SCUGrad

I've been working on a very rudimentary siphon system for my tanks which will enable me to do water changes without using buckets.

What I have so far:

I have a hose connected to an outdoor faucet. The end of the hose can be attached to another 12 meter hose with slightly smaller diameter so the 12 meter hose fits snugly into the hose running to the faucet. The 12 meter hose is long enough to reach the tanks. I turn the faucet on and as soon as water flows into the tank, I disconnect the 12 meter hose from the faucet hose and voila! Instant siphon. I just did a 30% water change on my 75 gallon tank and was done in like 15-20 mins!

Problem: the suction is so strong that it actually sucks up gravel as well as detritus. I have an old gravel vac and I can remove the plastic tubular end and attach it to the aquarium end of the 12 meter hose. Problem is that the suction doesn't work with the attachment on...only when the attachment is off.

How do I get the suction to work with the plastic vacuum attachment on? The problem is obviously with the attachment since without it, I can create suction.

I think perhaps the plastic vacuum attachment isn't as securely fastened to the hose as we expected.

Butterfly

Sounds interesting. I use a water hose with a siphon attached to one end. Run the other end outside. since gravity is pulling the water the suction isn't as strong as what you're trying to do.
When I have them vacuumed and water down where I want it I drag the end in from outside and attach it to my sink, adjust the temperature of the return water, remove siphon, add dechlor to the tank and fill tank.
carol