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GoldyGirl

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Everything posted by GoldyGirl

  1. There is always that question tho yes 👍🏼 until you have tried it , it’s hard to believe I guess, but there is most definitely the science there as to how it works, I’ve always wondered why the nitrogen cycle stopped at nitrates in the hobby , now I understand why, it is not a easy bacteria to establish, aerobic is easy and even anaerobic with deep substrates, but to establish a anoxic ( low o2 zone under .5 Ithink it is ) is much harder to establish, this particular bacteria cannot live in either high o2 zones or no o2 zones. But it makes sence nature would have the answer yes? we just have to give it the correct environment 😉
  2. Because I have never had any reduction prior , the size of my Goldie’s for the size of pond - plants do not use any noticeable nitrates, I have always kept plants , the duck weed I try to add back regularly because my fish will demolish any duck weed on top over night. That duck weed does not last in my pond. It is lost definitely not the plants , I have looked into that also and they only consume a small amount while they are photosynthesising or at peek photosynthesis, maybe in a low stocked aquarium like my betta and shrimp tanks plants help , but with Goldie’s , their waste production is way to high .
  3. Hi, it’s always exciting setting up a new home for our fish , so enjoy the journey, I thought I would share my little opinion as well , Thankyou minanora 😉, have to love the Goldie’s. I have only recently experimented with the Novak system and have personally used almost every other filter available lol, especially with goldfish, as you know they are very messy beautiful fish 🥰 most of my Goldie’s live in a patio pond now though and for me the bogs are by far the most effective for me , however this is not really that easy with a tank. So personally I am now a big fan of the plenum or undergravel filter, yes the old school ugf with baked clay and laterite substrate. I’m not sure why they are so undesirable, our substrate is one of the best forms of filtration both biological and mechanical this way and very easy to maintain from what I have found. My plants do amazing no co2 , ferts and only natural lighting , but also only use Java , crypts ,Anubis, a couple of your Lillie’s and Val and column feeding plants so the more advance plants I am unsure how they would go. Goldfish tend to make fancy plants hard to keep 🤣. As for the plenum very simple to set up, light gravel vac amd 50% water change Weekly about does it for that tank. I think we are alway learning amd growing as we progress in the hobby , so go with what you are comfortable with you will find what works best for your set up as they are all different. I will say one thing , I do prefer to keep Goldie’s with Goldie’s as they have a very large bio load and are not called water piggies for no reason, I often had to make sure my other fish were getting their fair share, especially the bottom dwellers because my Goldie’s would demolish every scrap. On a good note they sift the substrate clean of any left over food , but my issue with Goldie’s in tanks was the nitrate levels , that’s why I opted for the plenum and the bcbs, the denitrifying bacteria growth in these were a big reason I looked into them and would always recommend a little research into it 🤣🤣. but many way to a healthy successfull aquarium so enjoy and looking forward to seeing your journey 😻
  4. Everything looks nice and healthy🥰 and plants look like they are doing well, do you find your plants do better with the plenum as well? Or have you always had good growth. I found a big difference in my plants growth once I added the plenum. shrimp will love it 😁
  5. Yes I tend to agree, a little of both or all three types of bacterial conditions, depending on your tank and habitants, they say a little variety is the spice of life 😁 Most who have been in the hobby a while , like yourself and a do still run the undergravel filters say much the same and they tend to be the easiest tanks to maintain, and some swear by the canasters , so depending on the set up, heavily planted, low stocked or heavily stocked will depends on works best for the individual. sponges are also quite popular especially for fry or shrimp tanks so I think a little of both works well together 👌🏾 The one I have not yet tried is father fishes deep sand bed , I did look into it and I may even still try one yet, but after I tried the undergravel and bcbs I didn’t really want to mess with what worked so well, and I have heard mixed reviews with that as well. I also cannot access his mix here so maybe one day it will be available as a bagged substrate all in one , now that would be great. 🤣 I always like to learn and try new things, so these forums are great for everyone’s ideas and inputs 👍🏼
