I want to make a water powered venturi to....

[Dennis Peacock]

remove water out of my 55 gallon fish tank and then reverse it to put water IN the tank from the faucet. I know I can by a setup already made, but it can't be $60 to make one.....can it????

Distance from my tank to the kitchen sink is about 30 feet.

Ideas?

[Myk Rian]

Just use a long enough plastic tube. Put one end in the tank, draw water through with mouth suction, and let the water drain out into a sink, floor drain, buckets, what have you. It's called a siphon.
Buy a fitting to connect the tubing to the faucet and fill the tank back up.
Garden hose also works.

[Howard Garner]

Look for a water bed fill and drain kit. (Yah, old stuff) Uses lots of water.

Howard Garner

[Jerome Stanek]

A hose into the shower or tub siphon it.

[Rich Engelhardt]

http://www.harborfreight.com/fluid-siphon-pump-93290.html

Works like a champ & the best part is you don't get a mouth full of fish poo.

[Dan Hintz]

Along with all of the other suggestions... for about $5 I picked up a drill-powered pump from either Home Depot, Harbor Freight, or Sears (can't remember which). Chuck it up, one tube in the tank, one in the sink, press/hold trigger. I suggest not using a battery-powered drill as it will take a few minutes.

Of course, it's likely faster to just use a gallon bucket to get the majority of water out of the tank first...

[Joe Angrisani]

Dennis....

Clearly, most of these guys have never maintained fish tanks. The thought of siphoning four or five 5-gallon buckets' worth (or more likely, six or seven partially-filled buckets) each week will turn the chore into a CHORE. Howard's the only one with a decent suggestion, though I'm not sure a water bed siphon will draw enough suction to clean your gravel properly. I'd think you'd need it to draw something like 2 gallons per minute to lift the gunk out of the gravel with your cleaning head. Dan's drill pump might do that, but now it's a two man job unless you rig up something to hold the drill by the sink.

[Dennis Peacock]

Well, I have an excellent tank, live plants, and excellent lighting to support the entire tank. I have to change about 20 gallons a week in order to maintain a nice healthy tank. I'm just getting tired to carrying 5-gallon buckets through the house full of nasty water and then again with clean treated water. I like how Aqueon and Python designed and run by switching valves to drain and fill the tank. I was just trying to figure out how to make my own setup that would be better made, last longer, and be considerably cheaper.

I hope to one day....move up from a 55 gallon tank to something like a 150. :D

[Ben Hatcher]

There are several water powered pumps on amazon for under 16 bucks. You might be able to make your own venturi pump by necking down some pvc to create two funnel shapes that meet at the narrow end. The faucet goes in one end and a fitting connected to a hose leading to the tank goes on the side of the outlet funnel. I'm sure you can figure out the fill function with some combination of valves.

It has been a long time since I had fish, but I don't recall ever having to replace 40% of the water every week, especially with plants. Are you managing for other compounds besides nitrate that requires so much water changing?

[Peter Elliott]

Save yourself the headache and buy the Aqueon from amazon. I use it and it's a huge time saver, no mess, etc. I am sure you could save maybe $10 to $15 by making one... but then you run the risk of it not working right. The Aqueon has been great. Buy it online, it's more $$ in the petstore, almost by $18.. Amazon had free ship too.

http://www.amazon.com/Aqueon-Aquarium-Water-Changer-Feet/dp/B000YAJKL6

[Dennis Peacock]

It has been a long time since I had fish, but I don't recall ever having to replace 40% of the water every week, especially with plants. Are you managing for other compounds besides nitrate that requires so much water changing?

Therein lies the "rub". Many say that you can do up to 80% water change each week and some say you only need to do 20% per week. I have a full chemistry set that allows me to check nitrates, nitrites, PH, Ammonia, and hardness of the water. I run a powered sponge filter, a powered filter with bio-wheel, and an Eheim Eco canister filter for filtration. Gravel bed with some natural decorations and Flourite added to the bed for plant life support.

This isn't my first fresh water setup. I used to breed fish for a local aquarium shop when we lived in Alabama. I ran multiple tanks then with successful breeding. I sold it all when we had to move for my job. I'm just older now and have limited time to dedicate to lengthy water changes. I try to stick to 30-40% water change each week for the health of the tank.

I'm simply looking for a way to do it better....and cheaper. :)

[Phil Thien]

SMC is source of some of the most fascinating things I ever read.

Never had any idea the water in the aquariums needed to be exchanged.

[Dennis Peacock]

SMC is source of some of the most fascinating things I ever read.

Never had any idea the water in the aquariums needed to be exchanged.

Sure does Phil....to help remove/reduce the bad stuff in the water that the fish put out....Nitrates, Nitrites, and Ammonia are all byproducts of fish and fish food waste. An aquarium that supports live fish and plant...requires one to become a budding chemist. :D

[Ben Hatcher]

http://www.amazon.com/Aqueon-Aquarium-Water-Changer-Feet/dp/B000YAJKL6
Did you notice what they show as the list price? $4,320?

You Save:
$4,295.91 (99%)


How can you pass up a deal like that?

[Dennis Peacock]

Yea....I saw that....

249315

[Joe Angrisani]

....Never had any idea the water in the aquariums needed to be exchanged.

Yep. Fish in an aquarium are basically living in their toilet. Imagine how often you'd want the water changed. :eek:


Did you notice what they show as the list price? $4,320?

You Save:

$4,295.91 (99%)



How can you pass up a deal like that?

Not to mention you save over SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS if you need the 50' hose....

[Peter Elliott]

Funny, I never caught that.

While we are on fish tank topic, I have the standard Aqueon filter that came with my tank with the Aqueon pump/filter thingy..

I buy their standard filter but is there something better? It's a 26 gallon tank with 11 fish in it. I change 1x month the filter and do about 40-50% water change 1x a month. It stays crystal clear for about 3 weeks. I only add in the good bacteria and chlorine stuff at water change. About the 3rd week, I put in a touch of water clarify stuff and it crystal clear for another few weeks. I've had the same fish since start, about 4 months now. Feed 1x a time, 2-3min feeding time.

Wonder if there are good-better-best filters that fit in my Aqueon tank.

We really enjoy it.

[Jon Shank]

My wife has a similar one to the Aqueon. Called the Python, it is actually a venturi setup. You hook it up to your sink or a hose works fine too and it siphons out water from the tank nice and fast and then you reverse a valve to refill from the same sink/hose connection. Pretty slick really and has held up well for well over a year and works like a charm. And she used to work in the fish department of a big pet store and used one just like it for years there.

Jon

[Bruce Page]

Peter, check out the Fluval 106 or 206 for your aquarium. I run two Fulval 406’s in my tank. The Fulval is the best multistage filter that I have used, and I have used most of them over the last 40 years.

[Erik Loza]

Dennis, I hear what you are saying but I would still buy the Python. Not Lee's, but actual Python brand. The reason is the type of tubing they supply and also the actual drain/fill valve. I was in the tropical fish industry for 15+ years and have changed literally millions of gallons of water. Python was the only one which actually held up and every fish wholesaler I knew was the same way. Whatever material they use, the tubing still remains flexible and will never kink and the valve, though it is plastic and seems cheap, is actually very durable.

Honestly, this is one of those things where "no", I have never found anything equal to it. The Python I use today, has been with me for 10+ years and I probably change 100 gallons a week out of our current tank with it...

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/erikloza/300%20gallon%20build/DecemberMbu.jpg

Hope this helps,

Erik Loza
Minimax USA