I remove water and vac by Python, pump in aged water from reservoirs, and then refill the reservoirs by Python as well. But I run multiple tanks, so need some organization to avoid stupid mistakes while partialing a series of tanks.
I bail the smaller tanks out with a quart cottage cheese or yogurt container into a bucket for most water changes, vaccuming every 2 weeks with a small gravel vac. (4 2.5 gallon tanks & a 10 this way).
A siphon knock off of a brand name, Basically a hose with a larger plastic attachment on one end. I siphon into an old plastic bucket and run a bucket brigade to the kitchen.