Water Changes: A PITA.

[logansmomma1228]

So I am sitting here trying to siphon the water out of my 25 and I don't have a turkey baster or anything. I keep getting nasty fish water in my mouth and it's not coming out of the hose anymore! Any other ways to do it? I can't afford one that does it itself.

 

[DragonFish71]

Crimp the hose with your hand, like you would a garden hose, sink the siphon end into the water, tip it up so the water runs into the hose (stopped by the crimp) dip again, tip again, until you have the air out, then let go of the crimp

 

[newfound77951]

Take the hose that you are using, and fill it up completely with water from the tap (you can also submerge it in a bucket if that works better). Put your thumbs over both ends of the hose to keep all the water in while you transfer one end into the fishtank (below the waterline) and the other into a bucket. Make sure the bucket is lower than the tank (the lower the better). Take both thumbs off and gravity will work its magic.

Siphoning by mouth without drinking the tank water is an acquired skill. I do it on my 10g all the time but it does take practice.

 

[Tivaala]

your braver than me. i cant get the dam siphon to work and theres no way im sticking it in my mouth! petrol is one thing but fishy water? crystal as it looks no way! i gave up and use a jug into a bucket. takes ages so i hope you get the hang of siphoning!

 

[mommytron]

this video helped me do my first PWC. (a little cornball but easy to follow)

YouTube - Water Siphon Demonstration
there are a bunch more, too.

i'm not sure what kind of hose or siphon you're using, but this one is what i have and it works great.
Lee's Self-Start Stretch Ultra Gravel Vac at PETCO
cheap, too

 

[mgamer20o0]

or just get a python lol no more sucking lol

 

[mfdrookie516]

or just get a python lol no more sucking lol

and no more buckets!!!

 

[Crepe]

Or you can do what I do and buy a cheap 20 dollar powerhead and hook the outlet to your water hose.

 

[dkpate]

Well, that video made me laugh! LOLOLOL! If you suck up that much gravel and move that fast, you are going to stress your fish and have to redo your gravel every time...
I leave my hose empty, and put the end in the bucket. Then I lay the cylinder horizontal like she does until it fills with water, then put it vertical and just kind of pump it up and down (as far down in the water as you can) a couple times until the water starts flowing.
You should hear a little ball moving where the hose meets the cylinder, if you don't you might have a piece of something stuck in there, and you need to get that out by pulling the hose off or it won't work right.
I only suck up a little of my substrate at a time by pushing the cylinder all the way to the bottom of the tank and lifting it up until the substrate falls out again.

 

[mommytron]

i know, it's kind of silly, but after watching it i got the siphon started in like a minute. i didn't pay so much attention to it after she got the water going. i just had never even seen one before so i thought that was helpful.

 

[dkpate]

I was laughing because of her poor fish! Did you see them swimming around? Poor little guys lol.

 

[mommytron]

LOL i just watched through it again... she's pretty violent

 

[logansmomma1228]

I tried like she did in the video and had no luck so far, guess I will just have to practice.

 

[An t-iasg]

I also feel that the person in the video was moving the vac too fast. She was kicking up a lot of detritus. I wouldn't be surprised if she caused an ammonia spike.

It's also, IMO, much easier to do than the video presents. I would definitely recommend a bucket clip to attach the hose to the bucket. You don't want the other end of the hose to start spraying water all over the room if it gets loose. I don't fill my hose up with water to begin. I just clip the hose in the bucket and put the siphon in the tank. Submerge the siphon tube completely under water and then slowly lift it out and up, so that the open end is pointing straight up at the ceiling. The water will start to go down the siphon and into the hose - let the water start to move down the siphon. As the water is going down, submerge the siphon again and the water will continue to flow down the siphon, down the hose, and into the bucket. Now you've got the suction started and you can begin cleaning.

The key is to keep the water moving down the siphon tube, and then submerge it quickly. If you don't lower the siphon underwater fast enough, the flow will stop, but just restart it again. It does take a little bit of practice.

 

[mommytron]

I like that explanation, An t-iasg, seems very simple. Yeah, the main thing is to get the tube free of any air bubbles. the easiest way for me is to start like in the vid with my thumb over the end in the bucket. I fill up the cylinder, hold it up, then remove my thumb and put it back when almost all the water is gone from the cylinder, making sure no air is in the tube. then I put the cylinder back in horizontally to fill it until there are no bubbles, then point it towards the bottom of the tank. then when I pull my thumb off the end in the bucket, it will just start flowing out. I then shove the tube into the bottom of the bucket or hold it for the 5 minutes or so (depending on the amount of the PWC). hope you can figure it out! at least you don't have fishies who depend on it yet

 

[SnailPowered]

I made my gravel vac from pieces at Home Depot...in the end a clear one from the pet store was about the same price but I had a lot more hose. I have done a fair amount of siphoning as I grew up riding dirt bikes and stealing gas from my dad's truck was a good way to keep riding. I think that filling the hose completely with your thumb over one end (both ends if you can't get the water to stay with only one end) and then insert the gravel vac in the tank and the other end in the bucket then let go with your thumb. If the water isn't getting a continual flow the most likely cause is that your bucket is too high in my experience. My last tank stand was far too short and I got best results by having a hose long enough to stretch to my bath tub lol.

 

[Tivaala]

well im glad you asked this question logansmomma, and i think i'll join you in giving this siphoning thing another go. the b/f is getting a bit miffed at always having to do the vacumming for me.

 

[corrado33]

If you want to start the siphon by sucking, I put one end in water, and then I make a U with the rest of the hose. The other end goes in my mouth. I suck until I see water in the bottom of the U, then I put the end of the tube in the bucket REALLY quickly. The trick is that you can't suck gently. You really have to get the water moving before you stop.

P.S. This post sounds bad, but I can't put it any other way.

 

[Tivaala]

well i finally managed it (like the video but with less aggression) so im glad i read this post. i did get a little too excited tho and didnt notice the bucket was full in time....

 

[SnailPowered]

That was definitely a huge perk of using my tub as a bucket lol