Jay, I want to thank you!!! You are the first person that I have come across, who explains in English (layman's terms) the complete process. This is what I have been trying to accomplish. I have African cichlids, many tanks. I use sumps, refugiums, even aquaponics, but still have off the chart NO3, without doing water changes. You have answered so many questions for me. I knew in my mind that this was possible, an ecosystem. Just had to many missing links. Asked others questions, got a few answers, but mostly got, that won't work, you have to do water changes, refugiums are for saltwater. I have even built a bridge system in one room that connects 3 aquariums together, 4 inch's in diameter (so the fish can swim from one tank to the other), I did this to increase the volume of water. Larger volume, more stability. I could go on forever. I won't bore you. I just want to thank you, and shout, HA! I knew it could be done!!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!! You rock my friend! Eternally grateful, Cindy
Huge bio loads make all kinds of external bs necessary. Keep that in mind. Less fish and you can have no filtration AND no water changes. Just use R.O. or distilled for top offs or you shoot yourself in the foot. Hardness builds up quickly in aquariums.
What a breath of fresh air your videos are. So many videos on this subject are by people who keep saying it's complicated but then they don't demonstrate a lot of knowledge of the subject. Good to have it explained reasonably thoroughly.
NH3 >> NO2 >>NO3>> And then, I didn't quite get it ..... I'm remembering high school chemistry class, haha. I have not delved into this for about 20 years, but the slow flow denitrification does work, as you said.... I built a "spiral tube" filter for a marine tank. Surely enough the water coming out was nitrate free, but the flow was so slow (ie, about 2-3 drops per second), it was ineffective on the 300 litre system. I like your ideas, and science. Subscribed, and will be looking more back (past) through your videos. Thanks for the detail! :)
A diverter after fast flow filter (for Standard ammonia and nitrite cleaning ) that splits water flow (80% back to tank and 20% through next low flow anoxic filter , then back to tank ) is an alternate .(this utilizes the reduce 02 levels from first filter moving slowly ) Your idea of a thick bed is ,I believe, the best natural way in that it mimics nature . (I have had old school tanks that lasted , untouched for a year at a time with the heavy planting and small fish count with minimal feeding relying solely on a simple slow flow under gravel grid filter (sort of , minimal air ).
You can get anoxic conditions by having a large amount of fairly fine substrate as well. The nitrates will difuse into the soil through hypertonicity. Keep this in mind if building a low tech system like this. If the anoxic bacteria in your filter die you will have a healthy supply in the soil to help maintain parameters. Great video man. Well done and very simple.
Hello Jay, Thanks a lot for this smart and perfect serie. I have this project to build my own DIY freshwater tank with a sump, and your video really help me to take the ‘nearly’ final decision. The only think which keep bothering me is why don’t we add a plenum below the DSB? For example of 1 “ bioballs with mesh. Can you please tell me what would be your opinion ? This idea of a plenum with DSB is not clarified for me and I have to really take care to provide the minimum maintenance possible due to the limited supply of clean water I have where I leave in Asia. All opinions and yours of course are more than welcome. Thank you !
What a fantastic series! I am using a deep sand bed and plants (actually slow growing plants but I plan to add some faster growing stem plants soon) and I can't get any nitrate readings. I do a 25% water change weekly right now. I'm going to see what happens if I just top-off. ...I'll do a water change if my NO3 goes above 10 but I'd like to see how long I can go....
Any updates on your tank? How much sand do you have? What kind of "sand" are you using? How large is your tank? What is the stock? I am very interested in knowing thanks for your time.
Is 10 ppm scary? Or is 50 ppm where it might get scary? People who want to sell test kits....and filtration products will say 10 every time. The ponds and lakes where these fish come from don't have any of that. Top of with distilled or R.O. so parameters remain the same (regardless of testing) Nothing but pure water leaves the tank. The minerals are bound up in the plants which release them back for others use during the decay process. If one has to supplement certain plants with minerals to keep them happy they simply have too many of that kind of plant. Plants compete too and getting their ratios right is another key. Good luck
I have 2 piles of rock in my tank, because my hillstream loaches like that sort of thing. I was starting to worry that they might be a source of pollution, pressing the substrate below, collecting mulm and blocking flow in those areas, but maybe they're actually a good thing and create denitrification zones? I do have oddly low nitrates all the time, I only do water changes for aesthetic reasons (suspended particles and problems they cause, like hydras etc).
