Two way pumps

[markwill]

I was hoping this was a pretty common thing for us fishkeepers but it doesn't seem like it after a brief search...

Does anyone know of a two-way pump? When I drain my tank it would be good to do so to my sink and when I fill back up I'd need to do so from my aged water tank (which is right next to the sink). But the pump I have is one way (so I use it to fill from my aged water tank).

It would be good to drain using a pump. I currently use a fixture on my tap that came with my Python-like hose (different brand but essentially the same). It a) requires me to blast water from the tap to create enough suction and b) doesn't have a perfect fitting to the tap and tends to leak. A pump would resolve this at a stroke...

Any thoughts?

Mark

[ppv1951]

you might try a pond supply. never heard of a 2-way pump.

pat.

[Green Country Discus]

You will need to build a mini manifold. I will attach a crude drawing. Hope you can see it. This can be expanded by adding ins and outs as required and isolating each with ball valves. 1/2" PVC will probably suit your needs. All parts can be found at your local Lowes etc.. Hope this helps.
:D

[markwill]

You will need to build a mini manifold. I will attach a crude drawing. Hope you can see it. This can be expanded by adding ins and outs as required and isolating each with ball valves. 1/2" PVC will probably suit your needs. All parts can be found at your local Lowes etc.. Hope this helps.
:D
Thanks for the response. However, this is a tad more complex than I'd like. At the most basic level, I am looking for something to both drain and fill. I'd LIKE a single pump to do this but, absent that, perhaps I just need a "draining pump", in addition to the "filling pump" I already have.

Anyone know what a "draining" (sucking) pump is called? If it was small enough I could just attach the hose to that to drain and the move the hose to my existing pump to fill. I'm basically just trying to replace the suction-based gadget I have, which is both messy (leaks a bit) and very wasteful of water (because I have to have the tap on full blast for 15 mins or so, which seems wastful).

Mark

[Carol_Roberts]

Any reason you don't just put the drain hose in the bathtub or out the back door? Gravity will do the work for you - thats all I do.

[ed8t]

Never heard of a 2 way pump either...but I would think a utility pump that you can pick-up @ Home Depot would do the job.

I use a Mag Drive 7 to empty and fill my tanks. Just have to go to the hardware section and buy adapters for it so you can attach hose fittings. You can probably use your current python-like device to both empty and drain with the right adapter.

[markwill]

Any reason you don't just put the drain hose in the bathtub or out the back door? Gravity will do the work for you - thats all I do.
Two reasons: time (a pump will do it much quicker) and getting it started. I'm about 75' from one end to the other and pretty much on the same level. It CAN be done but it requires a lot of suction to get it under way. A pump would make this so much easier (press a button :-)).

Mark

[Cosmo]

Mark,

Two pumps..

Jim

[markwill]

Mark,

Two pumps..

Jim
So, I only know one type of pump - the type that sits submerged in the water you are pumping from. I don't want to be dropping a pump in my fish tank. Excuse my ignorance but are there pumps that "suck" from a distant source? If so, what are they called?

Thanks.

Mark

[Cosmo]

Mark,

There are also inline pumps (see drawing above) that do not need to be submerged.

I used to use a Quiet One 1200 to drain my tank. No, it won't suck the water from a distance but there are a few options, depending on your setup. You can hook it up to a plain syphon tube (or bulkhead if you have one). Once you get the syphon started, you use a ball valve (Two Little Fishies makes some real nice plastic ones that work great) between the tank and the pump to start and stop the water flow to the pump. Sit it under or behind the tank and use a quick disconnect (like the eheim double tap connectors) to hook a hose to it to run to the drain whenever you're going to drain the tank, open the valve, turn on the pump.

If you have a cannister or hot magnum filter (cannister preferably) you can hook the drain hose to the output line of the filter and use that to pump the water out too (the quick disconnects again come in handy for swapping output line between tank and drain line).

Heck, even a powerhead will work to push the water out of the tank so long as you put an extension on the bottom to reach an acceptable depth, or, plop it in the tank and plop it out when you're done. Remember, the drain pump doesn't need to be as strong as the fill pump cause it's got gravity on it's side.

Or, you could get an inline sump pump from Home Depot that WILL suck the water out if you have it under/behind your tank and then push it to the drain, but they are REAL LOUD.

If you want to use one pump, use the quick disconnects (the magnum ones are cheaper but not as easy to work with) to swap your pump from draining to filling.

There's all sorts of solutions, except... a two way pump...

Jim

PS. Check out Jehmco.com, they make and sell something called the "super syphon" that has a powerhead attached to it that might work for you.