Low maintenance denitrifying tanks, 5.5 gallon with nearly zero nitrates.

[R Budds]

I took down a 29 gallon tall tank I had setup. The substrate was gravel and sand on the bottom with a few plants. They never grew well, possibly due to the tanks height and weak lighting. The nitrates had risen to around 80ppm even with regular water changes, but it doesn't help that our tap water has 40-50ppm already. The fish were not doing as well as they should be and one tiny cory had died.

Above are the test strips for both anoxic tanks, the top is the 20L the bottom is the 5.5 gallon.

I moved 4 mystery snails and 6 neon tetras to the 20 gallon long where they joined our 5 black neons, 7 Julii corys, a betta, and 2 snails.

The 20L was my first anoxic test and is running at under 20ppm nitrates, zero nitrites and ammonia, very hard, low KH, around 6.8pH, around 340ppm on the TDS meter. It has a slow plenum under gravel filter, an intank filter, and an airstone.

It has some basil growing in the top as an experiment. I clear the center duckweed every other day, I just slide the foam dividers together and scoop it out.

The top is a foam box with a reflective fabric made for hydroponics boxes this helps get the light onto the tank. The cutouts are terrible, I should have made them before I assembled it, but they work. I can tilt them to open them up and let it breathe. 

Now onto the nano tank with essentially zero nitrates. It's a 5.5 gallon with 6 green corys, 2 female guppies, and a mystery snail which all came from the 29 gallon. It uses a slow moving plenum, an intank filter, and an air stone. Its currently around 350ppm on the TDS meter. I filled it 75% with the old tank water the rest fresh, along with the plants, a big rock and a tiny section of the old tank's filter sponge. The next day I drained 25% and used water from the 20L anoxic tank and added the small pot which has a few scoops of the 20L substrate. The nitrites and nitrates registered for the first 3 days and have been clear for 3 days now.

It has a deep bed of Safe T Sorb over an under gravel filter made from plastic fabric that has 7 holes per inch.

I pushed the UG plate to the back so I can see inside a little.

This picture isn't to scale, but the substrate is about 3 inches on average. The plenum is 7 squares tall (about 1 inch/25mm) with a 3/8" ID vinyl uplift tube (in the picture above it goes from over the 75mm down to under the 25 mm) it then goes to the surface, to monitor the flow. The plenum has some support plates holding it up but is otherwise open.

It also has a small cheap intank filter. I blocked most of the lower inlets and cut a weir into the side. There is also a surface divider around the filter and the plenum uplift tube, it has some foam blocks to keep it floating. It's kind of ugly but it keeps the duckweed out of the filter and makes a nice clean surface.

it seems a bit overstocked but so far they are all doing very well. I plan to add a male guppy and possibly a new betta. 

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by R Budds
Forgot to remove extra picture, edit 2 changed title for more accurate description

[Fish Folk]

Can you help out my ignorance: when you describe “anoxic,” how are you using that term? My basic understanding is that this refers to water where oxygen is totally depleted. Is that what you mean?

I must be struggling with mental fog tonight… sorry… can you help walk through what’s going on with your measurement references? What was the relationship between the 29 gal, and then the 20 long and 5.5? What do you mean by “first anoxic test”? How is it anoxic if you’re using an airstone?

Just trying to follow here. My apologies. Nice photos! 

Edited March 23, 2022 by Fish Folk

[R Budds]

Hi Fish Folk,

Thanks for the questions.

By anoxic I am describing the condition at the bottom of the substrate (100% SafeTSorb 2 to 3 inches deep) as the water column goes down into the plenum (DIY undergravel filter) through the substrate at a very low rate. The water then goes up thru a 3/8 inch tube to the surface, this tube has an airtube in it that is turned all the way down to just lift a tiny gulp of water at a time. This should create anoxic conditions at the lower part of the substrate and in the plenum then this oxygen deprived water is dumped right next to the air stone stream. The oxygen level in the tank itself seems good.

The 29 gallon tall was a tank I had setup in the standard way (substrate directly on the bottom). The 29G had 6 neons, 2 guppies, 6 corys and few snails. The ammonia and nitrites were zero but the nitrates kept going up, especially since my tap water is high in them already (40 ppm the other day when I tested), plus the 29G tall is too tall for how I had it arranged.

I took the 29G down and moved the 6 neons to the already stocked 20 long. The 20L was setup with a similar plenum and SafeTSorb anoxic UGF back in January with a betta, 7 Julii corys,  5 black neons, and some snails. It has been under 20ppm nitrates for a couple of weeks now.

I moved the other fish from the 29 (6 corys and 2 guppies and 2 snails) into the new 5.5 gallon. It's at virtually zero nitrates.

I used Dr. Novak's teachings to make the systems. He has a YouTube channel where he talks about his work.

Edited April 1, 2022 by R Budds
I forgot some fish

[R Budds]

One week update for the zero nitrate 5.5 gallon. I added a betta and a male guppy. The betta had to go into a different tank because he ate some of the male guppy's tail. One of the female guppies also had a baby. So now it has: 6 green corys, 3 guppies plus the baby, and a snail (I think the snail may have died though, it's been in its shell for a few days)

The tank was a bit cloudy because I had just drained and refilled most of the water to move it.

Here's the male's new tail, he will be fine.

The tank has a nursery for the baby guppy. I used some "small bug" screen I had to make it. I cut the shape out and hot glued the corner seams, then turned it inside out, and added some foam at the top to hold the shape and make it float. I have been using EPP foam since november with no known issues so far. I left some space around the front and right side so the corys can clean the outside of the basket and any new babies can swim freely there and be more easily seen.

Below is a close up of the baby through the screen. The baby is about 50% wider than the holes.

The plants have grown quite a bit. I added a new LED light (Aqueon for up to 20 gallons) its made for plants.

This was last week.

I need to get an appropriately sized (and adjustable) heater. The first small one I had was on all the time and just heated at a 15 watt rate and gets too hot if the room is 76 or more; plugging and unplugging it is not an option, so I moved it to a bigger tank. Right now I'm using a 10/20 gallon heater, which isnt a good long term option. 

Edited April 1, 2022 by R Budds
Clarified positioning of fry basket

[Darkskies]

Hello,

Great tank! I was hoping to start a similar project.

When you say the vinyl uplift tube “goes from over the 75mm down to under the 25mm it then goes to the surface, to monitor the flow” by surface do you mean the uplift tube goes just above the top layer of substrate or that it goes all the way to the top of the tank/water level? 

Also in Dr. Novak’s videos the uplift tube would have an airstone in it set at a low rate to drive the filtration, right? Do you have that here as well? 

Would it be possible to set up a 5.5 gallon tank with the UGF plenum + seachem denitrate under the plenum while having 1/4 inch of seachem fluorite red on top of the plenum followed by a 3 inch regular sand substrate covering it? Is the Safe T Sorb absolutely necessary? 
 

Thanks in advance! 

[R Budds]

Thanks for the questions Darkskies.

I didn't clarify the uplift tube too well. It runs from the plenum to the surface. Here are some pictures of my first such setup. The tube is about a half inch below (into) the plenum and glued to the plenum. 

Here's at the surface in my 20 long (my first denitrifying tank), it has some algae growing in the tube. I just used a bare airline going almost to the bottom of the uplift tube with no stone and turned it down to a little more than a trickle using an air valve to control the bubbles. An air stone wouldn't fit into this tube (3/8inch ID), perhaps regular UGF plates use bigger tubes. I ran the uplift tube all the way out of the water to monitor the flow.

This is under the surface.

This is the tube going into the substrate down to the plenum plate. The tube pulls water only up and out of the plenum.

I don't know anything about seachem denitrate so I couldn't recommend it or not; I will only say that it may be counterproductive because it's removing the nitrates so the bacteria you want to grow is potentially starved. Once you establish the denitrifying bacteria they will denitrify for you.

A quarter inch of fluorite red may be a bit too much for a 5.5. I would do a light, but nearly full layer, after about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of the first layer (near the bottom, but not directly on the UGF plate). I used a sprinkle (3 tablespoons) of SafeTSorb soaked in iron fertilizer in the substrate of my first tank, it took 2 months to drop the nitrates. I didn't use any iron enrichment in my 5.5 gallon and it dropped the nitrates from around 100ppm to zero in 6 days, with just a small amount of substrate from my established tank to get it going. 

I don't know the science so I defer to Dr Novak, and he always says kitty litter. I bought 3 bags and they were all mush after washing. I think he does mention SafeTSorb, but I know others have tried it with success and that's why I used it. Plus it's cheap, $8 for a 40lb bag at tractor supply or similar stores.

It has something to do with the ion charges of the water and the clay and how it pulls the bad charges out, so I think at least some SafeTSorb (or equivalent) is needed.

As for sand, I don't think that will work for you as it will get pulled down thru the UGF grating, unless it had very fine holes, you want low flow but this may block most or all flow.

I had wanted sand too for my corys to dig in but they love jamming their faces into the SafeTSorb. It's lighter weight than gravel and they move it around easily. It is dark though. 

I would recommend just a bit of fluorite red, the SafeTSorb, and low flow. Once you have established the bacteria you can transfer them easily into a more planned out arrangement and/or experiment.

I think my 5.5 and 20 gallon tanks could both use smaller UGF filters, maybe as small as 1/3 of the tank bottom, and still drop the nitrates down; this could allow you to have the UGF/SafeTSorb at the back and the sand at the front. I'm not sure if the filter could establish itself at this smaller size though, but it is something I have considered.

I am just posting a picture of my 5.5 today compared to last week; it has 2 new mystery snails. The wisteria needs to be trimmed. The nitrates are still at zero.

[Darkskies]

Hi R Budds,

Thank you so much for taking the time to post such a detailed and informative response with great photos of your tank!

I’ve been following Dr. Novak’s videos on YouTube but my understanding was that he would make the uplift tube for the plenums to be either flush with the top layer of the substrate or 1” above it.  He had said on one of his videos that having a long lift tube makes more of an “updraft” of the water so it ends up not working out somehow.

Obviously this has not been the case for you and your strategy seems to have been more successful than some other people’s who had the short uplift tubes that are just above the substrate. What made you think of this strategy instead of following Dr. Novak? I’ve been reading posts on anoxic filtration here on these forums and it seems most of the other people’s projects didn’t work out?

Dr. Novak had said that you can put groundcover mesh over the UGF plates and then be able to put sand substrate on top without having to worry about the sand settling into the UGF and with the groundcover mesh the water will still flow through the UGF.

Are you saying that Safe T Sorb alone without any iron fertilization (laterite/seachem flourish red) should still work to create anoxic filtration (and possibly work even faster)?

Seachem Denitrate is a biomedia similar to Seachem Matrix but with even more structure conducive to denitrifying bacteria to grow on. It doesn’t have any chemicals or products in it and just provides a home for more denitrifying bacteria to colonize. I was wondering if it might promote anoxic filtration even more by being placed under the plenum. 

I wish I could have step by step instructions on how to make this so that it’s basically guaranteed to work but I keep running into conflicting information. Dr. Novak is also very longwinded and tangential in his videos (even in his instructional ones).

Really appreciate your help with this!

Thanks! 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Darkskies

[R Budds]

No problem, I want others to have success with this method too.

My only reason for not following Dr Novak's advice on the tube length is because you can't really tell how much water is flowing with a short tube that's underwater, but with it coming out of the water you can actually see the flow and adjust it. Since I now know about how many bubbles it takes to get the right flow (with the 3/8 inch ID tube I am using) I could make one with a short tube,  but this way works for me so I will probably stick with it.

I didn't see him mention the groundcover cloth and sand. The main reason I avoided it was a video a saw by Serpa Design. He showed how certain brands of groundcover cloth is almost impermeable, so he avoided using it in his terrariums' false bottoms. One of my concerns is that sand may not have the properties that the clay has to create the right conditions.

No, I believe you still need some form of iron to get it going. I used the liquid iron fertilizer in my first denitrifying tank and it took 2 months to take effect. When I started my 5.5 gallon (after the nitrates had started dropping in my first tank) I added some substrate from that nearly established tank and that's why it cycled so fast, i didn't add the iron just to see what would happen. According to Dr Novak the iron is just to feed the bacteria at first. 

I was not familiar with the seachem denitrate so I thought it was a resin based nitrate scrubbing additive of some sort. It may help, and I know he uses various bioballs under some of his UGFs, but I wanted an open plenum to avoid any dead spots. I think unimpeded flow, especially at this low flow rate, is more important than a little more surface area. I have found that the 2 to 3 inches of SafeTSorb is enough surface.

I would just try to get one working with the SafeTSorb and iron on the UGF, then experiment with sand or other substrates using the bacteria from the established SafeTSorb setup. The seeded substrate I put in my 5.5 gallon (from the established 20 long) was just a few scoops in the little pot on the right side of the 5.5, you can see it in the pictures I posted. You could do something similar, or use a bag to hold the SafeTSorb so it doesn't mix with your sand.

I may do a more detailed writeup with another 20 long I am setting up.

Dr Novak is long-winded and it took a while to pick out the relevant parts. I think he means well, but just gets mad about people denouncing his work without actually testing it. 

I hope this makes sense, don't hesitate to ask any more questions you may have. 

Edited April 8, 2022 by R Budds

[Minanora]

Very interesting. I've read and heard a lot about this type of filtration recently.

It's very interesting to think about. I feel like substrate is overlooked by most hobbiests as a biological filter.

The concept is almost alien compared to what we're told by filter manufacturers and most retailers. I was even skeptical at first. However, I may give this style a try at some point.

I've learned that you can have tanks that only require topoffs and mineral additions. 4 of my 5 tanks are top off only tanks. It just takes time. Those tanks are eating the full bioload that they have with a combination of filters and plants. Not one tank is the same filtration or load though.

I supply air to all of my tanks. This method you talk about, it's a little confusing due to the term "anoxic". My only questions at the moment are about air. I read the mention of an air stone but I don't see any in the photos. How high do you run that supplemental air?

[R Budds]

Hi Minanora thanks for the question. 

Anoxic is a bit confusing so I've been calling it denitrifying lately. I have 3 tanks with this setup that I will be referring to: a 20 gallon long (set up in early January), a ten gallon with a different uplift tube/air stone arrangement (set up in early February), and a 5.5 gallon which is looking the best of all 3 (set up March 15th).

For clarity I will be referring to airflow on a 1 to 10 scale, with 1 being the value just cracked open and 10 being full flow from a normal air pump for the tank, thru the stone; and for the uplift tube 1 is just enough to lift out the smallest amount of water and 10 being a flow as from a water pump for that sized tank (shooting a couple of inches above the tube, way too much but just to use as a baseline)

Here are a few gifs showing the air and water flow in the 5.5 gallon tank; this tank is stable at 0 nitrates and the TDS is around 450ppm and minimal water changes. It has 3 guppies, 6 green corys, and 2 mystery snails. The upper gif shows the air stone in the left corner and it is set fairly low 2.5/10, the in-tank filter adds some agitation too. The lower gif shows the in-tank filter and plenum uplift tube, the tube is at the center of the tank, it's around 3/10. 

In the 2 gifs you can see a strip of filter cloth at the in-tank filter's outlet. I change that out as needed, usually about every 5 to 7 days.

Here is a picture of the 5.5, the picture is not too clear though.

Now I will talk about the 10 gallon. It has 3 dwarf crayfish (one died last week) and a betta. 

Below is the air stone flow, it's a small air stone, and it's fairly high 7/10. (sorry for the thermometer in the way). This tank has the plenum uplift tube in the corner as well, thats the white tube on the right of the airline. 

This airflow moves quite a bit of water across the surface which then hits the foam divider (the white strip coming across from the upper right corner) this pushes the flow down into the plants. The airflow inside the plenum uplift tube is lower (about 1.5/10) in this tank compared to the 5.5 shown above; however I think the surface flow helps pull it out of the tube, or maybe it impedes it, either way this tank has been the slowest to denitrify; it could be a light bioload. The 10 gallon's lid is sealed tight and I only add about a cup of water every other week to it since I set it up, with one 25% water change in the first 2 weeks. The TDS is at 710ppm, it's usually around 650 to 680, I added a half dose of fertilizer so it's around what I expected. I may do a light water change soon.

Here is the airstone in the 20 long. It's hard to see but it's around 3/10 I would say, so it's pretty low. It's in the corner behind the in-tank filter.

The uplift tube is in the center. It's flow is about 3/10, similar to the 5.5 gallon, so basically 4x slower turnover of the tank relative to the 5.5. 

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by R Budds

[Darkskies]

Hi R Budds,

I’ve been gathering all the materials for my own 5.5 gallon project. Just waiting on the undergravel filter to arrive (Lee’s was the only one I found online for a 5.5 gallon tank and it might take a week to arrive from a 3rd party seller on Amazon). The LFS near me don’t stock UGFs at all, let alone one for a 5.5 gallon tank, because they’re so “old-school”. 
 

How did you make your own UGF? Very neat by the way. 

If I have a check valve on the air pump in between the airline tubing, I should be able to adjust the flow from the UGF rather well even if I have the uplift tube cut down to 3 or 4”, right? 

Also how did you go about cleaning the Safe T Sorb? I heard it’s very messy in the water. 

Thanks a bunch. Will definitely keep you updated once those plates arrive and I can set up my tank! 

[GoldyGirl]

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 👌🏾👌🏾
 

[R Budds]

I'm glad to see you are moving forward with it Darkskies. 

I made my UGF with plastic fabric, or maybe it's called plastic canvas, either way it's available at craft stores. Below is a picture of the UGF I made for my new 20 long. It's basically just a shallow upside-down box. I used hotglue to make the corners, but I may reinforce the seams with silicone. 

I haven't added the uplift tube to this UGF yet. To do that just cut a hole that the tube can fit into and silicone it in place and allow it to setup, just make sure the tube doesn't fall down to the bottom, it should be just under the top plate. I will also add standoffs under the plenum to hold it up in the middle. I have used foam blocks and strips of the plastic fabric glued to the bottom and they both seem to work well.

Below is another plenum I made, the tube connects in the back, but it still pulls water from the plenum. The reason I am showing this picture is the layer of glue on the top plate coming down and to the right from the tube. I did this to create a funnel effect so it draws more water from beyond the tube rather than just the water directly next to it. I did the same with my other ones, but forgot to take a picture.

A check valve is good to use, but you'll also need an adjustable valve to turn it down. For my 5.5 gallon I use a gang valve with 2 valves. One valve is for the uplift tube (turned way down) the other valve is to vent the air, and the outlet of the valve (which would normally feed another valve) goes to the airstone. I did this (venting to air) to not bog the air pump down. 

This is the valve I use for my 5.5. From left to right it's: air from pump, 1st valve is bleed off (just an open tube to the air adjust this to get the airstone pressure right), 2nd valve is the air to the uplift tube, and then the airstone tube (this tube would normally feed another valve or be plugged up, because it's airflow going straight thru the valve body).  The valves are a bit of a balancing act.

A short uplift tube should be okay, it's what Dr Novak recommends, you just won't be able to see the flow. I would just turn it way down for a tiny amount of bubbles.

Cleaning the SafeTSorb is a mess. It's quite dusty. I use a metal strainer that I got from the Dollar General for $3. 

Just rinse and rinse and then rinse some more, any that rises when you fill the tank should quickly settle. I also use a standard in-tank filter (see gifs from earlier posts) that would help clear it up too.

Yes please keep me updated and if you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask.

Edited April 12, 2022 by R Budds

[Jeff]

Nice looking tank! Especially your substrate 😍

I'm curious about eliminating Nitrates with a planted tank. Plants take care of those naturally. So, why are you having this done via anoxic?

[R Budds]

Welcome GoldyGirl,

I can't wait to see some nice pictures of those patio pots.

I'm not sure about the arrangement of this forum. For now I am going to post here. I did post under the "experiments" section about my 1 gallon low maintenance fry jar. When I actually start my new 20 long I will probably start a new thread for it, to clean it up and make it more concise. 

Don't worry about bombarding my posts, you may regret it when I give you a long winded writeup though (see above) lol.

[Minanora]

ORD. I dig it. Thank you for the information. I really am enjoying reading about your projects.

You need to make yourself a "signature" and have links to this thread and your jar experiment!

[R Budds]

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for your interest. 

I tried keeping fish in the early 2000s, with terrible results so my tanks went into the basement for a long time. I got them back out last November to try again. I did what seems to be the normal thing nowadays, which was to put the substrate directly on the glass. I added plants and they struggled and some died, but my nitrates kept going up (my tap water is 40-50ppm nitrates already). At times they went over 100ppm even with regular water changes.

The plants just were not cutting it. Even duckweed died off in it, so I needed to try something else. Now my plants and animals are doing better then ever and the nitrates are completely gone. I do add a little fertilizer sometimes, usually a half dose.

I monitor the TDS to determine when I need to change a little water. The lids are tight so I get very little evaporation. 

Eventually I plan to setup my 29 tall with a denitrifying filter and no real plants, for goldfish, and see how it works without them.

Edited April 13, 2022 by R Budds

[R Budds]

On 4/12/2022 at 11:09 AM, Minanora said:

You need to make yourself a "signature" and have links to this thread and your jar experiment!

I'll have to look into that, thanks. 

[R Budds]

On 4/12/2022 at 10:53 AM, Jeff said:

Nice looking tank! Especially your substrate 😍

Thanks, at first I didn't really care for it but it's grown on me. The SafeTSorb does have a nice varied texture and color.

[GoldyGirl]

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 .

 

[R Budds]

I've watched a few videos by Ozponds and he likes bog filters. He thinks that his are making anoxic conditions near the top, since the pond water enters from the bottom and goes up, then when the water comes to the surface it reoxygenates before flowing back into the pond. It's an interesting filter and kind of like a combination of the BCBs and a plenum. He also mentioned that water flowing through the filter, instead of just around it, seems to work better or more efficiently. 

Your water looks crystal clear. Mine has been cleaner than ever too. 

I've seen some skeptics say that nitrates aren't bad until 1000ppm and that nitrates have to be there anyway for the plants to grow; both of these things may be true but that doesn't really matter to me, all that matters is that my water quality is better than ever and my fish are doing great plus I'm growing plants like I've never been able to before.

My 5.5 gallon is so clear and the fish are so active I wouldn't have thought it was possible with how many I have in there. It has 6 corys and 3 adult guppies plus a 3 week old juvenile that I put back in there today and 2 mystery snails with no signs of stress. 

[GoldyGirl]

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.

[Minanora]

@GoldyGirl Your ponds are helping me convince my spouse to let me have "ponds". 😛 every pond photo is fuel for my fire.

[GoldyGirl]

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 🙏🏼

[GoldyGirl]

On 4/17/2022 at 12:49 PM, Minanora said:

@GoldyGirl Your ponds are helping me convince my spouse to let me have "ponds". 😛 every pond photo is fuel for my fire.

Awsome, I hope you do it’s worth it 😉 

I’ve just worked out how to respond to the posts hahaha 🤪