A tidy way to move water (or other liquid) is by creating a siphon with a hose or tubing. The trick to siphoning is getting all of the air out of the hose.

We had a redwood hot tub in our backyard when I was a kid, and I got plenty of practice draping garden hoses over the edge and onto our lawn. The tub had a drain at the bottom, but pulling the plug usually meant jumping into the stale water or fishing around with a hook on a stick. It was easier to just drop a hose in from the top, get the water going and siphon the water out. Using a long hose also meant that we could direct the 800 gallons of water on our garden or trees instead of letting it dump out onto the walk and patio

.Use a tube or hose. Ideally, the hose will be transparent, so you can see what is going on, but it isn't necessary.

Prepare a bucket, gas can or other vessel to catch the water. This bucket (or gas can or the lawn) must be positioned lower than the tank you are draining.

Insert one end of the tube into the water source.

Start with the other end (lips end) of the tube higher than the water source, and suck water into the hose. Fill as much of the hose as you dare with water. Even with an opaque hose, you should feel the water (or gasoline) approaching your mouth and have plenty of time to stop before you get a mouthful.

In these photos, I'm using a hose which is too long, and that is introducing a small problem - an air bubble.

The extra hose is looping down, so the liquid will pour over interior bends in the hose an leave air pockets behind. (I started over for the next photos)

To avoid bubbles from forming, keep the hose flat or running up towards your mouth, like a drinking straw.

Maintaining mouth suction on the liquid, crimp the hose or slip your thumb into your mouth over the (lips) end of the hose. You are trying to prevent air from getting back into the hose and ruining your hose-full of water.

Next, drop this (lips) end of the hose into your target bucket, gas can or front lawn. Release the crimp (or your thumb) and water should immediately start flowing out of the hose.

A good siphon is quiet. If there is a lot of gurgling and bubbling, you have some air in the hose, which will slow or stop the siphoning.

It usually isn't worth the trouble to re-start a slow siphon unless the water flow has completely stopped.

Once the water is flowing, your attention should turn to the wet (source) end of the hose. Keep it underwater. The longer you can keep air from getting in, the more water will be removed. If you hold the mouth of the hose against the bottom, you may be able to get almost all of the water out.

Eventually, air will get pulled in and will interrupt the path of the water, stopping your siphon.

I've got a lot of instructions and photos here, but it really is a simple process.

Before I introduce the next method, here is a little tip for draining tanks with a garden hose - One end of a hose has a loose connector ring and a washer. Avoid having that end in your mouth because it is larger and has a path for air to escape.

If you are wary of sucking on this thing to get it started, a second option is to immerse the entire hose underwater. It is a little tricky to fill the entire hose with no air remaining inside. Don't just drop the whole coil in, feed it in from one end, like a snake crawling into the water. This will give the air a path out of the hose and you won't have bubbles stuck inside. Bubbles will stop the siphon.

When only a little dry tip remains above the surface, cap it with your thumb and pull the hose out. You might be able to avoid getting your hands wet, but don't count on it.

Move it into a bucket or can below the surface of the source water and remove your thumb. The water should immediately start flowing out of the hose.

Yet another way to get a siphon going, which we discovered by accident, is to push the air out of a hose with water from the spigot (also known as a bib).

This technique is only good for siphoning water, and I'd only try this out of a container which has room for a little more water. Connect a garden hose to a faucet and place the other end into the tank you intend to drain. Yes, it now looks like you are going to do the opposite, but what you are trying to do is fill the hose completely with water.

Turn on the hose. Water should begin flowing into your tank along with some air bubbling up out of the water. Once the bubbles stop, the hose is completely full of water and ready to siphon.

Leave the hose in the tank and turn off the water. Unscrew the hose from the water spigot. If the spigot is lower than the tank you are draining, you will notice that water is already starting to flow back towards this spigot end.

Set the spigot end of the hose on the ground or drag it somewhere else.

It doesn't matter how long the hose is, as long as the final destination for the water is lower to the ground than the source bucket.

Keep it lower than the tank you are draining and it will keep flowing until all of your water is drained!

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