What's a Python ???

[Kim Kipper]

Keep reading mentions of these "Pythons" that you all seem to have. I have 190Litre tank and my wife will confirm that I get water everywhere, every water change.

So, sounds like something I need. Some questions then for all you Python owners:

1) I love browsing aquarium stores. However I don't think I have ever seen a Python for sale. Are they available in the UK ? Perhaps they have a different name ?

"Super hot tea drinking tool" perhaps ?

2) I think I understand how they work. Is there an online instruction manual somewhere ? Would like to read first. Especially since we have odd taps (I think you may call them faucets). Not sure the device would fit easily ?

3) It must be difficult to get the temperature right. Would not want to be freezing or burning my fish. Is this an issue ?

4) What stops me sucking up small or baby fish ?

5) Currently I put declorinator in the water before I put it into the tank. Presumably this is impossible when using the Python. I just add it afterwards or before ?

6) Does the stuff I suck up go all the way back to the sink ?

7) Anything else worth knowing ?

I have bought two different battery powered devices for cleaning by tank this year. Both in excess of £12 ($20 US) and both were rubbish. Hence all the questions.......

Many thanks in advance

 

[kukerdan]

I have no idea where you got anything about a 'super hot tea drinking tool' from...

a python is a self-priming syphon for your tank, with a long hose attached to it, you use it for gravel vacuming your tank, and to remove/add water, the way the suction works, only fine particlues will be removed, ive had ghost shrimp go up the suction tube, and safely fall back down and out of the tube...... thats what its used for, its just a brand of gravel vacume, theres nothing on it that has anything to do with temperature, its a plastic tube, and a hose.....
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19123;category_id=3347;pcid1=;pcid2=

 

[Orca]

I swap out 20 to 25 gals of water every other week, and I can't imagine having to do that without my Python. I love it!

Having lived in the UK several years ago, I think the biggest challenge you'll have with a Python is that most homes I saw have separate taps for the cold and hot water. But with some odd bits of hose and some connectors from your local DIY store, you could probably build yourself a little Y-connector apparatus to get around that problem and/or the odd-tap-size problems too.

As for the temperature question, what works for me is just feeling the tap water temp with my fingers, and then starting the flow to the tank when it feels right. After awhile, you get to know where the taps need to be to achieve the right temp. I try to error on the side of cool rather than hot.

I have accidentally sucked up a baby Molly with my Python, but I was able to shut off the flow and get him back into the tank unharmed. It's only happened once, and if you are careful it shouldn't be an issue. (This particular fish was determined to swim up into the gravel vac!)

I've read that some people like to add the de-chlorinator after they've refilled the tank, and some people add it before. I like to add mine as the water is going into the tank.

Yes, the stuff you suck up goes into your sink and down the drain. In the summer time I hook up my Python to a hose in the front yard so that all the water I drain out ends up in my lawn. I have to attach a 2nd garden hose to the Python so that it will reach all the way to the front yard hose, but other than that, no special attachments are necessary to do that. Then I hook it up to the sink as usual to do the refill portion of the water change.

Python's are expensive, but in my mind, well worth it. I figure that if a water change is easy to do, then you're more likely to do it. And you'll save ton's of money in the long run by having a clean and healthy tank.

Hope that helps.

 

[TomK2]

Check out their website:
http://www.pythonproducts.com/
You will enjoy having one.

 

[mobiusnu]

I swear the part marked 13-B @ http://www.pythonproducts.com/replacem.htm looks just like a part that came with a water bed kit I had a long time ago.

I wonder how hard it would be to make a DIY Python.

EDIT: It looked a lot like this: http://doitbest.com/shop/product.asp?mbrid=4840&dept_id=1701&sku=613266

 

[TomK2]

I swear the part marked 13-B @ http://www.pythonproducts.com/replacem.htm looks just like a part that came with a water bed kit I had a long time ago.

you are correct! it is exactly the same principle and function, although I don't have my old water bed drainer around to compare them. I don't recall the pivoting drain/fill control on my old water bed drainer, so I think it was mostly a drainer, and you took the siphon part off to fill the waterbed? It was a long time ago.

As I recall, the water bed drainer I had worked, but wasn't that good. It was the experience with a so-so water bed drainer that made me avoid the Python for years, figuring that it also would only work so-so. Boy was I wrong, the python works great!

 

[Jchillin]

Only one word of caution since the description of the device by members is dead on!

Make sure you have the outflow properly seated/secured prior to draining. A lot of members (including yours truly) have...err...assumed it was and wound up with some water puddles where there shouldn't be any.

Other than that...easiest thing I've ever done. Makes tank maintenance a pleasure and not so painful.

