My question is: How can it be that the Anoxic Filtration System makes pond water look so crystal-clear without doing any water changes?

Q:

My wife and I went on the 2004 pond walk sponsored by the Midwest Pond and Koi Society. We visited several ponds, but one of the ponds we visited used your Anoxic system. I asked: “How he kept his pond water so clean and clear, that he must have done a complete water change?” 

 He mentioned that; “He uses the Anoxic Filtration System and that he had done no water changes except for cleaning out the filter in early spring.” I really could not believe what he had said and I told him that, “He must be lying and had changed the water of his pond right before the pond walk and refilled it to get such clean water.” 

 

 My question is: How can it be that the Anoxic Filtration System makes pond water look so crystal-clear without doing any water changes?

 

A:

In the Anoxic Filtration System, nitrifying bacteria will live wherever there is an ample supply of dissolved oxygen. This will be on any surface in the pond, including the surfaces of all the Biocenosis baskets; the side of the pond walls, fish, and the plants stems themselves along with under the leaves. The nitrifying bacteria also live in the top half-inch to one and three-quarters inch of the substrate of every Biocenosis basket; this also includes the sides and bottom. The denitrifying bacteria, which consist of two different classes, will occur deep inside the substrate of each biocenosis-basket. 

Now while all this is going on, each Biocenosis basket also acts as a giant magnet, which attracts positive ions out of the bulk water. You must also remember because the Anoxic Filtration System does not clog it is constantly outperforming conventional filtration systems on a continuous basis, and that this filtration system acts as a big settlement chamber. Any micro particulate matter that makes it through the diffusion and pre-filter system will settle in-between each biocenosis-basket. These are micro particulate matter and not macro. This settlement will stay undisturbed between the biocenosis baskets until a later date when it can be disposed of. 

 Because of the way the filter is designed, the clean water stays on top of the filter and the dirty water with particulate matter will stay at the bottom of the filter. As this sedimentary deposit builds up (this is similar to the turbidities deposits on the ocean floor laid down by turbidity currents), it then becomes negatively charged as it breaks down into Mulm. Mulm, which is a matter left over after total mineralization has taken place, is inert and does not affect the water quality any longer. You may wish to remove it only because it makes the bottom of the Anoxic filter look unsightly but this is not a necessity. It will not affect your dissolve oxygen levels, TDS, CE or redox potential. How much Mulm or detritus settles in your Anoxic filter is really up to how good your pre-filter is.  

This then acts as a giant magnet in which not only Nitrification will take place, but it also attracts positive ions the same as the Biocenosis baskets do acting the same way as activated carbon does. Because of these reasons, the turbidity of the water stays extremely clear. It looks as though ozone is being used in the pond. The only difference is it is safer and does not carry the cost of an ozone system. 

The other benefit of this system is it will only produce; trace amounts of phosphates and makes better use of phosphorus (this maybe because the iron-based product of Laterite may help absorb any phosphates that possibly are produced). When phosphates begin to rise in bulk water, algae spores begin to grow. As algae spores begin to increase (effecting TDS) the turbidity of the water begins to decrease, one is in correlation with the other. Usually but not always a high TDS will effect turbidity of the water, too. Anoxic filters will keep TDS lower than 200-ppm if set up correctly. Any TDS lower than 200-ppm is considered to be excellent for ponds but >150-ppm is considered to be optimal.  

This is the reason so many hobbyists use ultraviolet units (aka: Ultraviolet Sterilizers). The ultraviolet light scrambles the DNA of algae so they cannot reproduce and therefore eventually die. With this system, phosphates do not seem to be a problem. Therefore, the alga spores that cloud the water and change the turbidity will not reproduce like in other closed systems. Because this filter is designed so differently than other “filters,” many hobbyists use a denser pre-filter mat in their pre-filters, the denser the pre-filter mat, the cleaner the water.