The claim for anoxic filtration is that it attracts and converts ammonia and nitrate and converts it to harmless nitrogen very effectively. In this way it serves as an extremely effective fertilizing machine for water plants that may be planted in the filter media.

Quote from a internet site:

One of the group members responded that anaerobic bacteria were also necessary.  I had never heard a good word spoken about anaerobic bacteria in a koi pond before and requested some more info.

This led to several exchanges until someone posted a link to information on anoxic filters, http://www.mankysanke.co.uk/html/anoxic_filtration.html. Can’t give proper credit since this entire discussion seems to have disappeared from Linkedin for some reason, but I found the information on anoxic filtration very interesting.

So much so that I plan to incorporate anoxic filters in my new pond design.  The principles can also be applied to any plants you may have in your pond.  That’s what I did this year when repotting my water lilies and lotus.

I drilled the pots full of holes to allow free passage of water.  I then lined the pots with porous weed barrier and replaced the native clay with Special Kitty natural clay kitty litter from Walmart.  I added a cup of First Layer Pure Laterite in the center of the pot and covered everything with a thick layer of stones.

The claim for anoxic filtration is that it attracts and converts ammonia and nitrate and converts it to harmless nitrogen very effectively.  In this way it serves as an extremely effective fertilizing machine for water plants that may be planted in the filter media.

The details are quite complex, but fascinating.  For more information check out the link I provided above.  To see a slideshow demonstrating how I built my anoxic filter/flower pots go here: Anoxic Filter Flower Pots

The differences between normal feed and wheat germ is that wheat germ is process faster through the intestines than normal feed is.

Feeding fish anything lower than 10°C is very tricky indeed. Purina one of the largest manufacturers of animal feed here in the USA made in St. Louis Missouri stopped  making wheat germ for Koi because too much of it was being dumped out. This tells us that not too many hobbyist will switch feeds for their Koi when the weather starts getting colder.

The truth of the matter is, you don't really have to switch feeds for your Koi when the weather starts getting colder. The differences between normal feed and wheat germ is that wheat germ is process faster through the intestines than normal feed is. It takes about half the time for the Koi to process the food before it becomes waste.

The other benefit to stop feeding your Koi at 10°C is that not only are the Koi slowing down the  bacteria that is inside their intestines is also beginning to slow down one is in correlation with the other. A good example that I tell people is look at your Koi like a refrigerator, the refrigerator doesn't stop bacteria but it slows it down just enough not to spoil the food far a longer period of time than in warmer temperatures.

So at 10°C the Koi slows down, the bacteria slows down, and so does the processing of any man-made food that was given to it. The natural order of things is anything under 10°C and it stays that way then allow the Koi to start eaten the algae it will scrape off the sides of the pond. However, it is just the opposite in Spring as the temperature begins to rise at 10°C it is time that you can start feeding very lightly and maybe pausing for three days or longer before the next feeding. The koi now are becoming more active instead of lethargic.

Koi through a natural process of learning and will instinctively come to the top looking for food. Dr. B.F. Skinner prove this by ringing a bell and having a fish come up to the top of an aquarium constantly looking for food when he fed it. As we all know the fish would come up to the top anytime the bell rang, whether it got fed or not it was constantly hungry. Our Pet Koi's are no different, every time we approached the pond they instinctively go to the top looking for food. Yes, they will eat some food very slowly but remember they only have a brain of a Koi so it's up to the hobbyist to use better judgment.

At 9°C the Koi will start foraging  for food on its own. The food that it will take in now from foraging will have beneficial bacteria that will get inside of its intestines. If the koi does not get this beneficial bacteria and if it has processed food only in its intestines it will begin to rot and the rotting food from not enough active bacteria will begin to inflame the intestines of the fish. Just like humans are intestines are full of beneficial bacteria that help us digest our food,too.

This is why at 10°C it is best to stop feeding and let the processed food go through the intestines. Being Omnivores  makes them quite prolific at eating anything that they find in the pond that meets their natural diet needs. They will not starve to death!

I done enough  fish Necropsy and Biopsy Procedures to see ripped intestinal walls from the lack of or the slowdown of bacteria from processed foods that actually clogged up in the intestines of Koi. 

Yes you heard that right plants prefer ammonia over anything else.

Yes you heard that right plants prefer ammonia over anything else. Okay I'm going to explain to you just how it works. If you give a plant nitrogen it has to in a two step process convert nitrogen into nitrites and then back into ammonia. It takes energy to convert nitrogen back into ammonia therefore a plant can only do this during peak photosynthesis.