 

[Meredith]

How much water is wasted down the drain when you use the python? If I understand correctly the water coming out of the faucet is what causes the suction? So you have to leave the water running the whole time you vacuum?

 

[TomK2]

How much water is wasted down the drain when you use the python? If I understand correctly the water coming out of the faucet is what causes the suction? So you have to leave the water running the whole time you vacuum?

yep.

 

[Jchillin]

How much water is wasted down the drain when you use the python? If I understand correctly the water coming out of the faucet is what causes the suction? So you have to leave the water running the whole time you vacuum?

It's not really that much wasted water. This is a quote from Python's webpage:

Due to our powerful 7 to 1 suction ratio, cleaning your tank uses about the same amount of water as flushing your toilet.

That's the beauty of it. HTH

 

[Punkymom]

Actually, once the siphon of water is started, you should be able to shut off the water to the sink. I've done it before and kept the suction going, and Orca said above that he/she (sorry) empties the water into the lawn with it...assuming here that the hose is not hooked up to a faucet...could be wrong here. The only draw back I can see from either side is leaving the water on wastes more water, and turning it off, the water is not going to empty as quickly.

 

[piranha]

I f your looking for the DIY Python instruction with illustrations go to this website;www.cichlid forum.com click on to library,then to DIY.This will give you all you need to know.

 

[TomK2]

I was going to bring up the fact that you can turn the water off after the siphon starts, but if the sink is not that much lower than your tank, the power of the suction might not be strong enough to clean your gravel. It will empty your tank alright,with more time, so unless you are cleaning the gravel this will work for water changes only. If you can lower the faucet end of the python hose after it has been filled with water, then you can get enough suction to clean the gravel.

 

[black udder]

I'll add to the accolades of how much easier it makes water changes.

I will caution however, you really have to add the dechlorinator. I failed to once and killed 5 of my fish. Another time, I was adding it a bit at a time and walked away for a couple minutes and when I was finished I found my 2" upside down cat floating on the surface. Luckily, when I touched him, he swam back down to the bottom and has been fine ever since. When I refill, I use enough dechlorinator to treat the entire tank. You'll use more but I've found it's safer for the fish (for me). I add a small dose every 30 seconds or so and it takes only a few minutes for a partial water change.

As for the temprature, I usually turn on the hot water at the end of the draining out so that when I'm ready to refill, I can turn on warm/cold water and get a good temp right off the bat. Often the fish like to swim in the current when I'm refilling (which makes me nervous).

I haven't sucked anything up yet but debris. You could, but you'd have to try. It won't even pick up an empty small snail's shell. It will take plant leaves and sometimes they will clog up the works, but it's not cumbersome to clean out.

I found a coupon for a LFS for it and it's by far the best investment. What used to take about 30 minutes or more now takes about 15 minutes and that includes putting all the plants back again.

 

[TomK2]

When I refill, I use enough dechlorinator to treat the entire tank.

I always wondered about how much to use, the water change amount or the tank volume?. I didn't think it would matter much. Then last week I noticed the pH declining in my tank (7.8 down to 7.4, maybe even a little lower), and figured out that I was using a 20 gal dose of Bio-safe for a 10 gal water change the last few weeks (three 20% changes a week). Since I stopped using the bio-safe, my pH has gone back up. It says right on the bottle, "do not overdose,".... duh. And then I notice on the bottle that it says it is recommended for water changes of 50% or more, leaving you to beleive that lesser water changes don't need it. It is unusual for a manufacturer to suggest not using the product for smaller, routine stuff, since that kind of usage would increase sales. So now I am confused. Now i just aerate my water to drive off the chlorine, and skip the bio-safe since I don't have chloramines.

 

[Orca]

You can definitely turn the water off after the siphoning has started, but as TomK2 stated, if the sink isn't much lower than your tank, the suction is poor and you can't do a great gravel clean. When I'm siphoning the water out into my lawn, I can turn the water off and still do a good gravel clean because the end of the hose is several feet below my tank.

And Orca is a he.

 

[Jchillin]

I use Aqua-Clear for dechorinization. It's recommended dosage is one capful per 5gal. So a little math and the amount needed during PWC's is easy (how much is in a capful...LOL).

So, a 30gal x 20% PWC = 5gal (I'm such a cheat). I've placed Milestone markers on the left rear of the tank so I would know how much water has been removed.

 

[RoK]

I use Aqua-Clear for dechorinization

Hm, you mean Aquasafe? I thought Aqua-Clear were only filters.

 

[Jchillin]

I use Aqua-Clear for dechorinization

Hm, you mean Aquasafe? I thought Aqua-Clear were only filters.

Oops...actually, it's "Aqua-Safe". One of those freudian slips I guess.