Python No-Spill - Does it really go that slow?

[sanzz18]

So normally I would be using my DOS as a AWC for my WB 220.6. I let maintenance slack most of this year so have been doing many 25% water changes to get nutrients in control. It is a back breaking task to drain and fill 45 gallons a couple times a week, so I bought the Python No-Spill system thinking it can at least save me labor removing the water from the tank. Where it usually takes me 10-15min tops to drain 45 gallons into 5 gallon buckets, this thing took nearly an hour to drain it into the sink. If I knew that this thing drained this slow, I would have just stuck to the way I was doing it, since its mostly temporary until I get my DOS running again.

Have you guys had this experience?

 

[blaxsun]

Yes, which is why I got a Sicce Zero pump to attach to it. It can probably drain 20 gallons in under 5 minutes.

 

[Arego]

I connect mine to a dct10000 coupled down once the syphon starts I can use the kasa app to turn on the pump, it then turbo charges the output. Basically like a non- submersible return pump setup, only for python in the opposite direction. The output of the pump then directs all around my yard under the sod. Granted I've not done a water change now in over a year, next time I do it will be as described.

 

[mfinn]

I've been using the python drain and fill hose for a couple decades and I love it.
On my 240 it takes ( never timed it) maybe 20 minutes to drain 60 gallons.
They do use water pressure from your tap so that could be a factor. Plus if you suck up and algae or sand, it can get stuck inside the valve. When it happens to me, I just take the suction end back to the sink and reverse the valve and force anything stuck back out.

 

[sanzz18]

I've been using the python drain and fill hose for a couple decades and I love it.
On my 240 it takes ( never timed it) maybe 20 minutes to drain 60 gallons.
They do use water pressure from your tap so that could be a factor. Plus if you suck up and algae or sand, it can get stuck inside the valve. When it happens to me, I just take the suction end back to the sink and reverse the valve and force anything stuck back out.

Do you leave your sink on full blast? I almost feel like it made 0 difference on how fast my tank drains. My pressure is 70 psi. I did not suck up anything but water, it hangs freely in the water column and I do not clean my sand.

Also, how did you use it to fill your tank up? How did you connect it to your mixing bin?

 

[mfinn]

Do you leave your sink on full blast? I almost feel like it made 0 difference on how fast my tank drains. My pressure is 70 psi. I did not suck up anything but water, it hangs freely in the water column and I do not clean my sand.

Also, how did you use it to fill your tank up? How did you connect it to your mixing bin?

Yes, I left the water on full while using it in the tank. My water pressure runs about 60psi and that is plenty enough to use a 75' hose and suck water out of my smaller tank at the far end of my house.
There was a time I used tap water to do water changes on my salt tanks.
I put a quick disconnect fitting on the end of my python hose and on the suction tube.
I also made a pvc u-tube with a quick disconnect.
The pvc u-tube would hang on the edge of my salt mixing barrel while it filled with water.

Now I use a rodi filter.
I have a barrel in my garage where I mix up new saltwater.
I use a sicce utility/return hose setup to move the water to the tank once the right amount has been drained.

 

[Pale Morning1]

I don’t even attach it to the sink to drain. My 150 freshwater is in my basement. I run the line directly in a floor drain in the utility room. Usually takes about 30-40 minutes to drain 100 gallons. While it is draining I do other maintenance on the tank.

 

[noobster]

Make sure is that the faucet attachment is not leaking, which would drop the pressure differential, reducing water flow rate. There is an internal hex nut at the faucet attachment that could get loose, resulting in leakage upstream of the hose attachment. Another thing to consider is the relative height of the faucet and the water level of the tank being drained.

 

[sanzz18]

Little update. I ended up buying a Sicce utility pump and pairing it with the python hose and couldn't be happier.

 

[Joe31415]

FWIW, when I used a python, once the siphon got started, I'd shut off the water and move the outlet from the sink to the bathtub (since it's lower). I'm not sure if that sped it up of not, but at least I wasn't running water the entire time.

And come to think of it, it was pretty slow. Probably 15 minutes to drain 20ish gallons of water (but I never timed it). I didn't mind it being slow since I usually had something else going on while it was draining. I liked the peace of mind knowing I could walk away from it and/or forget about it and I wasn't going to walk back in to an empty tank a half hour later.

 

[jmatt]

Yes, which is why I got a Sicce Zero pump to attach to it. It can probably drain 20 gallons in under 5 minutes.

I can see how the Sicce utility can help in adding water back to the tank... but how does it help with draining water or using the gravel filter?

I just tried using my Python and I can't even get enough suction to start a siphon. I even cut the tubing down to 12 feet and that did nothing.

 

[blaxsun]

I can see how the Sicce utility can help in adding water back to the tank... but how does it help with draining water or using the gravel filter?

I just tried using my Python and I can't even get enough suction to start a siphon. I even cut the tubing down to 12 feet and that did nothing.

