Doug_E Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 I'd like to get a pump to help with water changes. I will still use buckets to hold the water, but this will at least speed it up, save my back, and keep my plants in the substrate vs dumping the buckets into the tank. Pythons are nice, but with my tank location (basement) and distance to the sink...not an option. Rim is 4 feet off the floor. So lift needs to be 5-6 feet at least to have decent flow rate. Amazon has some $20-30 ones, but maybe there is a tried and true option you'd recommend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieB Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 If your just going from a bucket on the floor then 4 feet of head pressure shouldn’t be too much. Try a cheap Amazon pump, I see some for less then 25$ that mention 10 feet of head pressure. Worst case is the water pumps in slower which might actually be more beneficial. If you want more mainstream, aquarium specific brands, Lifeguard would be hard to beat for your application. But also the Sicce 1.5 puts out decent water at 6 feet head pressure, Danner makes pumps that last forever. Here is a chart on the Lifeguard Quiet one flow chart for instance. I think the 3000 model is about $61 at PremiumAquatics. At about 400 gph that would empty a 5 gallon bucket in less then a minute? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanTruth Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 I used to use a Danner 950 for water changes for years. Worked great for me and I also liked that I could screw in regular pvc parts into the threads. That way I could have pvc pipes sticking out of the container it was in and the vinyl tubing never got kinked. Only reason I don't use it anymore is that I changed my water changing system a bit and needed more of a sump pump to make it more efficient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_E Posted January 21, 2021 Author Share Posted January 21, 2021 2 hours ago, OceanTruth said: I used to use a Danner 950 for water changes for years. Worked great for me and I also liked that I could screw in regular pvc parts into the threads. That way I could have pvc pipes sticking out of the container it was in and the vinyl tubing never got kinked. Only reason I don't use it anymore is that I changed my water changing system a bit and needed more of a sump pump to make it more efficient. Thanks. The Danners look good. I like the threaded fittings and the 10’ cord. The $25 cheapies have 5-6’ cords which won’t be long enough and the fittings are a bit funky from the reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_E Posted January 21, 2021 Author Share Posted January 21, 2021 Another option for now...I have a Fluval 207 I am not using. I could use that until I decide what to do with it. I’ll test that for my next water change and see how it goes. I’d just have to put the bucket with fresh water on another bucket to get the height it needs for the gravity fill of the canister. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Billy Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 I use that method for my 55 gallon. I set one 5 gallon bucket in front of the tank, turn the sump on and refill that bucket with my other ones as the pump bucket gets low. Its a vivosun, i will post some pictures below. Eventually i will buy 2, 35 gallon janitor trash cans on wheels and store all my water change water in one and dump dirty water in the other while continuing to use this pump, vs 5, 5 gallon buckets. Currently the sump pump is much more ergonomic to lifting the bucket to the tank rim. Should be more ergonomic once i get the 2 trash cans. The top picture is a close up of the box and pump with my hand for visual reference. The second picture is of my water change station i made out of a closet. You can see my pump hanging up to dry on the back wall with tubbing i got from lowes and a repurposed washing machine hook i use to keep it hung on the tank while i refill the pump bucket while it is pumping. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_E Posted January 21, 2021 Author Share Posted January 21, 2021 22 minutes ago, Will Billy said: I use that method for my 55 gallon. I set one 5 gallon bucket in front of the tank, turn the sump on and refill that bucket with my other ones as the pump bucket gets low. Its a vivosun, i will post some pictures below. Eventually i will buy 2, 35 gallon janitor trash cans on wheels and store all my water change water in one and dump dirty water in the other while continuing to use this pump, vs 5, 5 gallon buckets. Currently the sump pump is much more ergonomic to lifting the bucket to the tank rim. Should be more ergonomic once i get the 2 trash cans. The top picture is a close up of the box and pump with my hand for visual reference. The second picture is of my water change station i made out of a closet. You can see my pump hanging up to dry on the back wall with tubbing i got from lowes and a repurposed washing machine hook i use to keep it hung on the tank while i refill the pump bucket while it is pumping. Thanks, those pumps are not inline, right? I'd prefer one that can be inline so it is a bit more flexible in how/where I use it. And not having to put it in the tank or bucket is a good plus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolstoy21 Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 (edited) I like the Sicce Ultra Zero utility pump for this purpose. It empties a bucket right down to the very bottom. They also hook up to a python out of the box, if you need to do that. Edited January 21, 2021 by tolstoy21 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanTruth Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 3 hours ago, tolstoy21 said: I like the Sicce Ultra Zero utility pump for this purpose. It empties a bucket right down to the very bottom. They also hook up to a python out of the box, if you need to do that. I love mine. Really leaves very little water in the container it's in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhitecloudDynasty Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 (edited) I got an inline Tetra kit, which would fit standard-size Python-type tubing. I got it to kitbash into a filter, but I might test it with the turtle tank that I take care of. I’ll report back. It has an inline power switch, which is nice. Edited January 23, 2021 by Streetwise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_E Posted January 23, 2021 Author Share Posted January 23, 2021 3 hours ago, WhitecloudDynasty said: What pump is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhitecloudDynasty Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, Doug_E said: What pump is that? It works fine, but whenever it break im getting double to power do you want a close up on the setup? Edited January 23, 2021 by WhitecloudDynasty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_E Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 20 hours ago, WhitecloudDynasty said: do you want a close up on the setup? No, thank you. I can see how you did it. I'm looking for an inline pump like that. I assume you need to prime it (the blue bulb thingy)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 (edited) This was the Top Fin unit I got. I posted it in a thread at some point. I found the thread: Edited January 24, 2021 by Streetwise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhitecloudDynasty Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 23 minutes ago, Doug_E said: No, thank you. I can see how you did it. I'm looking for an inline pump like that. I assume you need to prime it (the blue bulb thingy)? Yes it can't run dry, so the bulb is to prime it first. And I have a off/on switch also at the plug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorbidFinch Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 I'm also unable to use a Python. My workaround is to put a 5 gallon bucket in the tub with a pump in it and a 25' hose to the tank. Just turn the tap back on when the bucket gets low. I use this one from Amazon, empties the bucket in about 3 minutes: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07Y2TB23R/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_PaHdGbHDBYXXS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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