One of the most useful things I have made is the hose attachment that I use when I do my water changes. I have a dedicated hose that I use for my water changes. I think from memory that its 21mm or so and while a little more expensive than normal hosing, it really dumps the water out. With this attachment on the hose, I can just walk away and not worry about any hoses popping out of the tank or too much water being drained out as the level is dictated and set by the length of PVC tube that is sitting in your tank. The tap on the unit is also very handy as not only can it be used to simply turn off the flow if you require smaller changes but it also holds the siphon so that you can simply remove the hose,put in another tank, turn the tap on and the siphon starts again. I would be guessing that the price of making one would barely exceed 10 dollars 
Now onto some pics…..
These are the parts I needed…
First is the tap. You will need two fittings for this that I cant show in the image unfortunately as one is stuck in the hose and the other is stuck on the other end of the tap for the pvc to fit into. You will have to use your judgement here when buying what you need. The first part that is stuck in the hose is the black extension. One end is threaded that screws into the tap and the other end is just an extension that pushes into your hose. The other end of the tap is just a fitting that screws into the tap but allows the pvc to be pushed into.
Once the hose and tap are sorted out….
its just 3 small pieces of pvc (noting the small section that runs between the two elbows) and two elbows. All of these just push together…..simple
The piece opposite the tap is the part that goes into your tank. It should be cut to the depth of water you wish to have drained out. I cut mine usually just above the half tank level but if you prefer to do smaller changes then obviously cut this shorter or you will have to use the tap as a shut off.
This is an image of it together
And one of it sitting in a tank.
Chuck
7 responses so far ↓
1 patrick // Sep 21, 2008 at 8:29 pm
How does this initiate the siphonś suction on the water? Are you using a pump a the other of the hose?
2 Chuckmeister // Sep 22, 2008 at 7:39 am
Assuming you do NOT break the syphon by either lifting it out of the water or by draining so much that it breaks, you simply turn the tap off. It will hold water in the hose so that next time you use it simmply turn the tap and lift the hose. This is sufficient usually to start the syphon again.
In the years of using this system it is rare that I have to manually start a syphon by sucking on the end of the hose
3 patrick // Sep 26, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Thanks, Chuckmeister, for the reply.
However, on the first time I use it, will there be a need to draw the water out via suction. I did attempt to put this in my aquarium with the tap closed. When I opened the tap, no water was drawn out from the tank. Do I have to connect a hose first to the tap before opening it?
4 Chuckmeister // Sep 28, 2008 at 8:10 am
Patrick, to start your siphon I usually just suck on the end of the hose. The water only has to get over the highest point before it starts to flow so it is not difficult to start.’
When starting your siphon the next time simply lift the hose so the water runs out and the draw will start your siphon again.
If you need to suck on the end of the hose again for any reason while the hose has water in it…remember to remove all the water first unless you feel like having a drink lol
5 patrick // Sep 28, 2008 at 9:45 am
Chuckmeister,
Thanks for the help. Now I have the complete picture. And, Iĺl certainly remember to remove the water first. Hahaha!
6 patrick // Sep 28, 2008 at 10:37 am
Update- I got it working. Thanks again
7 patrick // Sep 28, 2008 at 11:38 am
Chuckmeister,
I made an improvement and I’d like upload the photos and share it. How do I go about doing that?
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