  6. I’ve just worked out how to respond correctly to your posts without adding to your overall post heheh 🤭 I 💯 percent agree with you. There is no doubt in the results, I’ve never been able to keep plants successfully without a light and fertilisers until the plenum , it’s crazy I still can’t believe the results sometimes. I’m just setting up another plenum this weekend lol The hard part is finding undergravel plates locally, I can only get them on the internet so your ideas for setting up your own is a great idea 👌🏾👌🏾 As for the bogs yes they do work a little differently and I was talking to him about the anoxic set up, he actually set up a specific anoxic tub, but a little differently than his usual bogs . The flow into the tub was a different set up as well. He did mention that bogs , as long as they are very slow flow rates should have anoxic conditions as well. I think this is why initially when I set my bogs they were to fast flow and I did not see the results. I have since slowed them drastically and this made all the difference, as well as changing out the pea gravel for baked clay and laterite . I don’t think they are essential but it take a lot longer to see results. I think the combination idea is the best, a little aerobic and a little anoxic , both together very effective . cheers 🍻
  7. Awsome, I hope you do it’s worth it 😉 I’ve just worked out how to respond to the posts hahaha 🤪
  8. R Budds Good lord I am so sorry I am getting confused how to reply to your topics, or a specific message, I am not sure why the bother one doubled up 😲😲 I wanted to quickly reply to your other post about nitrates , I agree and would not want that high a reading in my tank at all, I would say it would have to have some long term effects . And as for the plants , the growth I get with the baked clay and laterite I do not need the nitrates or to add any fertilisers. I don’t know why , i also did not get any melting of my plants, even my crypts when I set up the plenum, I usually expect a small amount of melt from most but , the plants have never looked better in the plenum. And the ponds well the plants go crazy in there 🤣 I think most will justify why it is ok to have what they have, I personally don’t like high nitrates or phosphates in my waters and we all like to keep our tanks differently, as long as you have success and your fish are happy and healthy that is the main thing. I am a fan of this system tho, I can’t help it the results speek for themselves 😉👌🏾 Minanora, I’m glad to hear it 😉 It is so worth it , please share if you do 🙏🏼
  9. Hello and Thankyou for this forum to explore new ideas and information 🤩 i have been following this anoxic filtration for a while now and have done a few experimental tanks/ ponds myself. Thankyou to R Budds I thought I would share my journey and experiences with it. im still quite new to the whole concept of it but I have a basic understanding of how it works thanks to a few of Dr Movaks informative videos on utube. I keep mainly goldfish, so anyone who keeps goldfish would know the struggle with filtration and keeping good water quality and low nitrates. I was doing water changes twice a week to maintain these nitrates. I have a 500 litre and a 200 litre patio pond.
  10. Hello and Thankyou for this forum to explore new ideas and information 🤩 what’s the hype all about - I believe it’s just new and not a lot is known about it, like anything it takes time and a little experimenting if you have the time, nothing more nothing less. So this is a little of my experience with it and I still have a lot more to learn so if anything I write is wrong or incorrect please let me know as I am new to this as well . I have been following this anoxic filtration for a while now and have done a few experimental tanks/ ponds myself. Thankyou to R Budds I thought I would share my journey and experiences with it. As I stated I am still quite new to the whole concept of it but I have a basic understanding of how it works thanks to a few of Dr Novak’s informative videos on utube. ( and yes they can be long winded but worth the watch ) I keep mainly goldfish, so anyone who keeps goldfish would know the struggle with filtration and keeping good water quality and low nitrates. I was doing water changes twice a week to maintain these nitrates. I have a 500 litre and a 200 litre patio pond. I keep 4 in the 500 showed in the photo and in the 200 litre I keep 2 pearl scales , the bristle nose pleco and guppys which hitched a ride with plants and now have made quite the family in there along side my pearl scale gold fish. I run a bog on both, after trying canasters , internals etc these have kept my waters crystal clear, and best maintained, and I was after something to help with my nitrates levels, and Bogs also help to reduce nitrates. ( Oz ponds were my go to utube videos regarding bogs) Initially my bogs ran to fast to be effective, bogs need a slow flow to be most effective. This is when I also found out about the anoxic or bcbs by Dr Novak. They also need low flow and low oxygen zones to be most effective. After doing