Trouble Making A 3 pipe Syphon with Hand Pump

[Rab Moghal]

I have a fish tank with 3 sections. I am trying to create a single siphon pump that will drain all three sections at the same time.

On the lower pipe at the left before the hand pump I have used a valve.

In each elbow at the top, some airline pipe feeds in the top of the pipe and down the pipe on the outside of the tank a couple of inches. At the top of the air line pipe is a 1 way valve.

First I close the bottom valve, then suck the air out of each pipe to create a siphon.

Then I release the valve and some water will trickle out, i use the hand pump to pull the water out faster.

Now... all three of the tanks have drained, but not simultaneously, and it tends to be only 1 that will drain, usually the one on the far right, or far left.

Can anyone offer some insight here?

 

[ShaunCorbs]

You trying to do all 3 at the same time ?

 

[Rab Moghal]

You trying to do all 3 at the same time ?

Yes I am,

The two baffles are acryclic and though they are 6mm, when one side is full and the other empty, they bend quite a bit, so I am trying to create a hang on pipe system that will remove water from all three chambers at the same time.

 

[rpm]

3 syphons on 1 outlet eh!

 

[ShaunCorbs]

wont work with all 3 at the same time, and will never work like you have it

better off valving it and doing one at a time

 

[Rab Moghal]

wont work with all 3 at the same time, and will never work like you have it

better off valving it and doing one at a time

Thank's for the reply, it was feeling like that was going to be the answer. Think I'm just going to pop 3 small water pumps on the end of each pipe and pump the water out that way.

 

[rpm]

Before buying pumps you could try a 50mm pipe as the main discharge and keep the 3 small vertical pipes as is OR drain each tank one at a time.

 

[marvoni]

Make up two 40mm u-shaped pipes from drain pipe and elbows. If you fill them with water, put caps on them to keep them full whilst you place them upside down to link all three sections of the tank together, then when you pump out any one of the sections the u-pipes should allow the water height to equalise across all 3 sections of the tank.