What this means if you put a nitrogen fertilizer tablet inside of a plant basket it can only be utilized during the day. At night when the plant is at rest the nitrogen can leach back into solution. The worst part of this whole scenario is people have been told that plants need nitrogen. Yes the plants will grow big and beautiful with that nitrogen tablet inside the plant basket. But the plant itself is doing very little work to clean your pond or do anything that will benefit the pond. However, if you let a plant take in ammonia only it will then grow what they call fine root hairs and these fine root hairs will take more and more ammonia. Only when ammonia is just about exhausted will the plant then go after nitrogen as a food source.

A biocenosis basket provides the right environment for all aquatic plants. Terrestrial plants are a little different in the way they process ammonia nitrogen. Aquatic plants on the other hand will take "Cation's and "Anion's in equilibrium with each other.

(Cation - A positively charged ion, with less electrons than protons. Anion - A negatively charged ion, with more electrons than protons.) As you can see giving a plant what it wants,it will then do a lot more work for you than just flower. The biocenosis baskets provides the correct environment to attract ammonia out of the water body so the plant root hairs can utilize it. Without the correct environment no easy uptake of ammonia by the plant.

And we haven't even touched on the science of what the bacteria does inside the baskets.

A letter to Dave in the UK about the colors in Koi.

Dave, there is something that I noticed this year during pond tour. We had, that is our club had, pond tour at the end of July and a few friends and myself went around to look at other people’s ponds.

What we notice is those people that used the anoxic filter are incorporated it with their other filters, their color of their Koi seem to pop. We visited one pond in Naperville that has a $20,000 filtration system and his Koi seem to have that color that just popped at you, too. Most people's ponds we visited their Koi colors were good but they were more mated down colors. Of course I'm not talking about cheap Koi are they were using cheap inexpensive foods to feed their Koi, and most had some pretty expensive filtration systems costing in the $7000 or less category.

Whether it has something to do with the clay, or water quality, it's not really fully understood why this is happening. Some people have a theory that it's the clay and the ponds are acting like a Japanese mud-pond/cay-pond. Some say because of the nitrates being consumed by the bacteria this is adding to the water quality. They justify this by the progress that they make with their fry using the Anoxic filtration system.

As we hobbyist begin to learn more and more about what clay can and cannot do for our fish this really brings up a lot of questions. I think the Japanese have found the answer hundred's of years ago and we westerners are still in the learning process. To an untrained eye the Koi's colors would go unnoticed. But to the trained eye, it is quite obvious that you can see the difference.

Of course there is no scientific proof backing up anything that I say, and some may even argue that there's a lot of variables that aren't being accounted for. There is one thing everyone can agree on through, the evidence is there and for some reason it's doing what the more expensive filters can do. However, the explanation of why it's able to do it is still up for discussion.

The proof is in the pudding!

The proof is in the pudding!

As you read these excerpts you will soon find out why conversations about AFS start out nice and with lots of info. But soon your know-it-all hobbyists comes into the conversation and all Hell breaks loose with a barrage of questions that are aimed at undermining me and the AFS and its science. 

I always think to myself: If these hobbyist are so great like they would like everyone to believe: Then why is it they don’t come up with a better filtration system themselves to better this hobby? It’s very easy to criticize someone for their achievements, but trying to do better than them; well it’s not so easy. Years of research, time, and money and most importantly picking yourself back up after each failed experiment. It’s okay to ask questions, I’m all for it, but when you become vindictive in your wording, then you have crossed the line. 

I answer questions all the time for people and with admiration for those that ask. This is a learning process that we all must go through. However, there is deference in asking and/or telling someone that they are wrong and you are right. If you believe you are right for some reason and I’m wrong; them bring up the scientific proof on the same subject line as we are talking about and not some anecdotal proof of what someone clams is right. There is a lot of anecdotal information in periodicals and books that has been proven wrong by today’s standers. Yet, many hobbyists believe in this misinformed information and become dishearten when they fail. 

I myself do everything possible to make sure anyone using the AFS is a complete success with their pond and animals. Yet, I do not sell or make any incomes off this system at all. Just look at all the other filtration systems out there and they all have some way of making money off of the hobbyist and the information you get will cost you in the long run. There are no hidden gimmicks or cost when making an AFS, it is what it is! Though a lot of hobbyist would like to believe it doesn’t work and they will make it their mission in life to discredit it: But what real agenda do they have in doing so? What purpose does it serve? Have they now become the new government/dictatorship of the Koi hobby? Or are they looking for their Andy Warhol fifteen minutes of fame? 