Hi Jay. Thank you for your excellent video and explanation of the anoxic filtration system. I needed some advise with the following: 1) Is there a minimum or optimum quantity of the fired clay media per gallon of aquarium water? 2) How much sugar would you suggest I put into the media to start of the anoxic filtration? 3) I want to use red clay for the media. I presume the red colour is due to the iron content, in which case do I still need to add an iron source such as laeterite or flourish iron to the clay? And if so what other substitutes can I use for the iron source? Are the iron syrups or tablets for human use acceptable? 4) Instead of an under gravel plenum inside the aquarium, I want to build an over the aquarium sump/ aquaponics filter system with a plenum under the clay media, sand and gravel and needed your advise if it could work at achieving anoxic filtration. Please share with me your email address on which I can reach you so that I can send you a drawing of my design so that you can guide me on any corrections required. Thank you once again for your excellent videos. Kind regards Ally
It would be smart to put undgravel plates (or any type of plenum) under substrate which will create the needed anoxic wo going full anaerobic at the bottom. It will allow the water to fully pass through the entire layer instead of hitting the bottom glass and going nowhere and losing all oxygen. Heterotrophs can live in .25-1 dissolved oxygen. Undergravel is imop the best way as you can retain the uplift tubes and use airstones as very little airflow to help pull water though if you do endup with full anaerobic instead of anoxic, thus allowing you to fine tune the flow. Using any clay based substrate is best as the crystals help attract the molecules due to negative ion charge as well as the iron content helps promote bacterial growth similar to how it does with plant growth.
Will a deep four inch substrate work for denitrification on a two or three gallon bowl/tank? Along with fast growing plants. Thank you for explaining all this. You are genius.
Seems like having two filters would be a good option. We don't want to neglect the aerobic process which does well with high flow. But if we have second filter with very slow flow that could build up anaerobic filtration it will work for Nitrates. I wouldn't feel good about slowing it down and risking insufficient aerobic filtration.
Great video, thank you. I do have a deep substrate and it does form nitrogen bubbles. When I set it up, I put a matrix of PVC pipes with holes and an outlet in case I want to suck some dead water out from underneath. Now I'm thinking about put a little suction there to cause some flow through the substrate. Any thoughts? Also the clay gravel that you showed is also used by some here in US and I was going to add to my tank or filter, but I wasn't sure if it'll hurt my fish since it's used for gardening. There are biomedia that act the same way but cost a lot more, Seachem Matrix and BioHome being a couple of options. After watching your video, I think if you pack a canister filter, and use a taller canister one, you may reach a higher denitrification.
Great video! Can you incorporate this dual aerobic and anoxic conditions still in a deep substrate by incorporating an under gravel filter? Same question but having a plenum only instead of UGF? Does this replicate similar to your turtle tank with a deep substrate but adjacent to open water (similar to space below UGF?). Also if you are opposed to either, why? I ask because I would like to add a filter to a deep substrate tank but prefer not to use canister, HOB or sponge filter.
Hello Jay I just discovered your video upon searching for Anoxic filtration and I would love to try your method for my future aquarium tanks. My only concern is the food carbn food source. Does liquid Carbon works as a food sorce?
So I actually looked for this series because I wanted to experiment with my reef tank and I got very confused as to why after about 2 months I had 0-3ppm of nitrites, and this answered that for me, I still dose my tank, but I have since, and it’s been another 2 months, have not had to do a water change, only top offs
Hi Jay, fantastic set of video's thouroerly enjoyed them. I have a question, if I make a large slow flow canister type filter - what will happen if the bacterrier convert all the nitrate in the rest of the Anoxic media? Thanks for your help in advance
Hi Jay--thanks for these great lessons. I would like to try the deep substrate method of denitrification for a saltwater aquarium. Do you think it would work?
Hello again Just a quick question about oxygen as I understood from the video the oxygen inside the filter should be reduced by reducing amount of water flow in an out . But how then can get oxygen for the fish in the aquarium because the surface will be stable because of less water flow ?? Can we use air pump? Does the oxygen in the water which is good for fish will also delay the denitrfication. Thanks
Hi. I was thinking about ways i can reduce water change on my 50g planted tank with back sump and came across your videos. My tank is planted and almost 2 year aged. very low fish stock lots of shrimp. I think i have already achieved a good balance ecosystem, i feed very little to my fish at alternate days. and the shrimps pretty much just graze on the algae. But the NO3 levels are not at 0. Which i think is why my plants are not showing their red colors. I am currently planning on making a 2ndary sump under the tank with a tiny pump. its not gonna be very large. maybe about 20inch x 10x12 plastic container. My original idea was to just jam it with some plants maybe duckweed. But after learning about anoxic filtration i am curious if i can do a 5 inch deep substrate in this sump using 2/3mm crushed stone substrate. is there a limitation to the deep substrate method if used outside of main tank. for example on how deep it is from the water surface? can i close the lid on the 2nd sump? and flow rate etc... your suggestions will be very appreciated.