little research I found that the bacteria living in these particular zones is specific to these conditions ( low o2, below 0.5 parts but not quite 0 parts.) and will take o2 from the nitrates as well as phosphates in the water , and harmlessly gas off , which then reduced the nitrate levels in the water. So bogs also have a anoxic zone because of the slow flow through the gravel, but I was using pea gravel. Baked clay/ zeolite and laterite , which is Recormended, ( baked clay/zeolite for its porous properties and laterite has iron) have specific properties as well which help house this bacteria and the iron help the bacteria to colonise quicker. I removed all gravel and added a mix of baked clay/ zeolite and laterite in my bogs. I also added bcb baskets with the same clay and laterite to both of my ponds, I also diverted some of the flow from the main bog into smaller tubs with the same material. This slowed the flow in my main bog filter and gave me two forms of filtration using one pump. I know this whole anoxic filtration has created a lot of questions and is dismissed as to hard or difficult to create, or the question about reducing the oxygen levels in the tank etc but this is not the case. The slow flow and low oxygen levels only need to be in the filtration or filter, much like your plenum. Which I also now run, or undergravel filter. The only zone that needs to be low in oxygen is under the actual gravel or plate. Or in the filter itself. Once the water enters back to your tank or pond it it fully oxygenated again. The baskets or bags are great for this, in the actual bcb basket or bag is where the action happens, the bacteria or baked clay in these baskets attrack the ammonia and nitrates because of the baked clays negative charge. Anyway these baskets are very easy to add especially in ponds , but also in a tank with a plant if you prefer , there is absolutely no reduction in o2 in the pond at all it all happens in the basket itself. No plants are need it is all bacteria but plants definitely make it more pleasing to the eye. It basically reduces the nitrates and phosphates and helps create the full nitrogen cycle, not just the ammonia to nitrites to nitrates and from there we usually have to water change , as we have always known it. personally I still like to water change as it is not only nitrates that need to be removed, the water also depletes in other minerals over time. But it makes it is a hell of a lot easier and a lot less stress for me that my nitrates are not building daily. Especially with goldfish. I have not lost a fish to disease, my waters are so much more stable and clear, and personally this has been totally worth the research and time to slowly change over my system. Sorry it’s a bit long winded but it’s hard to explain everything clearly and I hope this makes sence or incourages other to give it a go. Its well worth it and your fish will love it. Only this moring my big mumma Goldie spawned again , like clock work she is and the same with all the fish I keep. My bristlenoses had to be seperated for some time out, as they two would spawn after spawn, and well guppys they need no encouragement to spawn anyway. 🤣 A few Photos of a couple of them, I also have a few tubs around the yard now that also have bcb bags which keep my tubs clear , no air or filtration in those tubs and all have shrimp thriving .Shrimp Probably added accidentally when I dump my fish poop water into them. I grow extra plants and duck weed in the tubs so that is the reason for the poop water in the tubs. Again thank you to R Budds 👍🏼 and happy fish keeping everyone , Thankyou also to aquarium co op for this platform to explore and learn from others 🥰
  11. Hi dark Angel, I have done a bit of research for my tanks and ponds with this filtration, once it is set up I find it very effective, it’s easy to say , but I did post my experiences and results on here somewhere lol. My most successful tub is a bristlenose nose grow out that I have a bcb basket in for a couple of months now. These guys just eat and poop and I feed quite heavily , probably about 20-30 juveniles in a 100litre tub, and I syy tryill cant believe everytime I go to test the nitrates for a water change, it Rarely goes over 10 ppm 🤷🏼‍♀️ All I can say if if you are interested, give it a go, pretty easy to set up it is just the cycling in time frame that is can be time consuming but it always is if you are doing it from scratch, but even with your basic cycle takes a few weeks unless you issues cycled media. Same goes with this anoxic filtration, but once you have it you can also use that to pre cycle future tanks. R Budds has a write up on his experience as well and a few in his post if you are interested 😉 good luck