I have often talked about Zack Velev in my blog that exclusively uses the AFS, a hobbyist that grows large Koi and sells them off to hobbyist that can’t grow them as big as his. He not only grows them but is one of the best Koi showers at the MPKS Koi show, too. When his Koi win, he now commands a better price for them and he wins a lot. So before you start badmouthing others that use the AFS or me for that matter, look at any MPKS newsletter that shows the winners of their Koi show and look how many time his name is mentioned. You can’t grow beautiful top quality big Koi like he does in garbage water. As they say: The proof is in the pudding!

Photo on left is of a 2013 Champion “B” Zack Velev- Kinginrin A – Under 8”, Best Tosai under 8” along with St. Louis Watergardening Society Friendship A award for his Koromo/Goshiki 16-20” and won 21 times more for his Koi in that show.

In 2012  he won Best in Variety 8-12” Kohaku 1^st place,

Kohaku 12-16” Best in Variety

16-20” Goshiki Best in Variety

16-20” Sanke 2^nd place

20-24”  Showa 1^st place

12-16” Utsuri 2^nd place and 16-20” 3^rd place

16-20” Asagi/Shusui 2^nd place

20-24” Koromo 2^nd place

16-20” Hirkari Muji  1^st place

8-12” Hikari Moyo  1^st place

8” Hikari Utsuri 1^st place

8-12” Goshiki 3^rd place

8-12” Tancho 2^nd place

8-12” Gin Rin “A” 1^st place and also 3^rd place

8-12” Gin Rin “B” 2^nd place

To see more photos of Zack click on link below.

http://anoxicfiltrationsystem.blogspot.com/2013/06/brain-woodcocks-anoxic-filtration-build.html

In 2010 he won 14 times with his Koi along with Yong Champion pictured and Baby Champion.

 Another one of Zack's Koi at the MPKS Koi show.

People are almost waiting in line to get his Koi when he grows them out and sells them to hobbyist. For him this is part of the hobby and for others that can’t grow their Koi as big as his…well then they need to change their filtration system to the AFS.

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The Koiphen Chemist: Roddy

I have used lilies potted in kitty litter as my filter system in my goldfish and golden orfe ponds for at least the last 10 years. Okay, they are not in a separate filter system, and, okay, they are not the formal Anoxic system. But if I remove one of the plants and repot it, the strong odor of hydrogen sulfide coming from the repotting process convinces me the kitty litter in which the roots of the lilies are growing is quite anoxic! [Ed: If you smell Hydrogen sulfide then your substrate is not Anoxic put anaerobic in nature.] I have learned not to take on this task unless I have a strong wind to keep me from going under due to the hydrogen sulfide fumes from the lily pots when repotting lilies.

No, I have not seen the specific technology in person described as an Anoxic filter system (AFS), but certainly when I look at pictures of that system, folks who use a veggie filter appear to my old eyes to be doing essentially the same thing.

And, YES, the system with a huge lily field in pots in a huge gravel bed which is automatically cleaned every month or so is way upscale compared to the Anoxic filter system described in this thread.

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Dkoinut

Roddy, I've been utilizing The AFS for 3 years now, and have had to repot several plants. Large yellow Water lilies and yellow flag Iris. There was absolutely no hydrogen sulfide odor present in any of these pots. I've also abused my system with no major water changes other than refilling the Anoxic filter pond with 900 gallons 2X per year. And replacing the water lost to evaporation. This system works exceptionally well for my Koi Pond. Although it takes longer to complete the Nitrogen cycle initially, it outdoes any previous biofilter I've used. BTW I’m in Zone 5 with 5 months of cold winter weather as well.

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Dr. Franco Prati:

“Although it takes longer to complete the Nitrogen cycle initially, it out does any previous biofilter I've used. BTW I’m in Zone 5 with 5 months of cold winter weather as well.”

I'm testing the Anoxic filter since 3 weeks and I see is a bit slow to "start". Doctor Novak said it need only one week.
What do you think about my situation?

Franco

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Dkoinut:

Hi Franco! In my case, I had.25 ammonia and .25 nitrites and Nitrates to 20 ppm for the first 45 days then all started dropping. By October there was ammonia 0.0, nitrites 0.0, and nitrates <5. The following spring I was back to these readings by mid-May. I don't know about your fish load, but don't over feed and watch for any signs of stress in them until the filter pond cycles. Good luck and have fun. Darrell

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Mark:

Hi Dkoinut,

Have you any advice for how to start the AFS any quicker? Can you "add" the right bacteria from the start or do you just have to let nature take its course? I've seen ways of starting up a conventional system more promptly with a fishless cycle - is there an equivalent option for an AFS system?

