High Power Water Removal

[NickK]

I bought a 1/6 HP submersible pump to get the water back INTO the tanks, and I LOVE IT.

However, my Python is connected to the sink and takes forever to REMOVE the water from the tanks. Can you please recommend something faster and more efficient that can handle feces and uneaten food? If so, let me know where to buy it. Any links?

Thanks,
Nick

[stilllearnin]

I use an aquaclear 5000 power head - 900g.p.h.
I have a peice of pool hose on each end
One end of each length of pool hose is just bare and slides right on the powerhead.
The other end of each hose has fittings.
The intake side is hooked up to my gravel vac,the output side is hooked to my hose that I stick in my drain.

It cut my draining time to les then 20% of what it was.

The aquaclear 5000 has no problem sucking anything from a tank so just watch gravel (if you use it),it passes through but I'm sure alot will eventually damage the impeller and/or the drain and keep the fish away or they're gone :o

[ronrca]

Siphoning can take a while sometimes even if your using a python method. You can use an inline pump like ready mentioned to lessen the time to empty tanks. Inline pumps actually sit outside the tank and have a pipe in the tank, another pipe to the drain. ;)

[Rick_May]

Few Ideas without going for the pump method (which would work great). First try using it as a siphon instead of using the water pressure form the faucet to pump the water. You can use it to start the siphon but then just disconnect the hose where it goes into the ‘tee’ and stick the hose in you r drain so it doesn’t come out and flood your room if that isn't fast enough try lower where your python is draining, try putting it in a tub drain or out the window the greater drop will move more water. My other idea is to get a bigger diameter hose like a 1".

[ronrca]

It may work but it doenst seem to work for me. I find that the back pressure from the faucet has better suction than just siphoning however Im also using a python 75' pipe. I tried increasing the height difference between the tank and drain but didnt help. I quite sure that if I were to shorten the lenght of the pipe, I could get a better better flow.

Basicly, it doesnt really matter if your siphoning or using a pump, the lenght of the pipe will determine the rate of flow. So, if you are not happy with a flow rate, if possible, use a shorter pipe.

The best is still using a pump for quick draining though.

[troyclark]

I use a piece of 1 1/4 clear vinyl hose and have it attached to a 2' piece of 1" PVC. Put the PVC end in the tank for better control and put the hose in a bucket. I start the siphon and this size of hose really speeds up the water removal. I can drain a 29 for water changes in about 1 1/2 minutes. (tanks are 5 feet off the floor though)

HTH

[White Worm]

I go from tank, 5-6 Ft right out window into front yard. Somewhat short tube but tank is chest high and drain height is about knee height. That drop in the short distance creates a very nice suction which will suck up anything and does it pretty quickly. If you go from tank to sink, there is usually not enough height difference to keep a good syphon even with continued water creating a venturi at the faucet. That wastes alot of water and takes forever. I manually start the syphon and then drop it out the window. The tank empties almost too fast for me to fill and replace a 5g bucket of primed water. Thats a pretty good rate.

[Cosmo]

Mikscus.. actually, the longer you make the tube, the more suction you'll get. My syphon hooks to a 3/4 pvc drain that drops from the second floor to the basement sewer and once the pipe fills up the weight of the water produces a much stronger flow. I can lift the vacuum tube out of the water and put it back in completely empty and the pull of the water in the pipe starts it right back up again

Dropping it out of the window is the next best thing

Jim

[tony1313]

I clean the bottom up with a 1.24 hose and remove water with a 2.5 pvc set up. It makes short work out of it. I'll try to post pics later.

Tony