# Python frustration



## KMoss (May 7, 2011)

I hope I'm posting in the right place.... Here goes.... I just upgraded a week + ago from a 20 long to a 55 gallon (yay!!). I had a very easy water change routine for my 20 gallon with a siphon & bucket I've had forever. Now that I have a 55, the bucket routine was just too difficult....lifting much higher & so many trips! 

So, I ordered a 50 ft python siphon kit with the faucet adaptor. I just tried to use it for the first time without success. I could get water to flow TO the tank, but when the "drain" plug was pulled out, there wasn't enough suction to pull the water OUT of the tank. I did everything to encourage the siphon action except suck on it! Lol! Maybe the water pressure on the faucet is too low?

Has anyone else had difficulty with the python? Any suggestions? Thanks!


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## CAM (Jan 27, 2013)

Has to be your water pressure. If you have the water turned up as high as it will go.... pressure wise, and you can't even get a weak suction, you have some seriously terrible water pressure.

You can use it in drain mode without using a faucet. Python makes a primer bulb.... cheap.... you can use to manually prime the hose to drain. Drain it into a tub or out your window. Plants and grass love tank water.


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## zwanged (Nov 4, 2012)

If it helps, here's what I do on my 75gal:

Do slow drain of some tank water using python from sink. I don't have much height difference so suction is crappy. I don't even bother trying to vacuum with it as the suction is so poor. I just use the sink to start the siphon.

Simultaneously I get a bucket and a siphon to vacuum substrate. I have a squeeze bulb to start the siphon, works like a charm. I might do 2-3 buckets by hand. Use this water for household plants etc.

Takes me about 30min to do a 35% water change.

-Zeke


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## lonedove55 (Jan 25, 2012)

Hi KMoss. I used to have the same problem you are having, but with an Aqueon waterchanger. I never could get much "suction" going with mine either when hooked to a faucet (and I have great pressure), so now I just run the faucet end out a door onto either my porch or the deck with the valve flipped open to drain out the end that would have been draining into a sink. To get it started, I just emerse the entire tube part under water and lift the open end up until the large tube is only about half full, then plunge it back into the tank again & again until the water starts going into the tubing (you might have to do this a couple of times to get the water flowing). It will syphon better if you do not allow any air to enter the tubing when doing this. As long as the draining end is lower than your tank, you will see a BIG improvement in the suction. If you don't have an outside door or window to drain to, a toilet or tub would work just as well. Another plus doing it this way is that you aren't wasting all that water coming out of your faucet! 

After I've suctioned the gravel and removed the amount of water I wanted to, I just turn the valve to off on the large suction tube part, grab the "faucet" end and hook it up to my sink. After getting the water temperature where I want it, I turn the valve on the faucet part so fresh water will flow into the tubing.

Oh, and if you do drain into a tub or a sink, make sure the drain is open! I nearly flooded my laundry room one day as the strainer in the sink drain was down and I didn't notice it until the utility sink nearly overflowed!


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

You have to twist close the end of the outlet on the hose, to reverse the water flow. so that instead of it being removed, you twist it closed and turn on the faucet, bingo water flow.
Same with filling, hook the outlet end to a hose, turn the hose on full blast and stick the long vacuum hose into the water, it will start the siphon. Once going you can turn off the hose or faucet if you have it hoked there. So that water siphons you have to have the outlet end twist and pull down to open.


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## KMoss (May 7, 2011)

Well, here's an update... I ran the python hose to the front yard and got the siphon going by sucking on it. Then re-attached it to my sink to refill the tank. This worked just fine, but I could have done the same thing with a high quality hose and saved a few bucks... But I'm happy now I can get my water changed quickly! Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!

We think our water pressure is a little too low......


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## CAM (Jan 27, 2013)

Good pressure from a faucet creates better suction for vacuuming but draining without a faucet drains satisfactorily. 

To avoid the risk of getting nasty tank water in your mouth, here is a cheap and effective tool:

Python Squeeze Siphon Starter Aquarium Adapter:Amazonet Supplies


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## Avraptorhal (Jan 24, 2013)

At the risk of seeming like a know it all, I'd like to describe the operation of python or equivalent water changer. The faucet end is a venturi. This means that the reduction of the diameter in it causes the water pressure against the walls of the device to be reduced. It functions very similar to the wing of an airplane causing the lift which allows the plane to go up or remain in the air. When the pressure at the wall is reduced it creates what we call suction. Therefore the suction is dependent on the speed and volume of the water flowing thru the faucet adapter. So it isn't the pressure that affects the suction, it is the diameter of the supply lines which controls the amount of flow.

One of the things I noticed when I tried to use the Python the first time is that the length of the hose connecting the large diameter vacuum cylinder is important. If it is too long, it will go from the height of the tank edge down towards the floor an then back up to the sink/faucet which will reduce the suction by having to lift the water up from the floor to the sink. So, it is important to keep that hose as horizontal as possible, which means to keep it as short as possible.

All of the above is fluid dynamics law, not opinion. I spent almost fifty years as an engineer as well as attending a technical university prior to practicing with several companies with problems similar to this.

Any comments are most welcome and I will attempt to answer any questions arising from this post. I didn't mean to confuse so I hope I haven't.


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