Need Python tips, techniques...

The length of the tube also hurts me sometimes.  The longer the tube the more the water has to get closer to the ground; when it dips too far down the water is slowed down due to gravity pulling it.  I take the water out in a 8' long tube and it usually coils up around the buckets I take the water out in.  It takes a little longer, but I have a 4' hose that drains directly into the bucket.  The shorter one makes the water changes twice as fast for the tanks on the bottom, or closer to the ground.

I only use the attachment to the faucet for tanks on lower shelves (all 10 gallon tanks). For other tanks I may start the suction process with the faucet then use the valve to stop flow while I move the end of the hose to the tub or outside in warmer weather. The bigger drop below the tank's level, the better your suction will be.

also make sure the aireator is off of the faucet before connecting the python

If your sink drain is above or at the level of the tank you will need to waste water to keep the suction up. I use one and drain to a floor drain in my basement. Upper tanks drain fairly quickly but the bottom tanks take a little more time because they are so close to the floor. This is based off of simple physics.

Keeper

That is the one flaw I think with the python type waterchangers is that they use so much water. To get the best results and the best suction you need to leave the water running while cleaning the tank.

So I got a Python over the summer at a garage sale. I think it has everything, 25 foot hose, gravel vac, coonection to sink. I decided I would give it a try this morning for my water changes. I started to drain a 55 with the python. It took forever. There was not enough suction to clean the substrate. To give you an idea of how long it took. After a couple of minutes standing there, I drained 30% of a 55, 75, and 3- 20's in the time it took to do 20% of the 55. So what gives? Am I suppose to leave the sink on while it's draining? I thought that was simply to prime it. Help Please. The filling took a while, but that was me being cautious. I really would like to use it because I have more tanks to get up and running and will like to get more. . . I hope the auction is going well. 

Madzarembski