  12. Hello and Thankyou for this forum to explore new ideas and information 🤩 i have been following this anoxic filtration for a while now and have done a few experimental tanks/ ponds myself. Thankyou to R Budds I thought I would share my journey and experiences with it. im still quite new to the whole concept of it but I have a basic understanding of how it works thanks to a few of Dr Movaks informative videos on utube. I keep mainly goldfish, so anyone who keeps goldfish would know the struggle with filtration and keeping good water quality and low nitrates. I was doing water changes twice a week to maintain these nitrates. I have a 500 litre and a 200 litre patio pond. I keep 4 in the 500 showed in the photo and in the 200 litre I keep 2 pearl scales , the bristle nose pleco and guppys which hitched a ride with plants and now have made quite the family in there along side my pearl scale gold fish. I run a bog on both, after trying canasters , internals etc these have kept my waters crystal clear, and best maintained, and I was after something to help with my nitrates levels. Bogs also help to reduce nitrates. Initially my bogs ran to fast to be effective, bogs need a slow flow to be most effective. This is when I also found out about the anoxic or bcbs by Dr Novak. They also need low flow and low oxygen zones to be most effective. After doing little research I found that the bacteria living in these particular zones is specific to these conditions ( low o2, below 0.5 parts but not quite 0 parts.) and will take o2 from the nitrates as well as phosphates in the water , and harmlessly gas off , which then reduced the nitrate levels in the water. So bogs also have a anoxic zone because of the slow flow through the gravel, but I was using pea gravel. Baked clay and laterite, which is Recormended, ( baked clay for its porous properties and laterite has iron) have specific properties as well which help house this bacteria and the iron help the bacteria to colonise quicker. I removed all gravel and added a mix of baked clay/ zeolite and laterite in my bogs. I also added bcb baskets with the same clay and laterite to both of my ponds, I also diverted some of the flow from the main bog into smaller tubs with the same material. This slowed the flow in my main bog filter and gave me two forms of filtration using one pump. I know this whole anoxic filtration has created a lot of questions and is dismissed as to hard or difficult to create, or the question about reducing the oxygen levels in the tank etc but this is not the case. The slow flow and low oxygen levels only need to be in the filtration or filter, much like your plenum. Which I also now run, or undergravel filter. The only zone that needs to be low in oxygen is under the actual gravel or plate. Or in the filter itself. Once the water enters back to your tank or pond it it fully oxygenated again. The baskets or bags are great for this, in the actual bcb basket or bag is where the action happens, the bacteria or baked clay in these baskets attrack the ammonia and nitrates because of the baked clays negative charge. Anyway these baskets are very easy to add especially in ponds , there is absolutely no reduction in o2 in the pond at all it all happens in the basket itself. It basically reduces the nitrates and phosphates and helps create the full nitrogen cycle, not just the ammonia to nitrites to nitrates and from there we usually have to water change , as we have always known it. personally I still like to water change as it is not only nitrates that need to be removed, the water also depletes in other minerals over time. But is make is a hell of a lot easier and a lot less stress for me that my nitrates are not building daily. Especially with goldfish. I have not lost a fish to disease, my waters are so much more stable and clear, and personally this has been totally worth the research and time to slowly change over my system. Sorry it’s a bit long winded but it’s hard to explain everything clearly and I hope this makes sence or incourages other to give it a go. It well worth it and your fish will love it. Only this moring my big mumma Goldie spawned again , like clock work she is and the same with all the fish I keep. My bristlenoses had to be seperated for some time out as they two were spawn after spawn, and well guppys they need no encouragement to spawn anyway. 🤣 Again thank you to R Budds 👍🏼 ps I was unable to upload videos and unfortunately the photos do not do justice to the clarity of the waters .
  13. Wow, impressive and so much better to explain the whole anoxic filtration process. what a great idea to have a forum like this to show and explain personal experiences especially with this filtration idea still newish and so much potential, I guess anything new is going to be met with scepticism. Great presentation of it all , so cool to your set ups. Thankyou for getting me on to this site 🤣🤣 and I’ll do a little write up of my experience. Do you have to do a new page or just here? I don’t want to bombard your posting . Anyone considering this form of filtration it is definitely worth a look into if you are having trouble with nitrates , it was definitely a game changer for me. nice job Budds 👌🏾👌🏾
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