Hi Jay. Thanks for the interesting series of videos. I watched you videos last year and am re-watching them as I would like to try out the carbon dosing to kick start the denitrification in my anoxic filter which I have set up using baked clay media. 1)What would be the quantity of sugar to add to the filter? 2) Is it necessary to dose daily or can I dose every 2 or 3 days to avoid a bacterial bloom & or ammonia spike? It is an established tank and I have other filters running so ammonia & nitrites are zero at the moment. Nitrates are around 40 to 50ppm. 3) Does carbon dosing require a protein skimmer as done by marine aquarists? 4) Once the heterotrophic facultative anaerobes are established do we still need to continue carbon dosing or will the bacteria manage to get the carbon from the fish poop & waste food?
Wouldn't a canister filter create anoxic zones? Water goes in at the rated speed but the sponge filter pad paired with a fine filter pad would slow it down flow rate. After the filter pads would be the media baskets zones. Would you say that the media zones are in anoxic condition?
hi good day! your videos wereso good. can you please make a videos regarding to ph levels? what are the factors of increasing and dercreasing ph levels in outdoor or indoor and also what to to do to sustain a ph level. thank you
everything is clear and connected now, i always wonder why tanks that even didnt have filter at all, or just using under powered hang on filter, can maintain the water clear also the plant and fishes are super healthy, at first i just keep on that plant memes "that if we let plant live by themself they will find a way to become super healthy, BUT if we take care of them even a slight miscalculation can make them melt" its all clear now, the answer why in some cases natural no filter ponds, underpowered tanks even abandoned tanks and pond can maintain their water quality, anoxic state to get rid those nitrates I have a question, so fro your explanation, we need 2 filtration system right? 1 for aerobic and 1 for anoxic? so if we use canister we use 1 underflow canister and 1 correct flow canister? second question is, in my country i cant find baked clay cat litter like u use and Doc Kevin do, but the hydroton and laterite is widely available, can i use that after u mention it too , do you already testing it with hydroton?
Dude, you're awesome for explaining how is works. But in practice, what size should my low flow anoxic filter be for a 100l tank ? You said something like 20 liter filter that scared the heck out of me in the previous videos.
But a slow flow means a slow rate to clean out the nitrates so the filter volume would have to be large. How large is needed then? Also with a deep substrate, aren’t there other concerns with poisonous trapped gases that you could release by disturbing the substrate?
Can a fluidized sand bed have anoxic zones or is the flow too great? In other words, if I build an oversized fluizied bed filter that barely stays fluidized, will it perform both functions?
I just saw that hyuga stones are made from clam shells. What else can you recommend for someone who works with fish who thrive in acidic water conditions? Also, when slowing down water flow and creating conditions where oxygen is depleted in the filter, will the water that goes back into the tank be oxygen poor?
Hi. I have a question. If you use a liquid carbon source like excel it will work too? And thanks for the video I think it is the most clear explanation that i have seen so far.
Decreasing flow in a filter.. So how much do we decrease That will also decrease the total volumes per hour filtration..conventional recommendation is 4-6 times tank volume per hour..so after this suggested reduction, what value should that be brought down to?
How would you setup an eheim canister filter that has the input from the bottom and output is at top? How would you also setup the media inside? I could adjust the flow with the valves supplied. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Rommel R you've bonused if your inlet is at the bottom already you have less oxygen going in I'd have course sponge at the bottom then floss then media of your choice that should make your filter at least 75% anoxic
Hello Jay, i was wondering if an aquarium with 2 canisters mounted in serial will make the second filter anoxic, since the oxygen will be very reduced at entrance of the second canister. I also reduced the flow using only one canister pump leaving the second canister pump off. The first canister pump is electronic and i was able to choose the most reduced, pump flow setting, considering your advice in this video about reducing the flow. Please reply. Thanks for this wonderfull explanation
He's just making this stuff up. The answer is no - it will not. High nitrate levels are quite safe. The chances of creating an anaerobic filter are laughable.
