Equipment Review and Discussion :: Question About Submersible Pumps

[BROOKLYN]

I ran into a problem recently about how I was going to do water changes in my new apartment. I, for one, no longer wanted to use the traditional way of using a gravel vac and pour bucket after bucket full of water to the nearest drain. I decided to head over to my nearest Petco to buy something similar to the Python No Spill syphon but made by Lee because they didn't have any Python No Spills. For the 25ft model (and the only one I saw), it was about $46 w/ tax which was WAY OVERPRICED but I had no choice. When I came back to the apartment, I realize it didn't fit my facet. So I'm planning to travel back there tomorrow and just return the damn thing. However, I still must look for a new alternative. Then I realize about these submersible pumps I saw in a catalog. I'm wondering if anyone use this for their glass aquariums? I know these pumps are mostly used for ponds although it's advertised for aquariums as well. Will this work effectively to pump water in and out of tanks? I own a 55G and a 29G tank. Any comments/ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[cam722]

Before you take your python back.. are you sure it doesn't fit your faucet? A lot of faucets have an aerator thingie (so technical aren't I) on the end that can be removed. Once that's removed, the python would screw into the faucet. I part I'm talking about also has a little filtering screen, if that all makes sense

[marisa]

I think you can also buy adapters for the python if that's the problem. Take it to a place like Home Depot and see what they say.

[BROOKLYN]

After seeing Carol's post, I realize that she was right. The aerator was the reason why the syphon didn't fit. I tried it in my house and it worked. However, the one (aerator) @ my new apartment doesn't seem like it wants to come off. I'll have to find another way to take it off or I'm stuck using the faucet in my bathroom sink. That's not my best option since I'll have to sanitize the whole sink every time I do a water change. I decided I'm still going to return it (Lee no spill syphon) back to Petco. The price was just too expensive for me to keep it. I rather order online @ BigAls for only $30 and wait a few days until it arrives (saving $15). It's not like I need it now anymore since I did all that labor of pouring water in and out of the tank myself. However, I am still interested in getting a submersible pump for my dad with his 70G tank. So if anyone has any information about it, let me know. Thanks.

[ltucker]

I know that this is way after the post was orignial posted. But I have lived in apts for 6 years with my turtle ziggi. I have bought an adapter that goes on to my faucet to connect a water hose so that i can drain and fill up the tank easily. After he was out of the 10g I could not easliy just dump out the water. So I got the adapter from homedepot/lowes. I hook up the hose to my sink. Fill the hose up with water and then once you put the hose in the tank and have the other end at a lower height and the water just drains right out. I put the hose out the window or door, depending on which ever is closer. This is much easier than trying to get the water to start draining and emptying out buckets of water.