Pump and Hose

[kakes11]

Im going to get a water storage barrel and i was at the store looking at pumps. Im not sure how powerful of a pump to get and what hose to get. I see that an adapter can be put on the pump so a gardern hose can be hooked up to it. I would need to pump the water about 50 feet and thats how long most garden hoses are. Any ideas?

[greyhoundfan]

Magnum 950 is what I have, I use a python instead. I have a screw on and off attchment for it.

As far as using a garden hose is concerned, there has been some debate on its use. There is a chance that the rubber it is made out of could leach chemicals into your water. As a lot of these hoses say "Do not use for drinking". Figure if it says that it ain't good for your fish.

It's just something to look out for as I have not read anything that provided concrete evidence that these hoses are safe or not safe for water changing applications.

[Greg Richardson]

I think you'll be much happier with a garden hose. I have a Goodyear hose that feeds water into my fish room. Bought the most expensive one at HD and glad I did.
No kinks, excellent rubber. Going to now change the hose in the room from the braided hose to the same type of hose. I'm going to try to find a 1" hose.
I'm upgrading my pump also. If you can afford it do it right the first time.
WC's is one of the main factors people burn out in this hobby. So I'm going to do everything I can to make wc's less time consuming.

[poconogal]

I have a Mag 5 pump, with an adapter on it so that I can attach my Python hose. Before I switched to using solely tap water for WCs, I used my Python hooked up to my faucet to clean the tank bottom and siphon water out then attached the Python to the pump in my WC barrel to refill the tank. Instead of spending the money on a Python hose, you can just get the Python fittings (which I believe are standard garden hose fittings) and buy 5/8" hose at your LFS. Much less expensive. In fact, I had to extend my Python hose and used the 5/8" hose from the LFS for a fraction of what it would've cost me had I bought the Python hose.

I used to have to pump the water about 35 feet and then up 5 feet, which is the most important part in determining how powerful a pump you'll need. You need to know what the "head" is (how far up it will pump) for the pump you are considering. You'd probably need something along the lines of a Mag 7 at the minimum. Best thing, IMO, is to contact either Jehmco or www.marinedepot.com to see what they recommend for a pump.

[Alight]

Yes, its the height that you lift the water that is most important for detemining what type of pump you will need.

I use a waterfall pump from home depot that has good flow with a 20 ft lift.

I use garden hoses, too. Many garden hoses are treated with anti bacterial, anti mildew treatments that are probably not good for fish.

Most have a California regulating sticker saying not to use for human water consumption if they do. Others leach CHCs that are not healthy for humans, but probably won't hurt your fish if the hose is rinsed before each use.

I agree with Greg. Make the water changes as easy as possible, and you'll be in this hobby for a long time. Make them hard, and well.... you know the answer.