Cheers, Mark

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Dkoinut:

Hi Mark. The short answer is no, to the best of my knowledge. But what I did was to keep some conventional filtration which I used until the AFs cycled. If you have fish in the pond now, feed lightly and do frequent water changes until it does cycle completely.

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Dr. Franco:

Sorry I forgot to update my big anoxic filtration test.
Well, as you can see from my blog, the test is finished.
http://liofornellino.blogfree.net/?t=2892492
(Sorry is in Italian but you can translate it with Google)

The results are that ANOXIC FILTRATION WORKS.
It takes 45 days (Dkoinut was right) to have a full work but if you can see from my pictures the pond was new. 20 mature koi in it and 28 biocenosis pots, but no plants at all and not bacterial of any kind added.
Po4=0 all the time
Ammonium= 0.3-0,4 feeding days, and 0,1-0,2 not feeding days (first 45 days testing)
Ammonium= 0 all days starting from day 45, the koi now are being feed 2-3 times a day
Nitrates= 8-10 like the municipal water for all the testing period.
GH= 17
KH= 11

But today I tested aquarium (700 liters) water where I put 2 pots a little smaller than others (23x23 cm instead 28x28), not later than 2 weeks ago.
Before values for the aquarium were:
ammonium=0
nitrite=0
Po4=0,5 - 0,75
nitrate=40
all the time since 2 years.

With my surprise the results were after adding the biocenosis pots:
ammonium and nitrite =0
nitrates=8-10
Po4=0

I think that in the aquarium were the water is "old" the anoxic filtration can start very quickly, but in "new" waters it takes much more time to have a full working system.

In the middle of November I'll take the truck (this time) and I'll bring back to Italy tons of cat litter from UK (Tesco! It's better to make a big order of clay from Damolin this time!!!) for all my friend pond hobbits.

Last edited by Franco Prati; 10-22-2010 at 10:26 AM.

Franco
Visit my BLOG: http://liofornellino.blogfree.net

    Reply with Quote

John:

Franco, thanks for your reports, I know you've had a very difficult time finding all the components for your anoxic system.

Oakridge,

What other filtration are you using? I think I remember in an earlier posting that Dr. Novak indicated that pre-filtering the water was very helpful in making the baskets work well.

John

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Boe:

Franco I am very interested in your posts and have joined Koiphen to reassure you. I am in the UK and just started my build which can be seen here http://www.koimag.co.uk/forum/starte...y-t542330.html. I will have an anoxic filter pump fed from some very basic homemade mechanical filtration (want sieves in the future just have to wait for bank balance to catch up) then gravity returned to pond (not waterfall too cold here for that).

I have been reading this thread for a long time as a "guest" and was very disappointed that it broke down after the constant barrage aimed at Dr. Novak but you have kept it alive Franco so don't stop posting.
Boe

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Boethius:

Franco: are you using any sort of prefilter for the anoxic pond and are you getting any settlement?

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Dr. Franco:

Boethius I'm using a Midi sieve for the Novak’s testing pond but the 200 micron filter mesh is not the best for very small particles.

My friend is building a mechanical trommelfilter using a tissue of 40 micron. This will resolve completely the problems inherent the pond maintenance: A perfect mechanical filter, and a perfect (my personal opinion) biological Novak system.
No other filtering system in my pond until now.

Few days ago I tried a new experiment but in winter time is not the best. However....
I take 3 containers half filled with water (20 liters) then I put inside 2 mg/l of NH3.
The first container is for control and I left it so.
In the second container I put a big Iris pseudacorus 1 meter tall
in the third container I put an 11"x11"x9" biocenosis pot.
No pump moved the water.

3 days later the results were:
1° container = ammonium 2,0
2° container = ammonium 0,2
3° container = ammonium 0,00000

Next spring I'll test it better with more plants (ex. Tipha, Iris, Lotus, Acorus, Water Hyacinth, etc.).
I'll add a small scale traditional pond with activated biological filtration, feed with pump.
Then the classic Biocenosis Pot.

I'll test the ammonium three times a day and after I'll report all values in a graph to compare them.
What do you think about?

Last edited by Franco Prati; 10-30-2010 at 09:48 AM.

Franco
Visit my BLOG: http://liofornellino.blogfree.net

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Dr. Novak:

Hello Franco,

  Was looking on Koiphen and saw you were doing some experiments on the Anoxic filter, keep up the good work. People all over the world are reading your blog and what you have to say about the Anoxic Filtration System. So don’t ever think that Koiphen is not being read, on what you have to say, it is. Anytime someone of your caliber does something to help others is never a waste of time or disinteresting.

