fact higher), so can't let the water "run down" from the bath. I would also not put water (that's meant to go into the tanks) in a bath that's regularly cleaned with household chemicals - unless you don't clean your bath or use any shower gels or soap

Letting the chlorine dissipate from the water is one thing - but using water dechlor conditioner is another - as that removes not only the chlorine, but also breaks down chloramines and renders heavy metals harmless.

Quite personally I wouldn't do it the way you are

 

[Ferris]

The only concern i'd have with your method Tiggs is the number of chemicals present in the bathroom. Some of the cleaners etc used on your bath could end up in the water going to your tank and the majority of these elements would be toxic to fish.

It seems to be working fine for you but that possibility would put me off.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

No idea. It's not something I understand. I syphon in to a bucket and empty the bucket. This allows me to suck up crap at the same time.

 

[Tiggs]

good points on the shampo issues!

so whats the score with hot wate tank water? good or bad?

 

[Ferris]

Better i would say, can't see any problems other than the temperature of course.

 

[@ombomb]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but can anyone tell me a good place to buy a Python in the UK?

It would make life a lot easier.

 

[Bloo]

Python by Aquatics-online

Python by Animal-House.co.uk

 

[freddyk]

The problem with hot water is metals that can build up from sitting in the hot water tank. Conditioners neutralize these.

Temperature is very easy to estimate using the old finger test, and even if you're off it won't cause a problem. If you do a 25% water change, replacing 78 deg. water with poorly judged 70 deg water, the resulting water of the tank would be 2 deg lower - a number any fish can handle easily.

 

[rdd1952]

The biggest advantage of a python on a large tank is the time and effort saved. I still do my 29 gallon tank the old fashioned way unless I happen to be doing the 75 gallon the same day. For the 29 gallon, I'm generally only changing 5 gallon at a time so I syphon it out while doing a gravel vac. I swish the filters in the old tank water to clean them and then use a 5 gallon bucket to refill it. I have some 2.5 qt buckets I use for the WCs on my 2.5 gallon tanks and they work great for pouring the water back into the 29 gallon. It only takes about 3 or 4 minutes to run the water and pour it in. I can do a manual 5 gallon change in about 10 or 15 minutes.

On the 75 gallon, I still manually syphon/vacuum the water out, usually 15 gallon. I then use the python to refill the tank. Can do a WC on that tank in about 15 minutes too.

Pythons are great time savers and much less messy than water in buckets. I do think it is a waste to use the drain feature of python though. You have to have the water running at full force to make the syphon work. That's a lot of water wasted regardless of whether you have well water or city water.

 

[Synirr]

Why are Pythons so good? Simple. It takes me less than 30 minutes to gravel vac and refill two 5 gallons, four 10 gallons, a 29 gallon, and an 80 gallon
I dread even imagining what that job would be like using buckets, especially since I usually do water changes of 20% or more.

 

[mlee0332]

I would love to have one but they are SOOO expensive!!!

Also, since we're on the subject, can they hook right up to a standard faucet (bathroom) or something like what a water hose hooks to?