Pump to get water out of tank

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dhavalsp

Members
I do daily WC on my aquarium and the most time consuming part is siphoning the water out using 25 feet Python solely based on difference in height.

I wanted to know if I can just put the regular submerged pump on the outlet of the siphon ( which is not submerged in water) and power pump it? Don't want to put the pump in aquarium as it will just suck all the sand out.

Will this work or I will burn out the machine... Also is there an alternative way of doing this...?

Thanks for your help!

Dhaval
 
Becca

Becca

Members
You'll burn it out. You need an inline pump for something like that.

Sump pumps take in water from the base, not a hose running through them. It would be funny if you tried, but also a disaster.
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
I wouldn't be too worried about putting a submersible pump in the tank. Just don't stir up the sand before putting it in and be careful not to place the inlet to the tank directly on the bottom of the tank. Get a normal submersible pump versus a sump pump. I change water on all my tanks like this except the 10 gallon tanks with fry.

I had to replace one of my water change pumps recently and picked up a Deep Blue Triton pump from Ken's Fish. Works great so far. The only downside is that it came with a 1" ID outlet, so I had to get some tubing to use instead of a garden hose for the waste water.
 
YSS

YSS

Members
I really need to get one. Tired of using gravity to drain my big tanks. Takes forever.
 
mchambers

mchambers

Former CCA member
I concur

jonclark96 said:
I wouldn't be too worried about putting a submersible pump in the tank. Just don't stir up the sand before putting it in and be careful not to place the inlet to the tank directly on the bottom of the tank. Get a normal submersible pump versus a sump pump. I change water on all my tanks like this except the 10 gallon tanks with fry.

I had to replace one of my water change pumps recently and picked up a Deep Blue Triton pump from Ken's Fish. Works great so far. The only downside is that it came with a 1" ID outlet, so I had to get some tubing to use instead of a garden hose for the waste water.
Click to expand...

I use submersible pumps in the tank. I don't lose any sand.
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
It really is the way to go when changing water. You'll kick yourself for not getting on sooner once you finally make the switch. It also beats the heck out of using the siphon feature on a python. You don't waste any water at all.

I actually pump my tank out to my bushes and flower gardens. The plants love the nitrates and I don't put any unnecessary water into my septic system.
 
JLW

JLW

CCA Members
Actually... you can. However, you have to prime it first. It won't be able to start pulling water from the tank all on its own. But, if you have something like this:

[Tank]--Tube--[Pump]--Tube-----> (Bushes), and you either give the end of the tube at the bushes a quick huff to start the syphon, wait a moment, and plug in it, OR hook the end of the tube up at the bushes to a faucet, run water into the tank for a moment (so the tube is full of water, basically), and start the syphon, it'll work just fine. You won't burn it out.

You'll burn it out if you're not running water through it, but ... I hook Mag pumps up inline like this all the time. They don't need to be submerged, they just need to have water in them first.

Option 2, you can submerge the pump to start it, plug it in, and immediately remove it.
 
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dhavalsp

Members
Yeah, I kinda knew that it's not going to work outside of water.

The problem with using submersible pump is how do get the all the poop and uneaten food out... Not sure if it will be as easy as maneuvering siphon vacuum head..I will look into inline filters..

Ken fish is running some discounts on the pump that Jon mentioned above..
 
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Aqua410

Members
Lol that thing will move some water quick Lucas don't suck up any little fish! I used to use pumps similar to that to drain pools when I worked for a pool company years ago. We would hook it up in the morning and run it to the waste line and by lunch or the end of the day depending on how big it was, the pool would be empty and ready to scrub.
 
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sushiballs777

Members
i use a sunsun 420gph pump from amazon prime(cost about 14 bucks) and just connect the hose to the python setup in sink and it sucks everything up perfectly fine and quickly
 
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toddnbecka

Members
I use an Aquaclear 110 powerhead to pump water from a 55 gallon trash can on wheels into my tanks. It would work just as well the other way around, though I'd put a quickfilter on the intake for in-tank use.
 
Forester

Forester

Members
dhavalsp said:
lucas, that would drain a 75G in 3 mins...and would probably suck a big fish too....
Click to expand...

That's the goal. I'm going to put in a PVC pipe (with holes in it) over the intake of the hose to prevent any fish from being sucked in.

My goal is to be able to do a 90% WC on the system in 15 min. So, before school.
 
JLW

JLW

CCA Members
I think I'm in love with that pump..... MORE POWER!

Seriously, though, one thing to consider... that thing pulls 8 amps. That's enough to potentially pop a 10-amp breaker on its own. On a 15-amp, you better not have much else plugged in. :)
 
Forester

Forester

Members
JLW said:
I think I'm in love with that pump..... MORE POWER!

Seriously, though, one thing to consider... that thing pulls 8 amps. That's enough to potentially pop a 10-amp breaker on its own. On a 15-amp, you better not have much else plugged in. :)
Click to expand...

I'll look around for one that uses a little less. Thanks for the tip.
 
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