Keeping your aquarium clean is always good for your fish and for the overall appearance of the aquarium. Even you, as a person, would not feel comfortable living in a dirty space.
In such cases, there is a need for products such as the Aqueon and Python water changer to easily clean the water.
These products are designed to clean your water in a short amount of time, but they also have their own differences.
Aqueon Water Changer vs Python Water Changer
Similarities:
Both the Aqueon Water Changer and the Python Water Changer Aquarium Maintenance System offer a similar way of changing the water and cleaning the substrate. All you need to do is connect the system to a faucet and the pressure of the flowing water acts like a pump pulling the water out of your tank. You can then refill the tank in the same way.
Both offer a no-spill solution for cleaning the tank and use a gravel tube that cleans the substrate as the water is drawn through the tube. Both the Aqueon Water Changer and Python Water Changer have a good substrate cleaning tube that removes all the dirt and debris.
Cleaning the substrate is very important to maintain good water chemistry. As organic waste such as fish feces, plant matter and excess fish food decomposes at the bottom of the aquarium, ammonia is released, which is highly toxic to fish. Then the ammonia turns into nitrite, which is also very dangerous. This in turn converts to nitrate which can cause algal blooms if in too high a concentration as it is an important nitrogen source in plants. Removing decomposing debris is very important to eliminate the root cause of these problems before they form.
Size and Weight:
Size and weight can be very important as you will be using this equipment quite regularly. You also need to know if it will fit easily in your storage.
The Python maintenance system measures 15 x 15 x 2 inches, which is slightly smaller. It’s not that heavy either, only 2.8 pounds.
The Aqueon water exchanger is slightly larger than the Python at 17.7 x 21 x 2.7 inches and weighs 4.8 pounds.
Both water exchangers are practical in size and should easily fit in your storage. If you really need to save space, the Python maintenance system wins this round.
Tubing:
Both the Aqueon Water Changer and Python Water Changer have long tubes that allow you to connect to the water supply, so you can put those buckets down and let the tube do the work.
The Python offers a 25-foot, 50-foot-long pipe, which should be enough to connect to your faucet. It comes with a 10 inch gravel cleaning tube, but you can upgrade it to 20, 24 or 72 inches depending on the size of your aquarium tank.
The Aqueon also offers the option of a 25 or 50 foot pipe, so if your faucet is a little further out, the 50 foot pipe won’t be a problem. The gravel tube is 11 inches long, which should be enough to reach the bottom of your tank and clean up that pesky substrate.
Both aquarium water exchange systems should be long enough to reach your faucet to make cleaning your aquarium easy and hassle-free as they offer different lengths based on your needs. If you have a very deep tank, the Python will come in handy because you can choose a longer gravel cleaning tube.
Setup
The installation process tends to change from model to model, so be sure to check what you buy.
Buyers of the Aqueon water exchanger have complained that it can be a bit clunky, with lots of different bits and pieces. So it may take a little longer to set everything up. The manual is also a bit confusing, so take the time to read it carefully and understand what to do.
Python Water Changer has a reputation for being much simpler and easier to set up and get started. The manual is easy to read and many of the parts are ready to use. So you save time and effort by not having to play with it.
Problems
There is an issue with both the Aqueon Water Changer and the Python Water Changer that can cause a problem. The tap method of running aquarium water changers is fine if you are taking water from the tank, but you may have trouble introducing new water.
Tap water contains toxic substances and contaminants such as heavy metals, chlorine and chloramine. These are incredibly poisonous and dangerous to aquarium fish. Normally I would use an aquarium water conditioner to make the water safe before putting new water in the tank. However, if you use one of these tap-friendly water exchangers, it will pump tap water into the tank to refill it. In general, the consensus among aquarists is that water conditioner in the tank after or during filling is totally fine and works just as well, but it’s up to you.
The other problem is that tap water usually has a different temperature than aquarium water. If you don’t have a faucet that allows you to adjust the temperature of the water to the water in the tank, that could be a problem. Sudden changes in temperature can cause great stress on fish, especially tropical aquarium fish.
However, a solution to both problems is to use the aquarium water exchanger to pump fresh water into a large bucket, where you can use the water conditioner and a replacement aquarium heater to make sure it is the same temperature as the aquarium. Many heaters have a thermometer attached, if not, aquarium thermometers are quite inexpensive to pick up. Once it is at the desired temperature, you can use a basic water pump to transfer the new water to the aquarium. You don’t need a powerful pump here, because all you do is pump water over, the flow doesn’t matter!
Conclusion – Aqueon Water Changer vs Python Water Changer
Both are pretty similar as they offer a similar thing and will both do the job nicely. They have the same length of tubing, but the Python Water Changer is smaller and lighter than the bulkier Aqueon Water Changer. The Python also seems to be the more robust and durable of the two.
We will leave the decision to you, but it does seem to be leaning the way of the Python Water Changer!
Check out the videos below for more information on both of these products and how to properly use them:
Aqueon Water Changer:
Python Water Changer: