Anoxic Filtration System: Setting up and testing the Anoxic Filtration as told by dkoinut on Koiphen.com 2009.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Setting up and testing the Anoxic Filtration as told by dkoinut on Koiphen.com 2009.

Hi Dave: I have been using Kevin's Anoxic filtration system for over one and a half years, closer to two tears now and I believe I gave it an honest test. My pond is one of those pictured in your reference. I'm still using the Anoxic filter and am very pleased with it. I was a little leery at first because it took so long for my Anoxic filter to get up to full effectiveness, but I was way over stocked, too. I also wanted to really abuse it to make sure it would do as he stated.

I clean the anoxic filter and drain it twice per season; March and October. I only did 60% water changes spring and fall. 25% this year so far. Also I only replaced water used in flushing my bottom drain, and what was lost thru evaporation. I did this to abuse this filter to make sure it would keep up with my fish load. I currently have 26 Koi ranging from 10 to 28 inches. From standard charts, I calculate a conservative 69-pounds fish load. Until late last summer the load was much higher. I sold and gave away over 65 8 to 12 in Koi, and 8 in the 20 to22 inch range. I believe I also over feed my Koi I went through 175-lbs of Koi staple pellets last year plus shrimp, many fruits, rice, night crawlers, silk worms, etc. My water quality has remained very stable. Much more so than when I used DIY up flow filters 440 gallons of them).

Update as of 10/2008 from my water quality testing log-" After using the Anoxic filtration system for 1-1/2 seasons, I am convinced that it works very well as described by Kevin. And I'm very satisfied with mine. My water quality has remained very stable last year. And even with my very minimal water changes/additions. pH 7.9 to 8.1 regardless of time of day; 0.0 ammonia; 0.0 Nitrite; and nitrate has continued to drop to less than 5-ppm. I did a large 50% water change at start-up in March and otherwise, less than 2% per week till October. I did this as an extreme test, Next year; I'll probably do more 5 to 10% water changes." I believe this system is very effective on my "over stocked koi pond". It did take longer to completely remove nitrites. 05/07 to 05/08. Like all Koi ponds, this filter needs clean water, so a pre-filter/mechanical filter is a must. I would also say that labor requirements were reduced by at least 50%. There are 3 pictures of my pond and filter in Dave’s reference link.

My first is the rectangular concrete block pond. It’s actually a bit over 7000 gallons. Then there are 2 pictures of my Anoxic filter. I tried to copy/past but the photos wouldn't come thru. Anyway, they're about 3/4 down on the first page. I just got my greenhouse cover off the pond yesterday, but did clean the filter pond last month. Marsh Marigolds are blooming up a storm and the water irises are also growing like crazy. Most of these systems mine included are flow thru so cleaned and filtered water flows from the filter pond to the Koi pond.

The Anoxic pond is, 5.4’ wide by 9.4’ long and 28 inches deep, and about 915 gallons. I have the bog plants on elevated platforms. And there are a total of 54 biocenosis pots, with about 20 planted. Way more than is required. My water lilies and other plants bloom nonstop all summer and grow like crazy. I have to repot after 2 years, or the plants will destroy the pots and all without adding commercial fertilizer.

Setting up and testing the Anoxic Filtration System by: dkoinut

In my case, I had a very heavy fish load from the start. I didn't get the filter pond completed until August 2007 and had readings of ammonia and nitrite for remainder of the summer. I thought the filter would cycle in 4 to 6 weeks as my sand and gravel filters had done. I didn't get zero readings until the end of May or early June of 2008. This was my fault for assuming faster cycling and for not having other bio filtering on the pond at that time. My Koi ranged from 8 to 28 inches at that time. Since this was a test I did very few water changes or additions as this plus having a plant pond were my 2 main concerns with this filter.

I consider myself a dedicated Koi hobbyist but most of my friends are water gardeners and don't want to spend too much time on pond maintenance and water changes, so the test was to see how well this filter would work. And for me the answer is exceptionally well, once it's cycled (Ed: The system will take at least 45-days to cycle.). And it is also very important to provide the cleanest water possible. That is no or very little suspended wastes particles since the filter is only cleaned 2X per pond season. My pond in the CD photos is the concrete block pond. It is to be hoped that I'll get the tile or stone on to make it more presentable this year. This filter should work very well for your pond. Good luck and have fun. There is a lot of talk on Koiphen.com about the filtration system you may wish to look at.

(Ed: It has now been over 6-years now and Darrell is still using the Anoxic Filtration System with others following his lead in Iowa.)