  I know some do testing and do it all wrong for their own personal reasons and not for the benefit of the hobby or the fish that we keep. Good luck in the New Year.

Kevin

END

Some hobbyists think they know more than the experts…but they don’t!

If you would like to read more on water changes and why an AFS is different than a conventional filter then read the links below for more info.

http://drklnovak.blogspot.com/2013/06/water-changesonly-two-times-year.html

http://drklnovak.blogspot.com/2013/08/my-question-is-how-can-it-be-that.html

http://drklnovak.blogspot.com/2013/08/i-read-in-your-article-that-ponds-that.html

http://drklnovak.blogspot.com/2013/07/surprise-inspection-of-tds-ec-of-tony.html

http://drklnovak.blogspot.com/2013/06/anoxic-filter-cleaning-easier-than-you.html

QUOTE from DaveJ: On Extreme Koi forum

“Sorry but I think that suggesting a "Koi pond" that is reasonably stocked and fed can go without any water exchange for such a period is bad advice to the many looking in.”

E-mail sent to David J. after he E-mail me asking for an apology after his insulting remark that I was giving "bad advice" to the hobbyist.

Both of these Koi were grown in 1200 US gals of water and are 6-7 years old now in this photo. The Kin Matsuba is 29" (73.66 c) and the speckled Bekko is 31" (78.74 c) and are still alive today in beta testing pond 21 years latter. I will add that water changes are not a priority with this hobbyist either.

Okay, you came on this tread that talks about AFS, making a statement that you think I’m wrong and your right.  WE are talking about Anoxic filters here and not conventional filtration systems, which is what this thread is all about! However, I see now from your statement above that you are the self-proclaimed expert on this subject and not me, and that my advise about the AFS is wrong and I should not be giving such deliberately misconstrued information out! I’m I reading your statement correctly? So now you drew first blood by correcting me and telling me that I don’t know what I’m talking about, and you do, so therefore I’m giving out “BAD ADVICE” for those that read my post.

There are 7.123 billon people on this planet, and out of those 7.123 billon people, there is one expert on the subject of the AFS and that my dear sir is I, and I only! If I make a statement that the AFS can do something…well then you can take that to the bank! If you wish to challenge anything I say and call it “BAD ADVICE” - In other words I don’t know what I’m talking about. - You better then be ready to backup what you say with scientific proof that I’m wrong and you’re right. I don’t know were hobbyist like you get off in thinking you’re some kind of expert in field of Limnology, Ichthyology or aquatic microbiology like I am, and then have the audacity to tell a scientist that your right and they are wrong!  Really!!!  In what expertise is your field of study in again, I didn’t quite catch that?

And now you want me to apologies to you, for you belittling me in front of everyone with unfounded accusations that I’m giving out ‘bad advise’ on the Anoxic filter and its capabilities! Are you kidding!!! You will get no such apologies from me for your arrogant behavior. You are nothing but a hobbyist, showing off in front of others to get your moment of fame at the expense of others by trying to belittle them. The only trouble is: I really know what I’m talking about and you are clueless on the subject.

Then on top of all that, you want proof with photos that Cyprinus carpio can grow to 80cm in a pond using an Anoxic filter. I don’t have to prove anything after 25-years of proving the Anoxic filter and myself, you prove it can’t be done!If hobbyist would listen to people like you, we would still be in the Stone Age with ponding.Just because you don’t understand something doesn’t mean it doesn’t work, you just now have to educate yourself on new technologies and think out-of-the-box!

You will be able to read this e-mail on my blog, too. People need to see such arrogant hobbyist like you thinking they are know-it-alls! 

Dr. Kevin Ph.D.

Photo 2: The female Shusui is 29ʺ-long, the Shiro Utsuri is now 25ʺlong, and the Yellow Chagoi is 24ʺ long and the small speck of orange at the left side of the picture is a female Benigoi at 31ʺlong. The female Showa and the male Tancho Sanke are both 20ʺlong respectably. These fish are fed about 80-lbs of food a season and are all in 1200 US gal of water with only one water change done each month.

Photo 3: In this photo the female gray Chagoi at bottom of this photo grew from 18" to 24" in just one season and the breeder that sold this Koi to the hobbyist can verify this statement. 1200 US gal pond.

Photo 4: This photo shows a 14000-US gal pond that in five years grows Koi to over 32" long [Ed: He sold a 33" five year old Chagoi in 2012 he bought at 6" to club members.] then Zack sells them off to those that use conventional filters costing hundreds of times more than his AFS did. AFS filter is in the background spilling out 12000-gph from it.