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I've been reading about it, and I'm still not quite sure how it works.

I know the Python eliminates this bucket business but I set aside replacement water in a big plastic bin overnight before I change the aquarium water with it. So I can drain the aquarium and fill the bin with the Python, but I want to know if there's a way to transfer water from the bin to the aquarium. Or do I have to get a siphon separately?

Thanks!

I don't know about getting the water from a bucket, but when I use my python i connect one end to the kitchen sink. That same end has an incoming and an outgoing mode. If I open up that end (outgoing) and turn the sink on, the pressure it causes sucks the water from the turtle tank into the sink. Then when I want to refill the tank, I close up the one end (incoming) and turn the sink on. The water from the faucet then goes through the python into the turtle tank.

I love mine!!! Best investment I ever made for my turtles and fish aquariums.

How large is your tank?

What I do when I replace the water in my tanks is add tap water and treat the water in the tank with declorinator. It's like $5 a bottle at most petstores.

Right now they are in seperate tanks (one 55 gallon, one 75 gallon, and one 90 gallon), but I am in the process of putting together a stock tank for them that will have about 300 gallons of water in it.

My husband tests the water before I put the turts back in their respective tanks and does his thing (he was an aquatics zookeeper). I also put Reptisafe (I think thats the name) in there.

A python sucks using spigot pressure and refills using the same tap water. I don't believe you can use the python as a regular syphon.

I've never had a problem w/ using tap water & adding dechlorinator. I do put aside some tank water to keep fishes / plants / rocks in while doing the change, and I put that water back in the tank after the dechlorinator has had a chance to work (just a few minutes). I sometimes add a squirt of beneficial bacteria (kickstart) when doing a big water change.

Good luck w/ the upgrade!

I've used my python as a regular syphon. I drain my tank into the back yard using the python, then attach the python to the kitchen faucet to refill the tank.

The reptisafe you add to the water is a dechlorinator, in addition to doing other useful things. So, if you are letting the water sit overnight in the tub to remove the chlorine, you can accomplish the same thing by adding reptisafe to tap water and skip the overnight step. Turtles aren't as sensitive to chlorine, so even if there's some in the water it won't do more than mildly irritate their eyes. Fish, on the other hand, have a big problem with chlorine.

For what it's worth, I've stopped using a dechlorinator. When I do a water change, I do keep my turtles out overnight so their water heaters can warm up their water.

If you want to keep your water out overnight, you need to have a either some sort of pump or you can still use a python. For this method, the python or any airline tube long enough will do the job, however the container needs to be on a level higher than where the tank is. Not really worth the effort with this method. You might just want to get a smaller bucket and fill the tank that way.

We used our Python for the first time and I am not to thrilled with it. My husband said it was the pressure from the faucet that is why it wasn't so great. Next time we are going to try using the outside faucet and see if it is better. We don't let the water sit overnight we do treat with the decholoinization drops. Seems to work. Didn't do it before the fish went in this last time and we lost both coudln't believe it, really made me think. Thankfully they were just minnows i won't be doing that again. Our water is also cloudy but we did do a 70 % water change by mistake. I hope that was it and next weekend when we do it again all looks better.

Are you having problems with draining? I'd don't use the faucet for that... it's quite slow and wasteful. I just have it drain outside, where I can lower the hose to the ground and let gravity do its thing.

Yes it is slow and i do feel it was very wasteful. That is why i thought if the water had to be on we would do it outside so the grass could get water. From reading what you wrote i don't need the water on and it is just like the way i used to drain a pool. Lower the house then the water level and all is done. I think we will do that next time.
Thank you

And it's real easy to get the siphon going. The end with the gravel cleaner (the large cylinder) also has a shut off lever. So just close that lever, submerse that end in the tank water and make sure that the lever is lower than the end of the gravel cleaner, turn it and it'll start flowing. I might need to make a diagram to help explain that better

Wow i feel silly. I've been draining my tank with the python and thinking every time how wasteful it is and how much i'm increasing my water bill, and it never even occured to me to stick the end of the hose out the window and let it siphon out. And just think...in the summer i could be watering my flowers with old tank water! Thanks for that insight Steve! I still love the Python though, i filled my 75 gal tank with a bucket just once and the next day i went out and bought the Python. My back thanked me.

Octpusgirl8 I felt the same way. Of course last night when i mentioned this new way of draining the tank my husband was like of course. I know how to siphon. I kept thinking that why did you let me rattle on about how it would be neat if we could do this outside to water plants. I can't wait till next week. Our next cleaning...