Review on Python No Spill Clean & Fill Aquarium Maintenance System - Enhancing Your Aquarium with Easy Maintenance by Veronica Toledo

I hate carrying buckets of water with fish droppings (not all) so I was hooked when I read about Python's No Spill Clean and Fill Aquarium Maintenance System ! About 4 years ago my daughter's best friend moved away and she had to leave two tiny goldfish (less than 1/2 inch long) behind. We took a goldfish and like goldfish they grew and grew. In recent years, the bigger one has eaten the smaller one and got bigger and bigger. We recently moved Goldie to a much larger aquarium as she is less than 8 inches long (wish we had a pond for her). So why the backstory of our monster fish? Anyone who's had goldfish knows they don't have stomachs (sort of) and all they do is eat, poop, poop, and eat! They are the pigeons in the aquarium and just plain dirty. I know that it is recommended to change 1/4 to 1/5 of the water in the aquarium every few weeks. Carrying 50 gallons of water one bucket at a time is awful, especially with two small children trying to help. To save us from heartache and my hardwood floors from the risk of disaster, I figured I'd pump the water out the second-story window, over the deck railing, and onto the ground outside. Then I could fill the reservoir with a garden hose. Sounds easy. I did it once and realized there must be a better way, so I turned to YouTube. After a few hours of distraction on YouTube, I came across a couple of Pump products. After a week of doing homework and debating which system is the best, I settled on Python! How long do you need the system? Wow, that sounds easy. Just measure the length you need from the tub to the sink you want to use. Python sells tubing in a variety of lengths so you can get what you need without spending too much time (or paying the extra cost). After researching the Python system online, I found that it comes in 10, 20, 25, 50, 75, and 100 foot hose connector segments. Brilliant! I measured what I needed and found I needed a 25ft hose. I placed my order for a 25ft system and figured...25ft plus siphon tube and attached hose would be about 28.5ft - great! When it arrived I found the hose was only 22ft 8" not 25ft - OH NO! It took me a full 25 feet! I sketched (not to scale) the different parts of the system. The overall length is 26'2" including the 11" siphon tube which obviously needs to be in the tank and touching the gravel. I figured the 11" siphon and the 2ft 7" hose attached to it would be added to the 25ft hose. I don't see anywhere in the details that say it isn't, but also don't see it being the case. This was my guess and my mistake, but I was disappointed that it didn't work right away because it was (for my use and distance) 3 feet shorter than it should have been. wanted to share the details of each segment so you don't stand a little further from your tank like me! I hope the picture helps someone. :-) This is easy to fix - I buy an extension and everything will be fine. After that, I'm going to talk about goldfish poop removal! Update: It's been 4 years and I'm still using Python to clean my aquarium. It works great and I am happy with my purchase so far!