Battery operated gravel vac???

[TrickyD119]

Those are all pretty much the exact same questions I asked on here a few weeks ago.

the Python sounds good, but how do you add conditioner to the water, do you just put it in after your finished

I was told to add the conditioner back in as you are refilling it. I basically have the python in one hand and a medicine dropper with Prime in it in the other hand slowly dripping it in as I refill.

will this stress the fish or would they be ok swiming in the water for a short period of time?

I was told that they will be ok for short periods of time this way and all of those that claimed to do it this way say they have never lost a fish in the process. Some did mention though that if your local water supply uses chloramines they you should use the python to fill a bucket and treat first instead.

also how do you keep the temperature the same doin it this way.
is the flow so low that it doesnt change the water temp of the whole tank?

It is a little bit of that and a little bit of just being careful. I personally just hold my hand under the water until it feels "about right" (error on the side of cool) and since I'm only doing 30% weekly changes I've never had more than a 2 degree change on any of my tanks. You could take the guesswork out though by simply holding a thermometer under the tap.

 

[lousybreed]

just add the water conditioner before you refill. Then as you add the water you will neutralize all the bad chemicals

 

[jonathan03]

the python syphon seems to have more power than any I tired. It also allows filling very fast. It only tanks just a few minutes even for a 55 gallon tank. I remember it taking nearly an hour to fill the tank completely by hand. Mainly becuase the faucet is far away and I didn't have a good bucket.

I wouldn't want to be replacing batteries all the time in the battery syphon.

As for the conditioner, I don't use it anymore. I usually change 30% of the water or less. The tank has been running for years so it has lots of bateria. I'm sure its not the best, but I haven't had problems yet. Plus my fish are zebra danios and they are hardier than others. You might be more careful if you have discus or something that needs a specific type of water.