These are a few scenarios where I use the Sicce Zero and Python in conjunction:

• Sump cleaning/maintenance: place the Sicce Zero in the spots you want to clean, moving it around as you scrape, blast, etc. I have the Python hose with the Python hook emptying into a 100-micron sock filter I've clipped to another chamber in the sump.
• Quick water changes: again, place the Sicce Zero in the sump and hook up to a length of Python hose to drain. When done, reverse by placing the Sizze Zero pump in the reservoir and pumping back into the sump. Using four 5-gallon pails you can perform a 20-gallon water change in under 5 minutes.

 

[jmatt]

These are a few scenarios where I use the Sicce Zero and Python in conjunction:

• Sump cleaning/maintenance: place the Sicce Zero in the spots you want to clean, moving it around as you scrape, blast, etc. I have the Python hose with the Python hook emptying into a 100-micron sock filter I've clipped to another chamber in the sump.
• Quick water changes: again, place the Sicce Zero in the sump and hook up to a length of Python hose to drain. When done, reverse by placing the Sizze Zero pump in the reservoir and pumping back into the sump. Using four 5-gallon pails you can perform a 20-gallon water change in under 5 minutes.

Ok, I see. You actually place the Sicce unit in the body to be drained. I was trying to picture a way it was being used as an external pump. Do you have a way of using the gravel filter?

I guess without sufficient water pressure the Python isn't really a viable solution. I feel like I paid $60 for 25 ft of plastic tubing. I wish I had spent that money on an external, variable speed pump.

 

[FSP]

The gravel tube is convenient for substrate even if you have to dump it into a bucket.

The rest of it is basically gh fittings and quick connects, so pretty easy to make yourself.

 

[blaxsun]

Ok, I see. You actually place the Sicce unit in the body to be drained. I was trying to picture a way it was being used as an external pump. Do you have a way of using the gravel filter?

I guess without sufficient water pressure the Python isn't really a viable solution. I feel like I paid $60 for 25 ft of plastic tubing. I wish I had spent that money on an external, variable speed pump.

Correct. You can use it as an external pump if you physically place it in another reservoir (it doesn't have an adapter since the bottom of the unit is basically the intake/syphon). I have a spare Sicce Silent 2.0 that I've also used in the past with the Python system, and it works reasonably well.

I abhor water changes in general, which is why I basically stopped doing them 19 months ago. I have two RO reservoirs for automatic topup and I use the Python/Sicce Zero for in-sump cleaning. I run an ozone system to rejuvenate the saltwater (which is working great). Beyond adding the occasional gallon of saltwater here or there to bring the salinity up - the tank is essentially using the same water that I started with.

 

[sanzz18]

Take out 80% of your chaeto and turn your fuge light on for 18-24 hours. You could also feed a little less.

I’ve never said “don’t do anything”. IMO most sps newbies do way too much worrying about no3/po4 and end up starving them before they get a chance to settle in.

I can see how the Sicce utility can help in adding water back to the tank... but how does it help with draining water or using the gravel filter?

I just tried using my Python and I can't even get enough suction to start a siphon. I even cut the tubing down to 12 feet and that did nothing.

These are a few scenarios where I use the Sicce Zero and Python in conjunction:

• Sump cleaning/maintenance: place the Sicce Zero in the spots you want to clean, moving it around as you scrape, blast, etc. I have the Python hose with the Python hook emptying into a 100-micron sock filter I've clipped to another chamber in the sump.
• Quick water changes: again, place the Sicce Zero in the sump and hook up to a length of Python hose to drain. When done, reverse by placing the Sizze Zero pump in the reservoir and pumping back into the sump. Using four 5-gallon pails you can perform a 20-gallon water change in under 5 minutes.

Ok, I see. You actually place the Sicce unit in the body to be drained. I was trying to picture a way it was being used as an external pump. Do you have a way of using the gravel filter?

I guess without sufficient water pressure the Python isn't really a viable solution. I feel like I paid $60 for 25 ft of plastic tubing. I wish I had spent that money on an external, variable speed pump.

Correct. You can use it as an external pump if you physically place it in another reservoir (it doesn't have an adapter since the bottom of the unit is basically the intake/syphon). I have a spare Sicce Silent 2.0 that I've also used in the past with the Python system, and it works reasonably well.

I abhor water changes in general, which is why I basically stopped doing them 19 months ago. I have two RO reservoirs for automatic topup and I use the Python/Sicce Zero for in-sump cleaning. I run an ozone system to rejuvenate the saltwater (which is working great). Beyond adding the occasional gallon of saltwater here or there to bring the salinity up - the tank is essentially using the same water that I started with.

Like stated in some of these posts. My sink is only a foot or so lower the tank I'm draining. I place the whole sicce utility pump in the tank and then switch the utility pump to my salt water reservoir to pump back out. Not as fast as stated in another post, but I am able to move 90g of water (45g out and 45g back in) in about 40min. Before the pump, it would take me over an hour just to drain the 45g from the display. Best purchase I ever made.