Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is the Python No Spill Clean and Fill Aquarium Vacuum.  Very seldom do I say a product will “change your life” but if you keep fish this one will.  Here is how I discovered this product.  This year I decided to return to the status of aquarium owner, something I really enjoyed in years past.  To maximize space in my small office I decided to go with two stacked 55 gallon tanks to get things off the ground.

I considered building a stand but it was one more thing to do, and I happened to find this stackable aquarium stand.  At under a hundred bucks with free shipping I figured anything I built would end up costing as much in materials and time so I was all in on it, EXCEPT.

The least favorite thing any aquarium owner does is vacuum their gravel and do 20% water changes.  This should be done monthly but often gets put off because well doing it sucks.  This is usually done with a siphon vacuum like this.  If you are doing a 10 or 20 gallon tank it really isn’t a big deal.  But with two 55s you are talking bout 22 gallons of water that needs to come out of them, be hauled off and then carried back in,  Can you say, “potential to make a wet mess”.

Compounding this is that with my stand, my lower tank is only 5.5 inches off the ground and clearance of the top is less than stellar for putting water back in.  Enter the python, you hook it up to running water, you turn the water on and set it either to vacuum or fill.  No priming needed.  I got the 50 foot model, most would do fine with the 25.  I simply run the hose out of my window, hook up a garden hose and I am good to go.  Many would use a sink but my faucet would be a pain in the butt to hook up and my hose fills faster anyway.

So you have a valve on the tank end, you switch it on, the vacuum starts and you vacuum your gravel and take out your 20-25% depending on your required maintenance.   Now you shut off your valve, go to the running water end and switch it to fill.  Go back to your tank and turn the valve and top your tank right back up.

But if you are doing 2 or 4 or say 6 tanks at once it is so great because since you don’t need to worry about loosing siphon, you vacuum them all, then fill them all in one go.

Gets better though!  As many of you know I put in a Aquaponics system this year, in it I have two 330 gallon IBCs, and Python makes extension tubes to make the vacuum side longer.  Including one 48 inches long, which is perfect to vacuum IBCs.  Since I started using it about every three weeks on my system the water is always crystal clear.

So if you do aquaponics or keep aquariums or both I can’t recommend this product highly enough.  It doesn’t just work better than any other option, it works EASIER with LESS MESS, hence you do your fricken maintenance when you are supposed to and your system stays healthy.  So check out the Python No Spill Clean and Fill Aquarium Vacuum if you are a fish keeper and make your life just a little better and easier to boot.

Remember you can always find all of our reviews at  TspAz.com 

P.S. – As I said I got the 50 Foot system, there is that and the 25, they are 39 and 59 dollars respectively.  There is also one listed as Large and one as X-Large.  They are much more expensive and there is no clear indication of how they differ.  I would say I can’t imagine anyone short of a commercial aquarium needing anything more than the standard systems.   Here are all the options I would recommend for the hobbiest.

• Python 25 foot system
• Python 50 foot system
• 24 Inch Gravel Tube Extension – Perfect to keep dry hands with larger tanks
• 48 Inch Gravel Tube Extension – Reaches the Bottom of IBCs

They make a lot of other size tube extensions but these seem the most universal to me.  I use the stock one in my 55s for now, and don’t mind getting my hands a bit wet, it works fine and is maneuverable around the tank “furniture”.

P.S.S. – Don’t underestimate the power of this vacuum.  I had a cory catfish in my old tank that used to like to play in the vacuum I used at that time.  Not something to do with this!  On my first use a tilapia fingerling tried it, in a second he was up the tube and out the window.

I had to shut the system down, remove the far end and let the natural siphon move him down the tube.  Somehow, someway he survived it!  Don’t expect similar results keep the wand low and your fish out of the tube, if one gets in shut the valve!

Here is a quick video of this system working.