Excerpts from a fish forum that were
started just recently on the internet and posted 1/6/2016.
Anoxic filter
So I thought
it was time to bore you all by banging on about my pond filter
By: Dave
Collins: a senior member of eXtreme Koi, the internet’s top Koi site!
Disadvantages:
I’ll start with this first because it’s much easier. The Anoxic filter is a bio
filter only so although this is not strictly a disadvantage, it does require
some sort of solids removal system as a first stage. Depending on how the
Anoxic container is constructed then it can take up a fair bit of surface area
unless you stack the baskets vertically.
Advantages:
These are many but I will try and explain a few of them.
Cost: As in
everything in life nothing is free BUT there is no need to spend thousands
chasing the nitrogen cycle. I currently have 60 Biocenosis Clarification Baskets
in a liner pond that filters the main pond. The baskets were filled with cat
litter and Laterite although there are now cheaper alternatives available to
Laterite. The Biocenosis Clarification Baskets litter and Laterite worked out
at £19’s each so not cheap but could be reduced to about £12’s today. The
Laterite has a reported life of at least 20 years and the baskets and cat
litter are forever.
Water
parameters: The Anoxic filter will first “eat” ammonia, so as such there is no
nitrogen cycle except for the bacteria living on all pond surfaces. As there is
very little ammonia then nitrite is also low and is consumed by the filter when
it has finished with the ammonia. Once this is in short supply then the filter
will start to consume the nitrate and phosphate leaving the water clean. The
filter has no influence on KH or pH so the pond is very stable, I have been
running my pond with a KH of 2dh for years with no signs of any change.
Cleaning: I
have an RDF fitted so there is very little dirt that gets into the Anoxic
filter. All I have is a very light covering of mulm on some of the baskets
(between 1 & 2 mm thick or .039-.078 think). I last cleaned the Anoxic
filter on 4th October 2013 and have no plans to clean it in the near future.
Water
changes: I don’t change the water at all and haven’t done so since installing
the Anoxic filter. I top up with about 200-liters of RO water a day that is
used by the RDF but that is all for my 45,000 liter (11,887.74-USG) pond. The
pond is crystal clear and all parameters checked on my Hanna 83203 electronic
meter are low. Current temperature is 9.4°C (48.94 ͦF) and I’m still feeding
250-gms (8.8 oz. or ½ lbs.) of 36% protein food a day.
Koi: I have
about 40 Koi in the pond of which 20 are over 60cms (23.622 in). They are all
looking very well and I’m hoping my Chagoi which is currently at 85cms (33.46in)
will pass the 1 meter mark in the next two years. The Koi are growing well but
I don’t feed for quick growth so there are no growth records being broken in my
pond. The Anoxic filter also consumes growth suppressant pheromones which would
explain why the Koi in my overcrowded pond are still growing.
Please read
my article for more information on pheromones: http://anoxicfiltrationsystem.blogspot.com/2015/12/pheromone-fermon-noun-zoology-chemical.html
Conclusions:
I wish I’d found the Anoxic filter system before I spent thousands on all sorts
of fancy filter systems that only leave you with a pond full of nitrates and a
very large water bill trying to eliminate them.
Dave
Reply:
Thanks for
that Dave a very good read. I did a new pond build early last year and put in a
small anoxic filter {didn’t have much room for a bigger one} I too get a small
mulm deposit but it is interesting that you don’t clean yours out.
I read somewhere to clean it out twice a year
to be honest I haven’t touched mine yet, though I have a drain at the bottom of
it so I have flushed it out quite often.
Does it take a long time to kick in like an
ordinary filter? All my readings have been good since I built the pond so maybe
it is working ok
John
Reply: Dave
Hi John,
No need to clean really as the drum keeps
nearly everything out. For the very small particles that get through the filter
acts like a settlement chamber, still used by many, the oxygen in the water
renders them harmless.
As you say, Dr. Kevin Novak recommends
complete water changes and clean out in the filter every six months. I haven't
felt the need to do this, the water is sparkling and the water parameters are
good.
I'd say the Anoxic filter takes about 2 weeks
to start working and depending on where you're starting from can take from 6
weeks to a few months to be performant. I had Nitrates of 200mg/l so it took
about 3 months to reduce it to the current level of 25mg/l
Reply:
Does it work
as good throughout the winter?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Reply:
My pond is
at 8°C (46.44 ͦF) this morning and I'm still feeding a little. The performance
of the filter in winter slows down with the lower temperatures just like any
other filter but it is still working.
Reply:
It's good to
hear comments from someone who's actually running an anoxic system as I'm
considering it for my next pond.
Reply:
Steve,
There are a few considerations to
observe when stacking baskets. Nothing complicated but it's something I've
described in the anoxic filtration article on my website. It's in the second part,
which concentrates on building a system, but, if you're seriously considering
building a system, the whole article is a long read but I highly recommend it.
Manky
Reply:
Thanks Syd, I have read through your
write up a couple of times and also downloaded and flicked through Kevin
Novak's papers but as always with me it takes a while for things to sink in
completely.
My biggest beef with an anoxic set up
is that I could use the space and construction cost and effort for pond space
so stacking baskets would be a major benefit.
I definitely need to do a bit more reading and see few
more Koi keepers reviews before I decide what direction to take but I do like
the concept of anoxic filtration.
Reply: from Dave Collins
Hi Steve,
I forgot to add to my Conclusions - Its bloody GREAT
!! With an RDF and an Anoxic
filter, all I do is watch the Koi grow whilst drinking a beer (summer only)
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