does anyone have a way to refill the tank with out simply pouring the water into it cause i do this and the substrate goes everywere and its just a pain and the way i have it set up i cant get the bucket higher then the tank to syphion it out and i think its to far from the faucet to connect it?? so is there any other things i could try?? thanks
Back to the original question, before I got my Python I used to put a dinner plate on the bottom of the tank and pour the water on it. It kept my gravel/plants/whatever from being disturbed much. Python's better though. Once you get one you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.
you can buy the hose from a hardware store for about 30 cents a food , buy a waterbead faucet connecter , and the gravel vac and python hose connectors at the lfs(probably get these first) and have a 50' python for 20bucks
I do mine a similar way, into buckets. I've gotten so good at it that I don't even spill any water. Put a clean ceramic plate on the bottom gravel and pour the water onto the plate. It will disburse without disturbing the gravel. Then take it out when you're done.
When I used a bucket (before the python, lol) I had one with a little 'pouring spout' type shape. When I poured water into the tank, I poured the water from the spout onto my hand to diffuse the water flow. I used my left hand to tip the bucket, with the bucket balanced on the edge of the tank. It worked just fine, and is pretty much the same idea as using a plate.
thats the thing i only have a 10g and i syphon the water out in to on bucket and just fill up another bucket with water and let it sit before i syphon the tank so i was just trying to see
Just get a big tumbler glass or plastic cup and dip it out of the bucket and pour it into the tank. With a small tank like that it shouldn't be to much trouble. I myself have a 220 gallon tank and I use a water hose connected to the outside hydrant. I just take a dinner plate and use it to disperse the water until it gets deep enougn not to disturb the bottom.
Use a strainer, cheap and it works if you don't want to buy a python, thats what i used to do, might take a while tho if your tank is big, i only used this for my 6.6g
You syphon water out, why not syphon the water back into the tank. It is slower but doesn't disturb anything in the tank. I do this with my small tanks to stop the tsunami effect.