@@SC-hk6ui Hello Simon, can you please tell us why you think anaerobic conditions will never occour in canisters, since it can be achieved in sumps, right ? its just a mather of lenght.
So, if a guy had a sump set up without the refugium portion, do you think it would be feasible to add a small tube to the overflow box, let it gravity feed through a large canister type filter full of a good biomedia, and then discharge into the sump? Might need to ensure the water is prefiltered so it wouldn't get gunked up, but I think the flow would be slow enough and if the canister was big enough(5gallon bucket DIY style perhaps) then it might work as you explained for denitrification. See any problems here?
Ison Tenney I have a reactor that’s full of carbon. I just started a saltwater tank and the reactor draws water from the sump through it which has carbon in it. The water flows through the carbon back up to the top and back in the sump. The way he’s explaining it it’s the same thing
Hello. Thanks so much for all the information. When using a thick substrate for denitrification, does this mean that the substrate should never be cleaned with a gravel vac? Can you recommend any specific sand or fine gravel for this method?
Gravel vacing is fine in moderation. I gravel vac once or twice a year. Otherwise too much detritus builds up. Sand or gravel all work fine its just a matter of personal preference.
@@JaysaquariumThanks so much for responding. I was concerned that vacuuming the gravel would disrupt the deep anaerobic bacteria. When you vacuum do you see a temporary rise in nitrate levels?
Van I not dose with carbon sources and just add cellulose (indigestable sugar)min the form of a cottonball and will slowly dissolve in and if I do add sugar how much do I do you only said about about vodka
Hi Jay, if there any benefit if my substrate is like 36" thick in a 200liter drum vs 4" to 6" substrate? can it remove 5x to 9x more than the 4" to 6" substrate?
thanks for the gold category education. what if i do this : say there are 4 trays for the bio media. the first two trays i fill with suitable bio media as u use, but keep it loose. Not dense. for the flow / oxygen. the 3rd tray (part of it) I add a Carbon foam (dont know whether this will provide the carbon for the bacteria). the rest of the 3rd tray and and the 4th tray, i fill with full compaction the bio media. shouldnt this provide a good amount of anoxic condition hence facilitating De-nitrification ? Kindly guide and oblige. thanks again
Hi Jay, You have really thrown me here with the carbon food, I have never heard this before. I have read that with standard nitrogen cycle bacteria that you have to keep your carbonate hardness up in the water column by adding baking soda otherwise the bacteria will die. But feeding the anoxic bacteria with vodka, I have never heard before! Is it possible that in my setup, I am using BCB baskets, with cat litter and iron rich plant substrate, that the bacteria are eating something in that? Thanks so much for helping with our understanding of this.
Thanks Jay, I found a scientific research paper tonight saying that non soluble Humin ( organic part of soil) enhanced the denitrification abilities of the Pseudomonas stutzeri. So I am going to see if I can get this and test it against the performance of a standard BCB. I will let you know how it goes
I'm considering to use clay pebbles. Besides the pores within that are anoxic zones, are the pebbles going to help with ions? As in the anoxic zone which is -ve charged will attract the +ve charged water which will help to pull in ammonia/nitrite/nitrates faster
Amazing video dude, could elemental carbon or even something like charcoal to place in the filter medium work instead of sugar or vodka? As that would be easier to deal with
I thought the same thing, but I think the carbon as food is must be carbon bonded with other elements since the breaking of these bonds is the source of energy that facilitates the reduction reaction.... But it has been a long time since I last took chem, I may be wrong.
What percentage of a tanks filtration should be aerobic and which should be anaerobic? is there an answer? or do u just keep adding some of each until u have a stable no water change tank system.?
An important question: What do you think about Dr. Kevin Novak's invention; anoxic filteration with kitty litter to pull pozitively charged ammonia inward then produce N2 as a waste? Technically, do you think it is true?
Questions. With low flow filters like the coil denitrifiers, is it more space efficient than deep substrate filtering? As for the carbon source for the deep substrate filters, like vodka and sugar, can't you use fish food or a layer of topsoil as the food? With the bio media, following the principle of wicking water, would driftwood also cause anoxic conditions within? Oh and lava rocks also wick water more or less depending on pore sizes. What percentage of alcohol does your vodka have?
1. The efficincy will depend on how you build it. In any case coil denitrifiers are terrible in my opinion because they are expensive and complicated. 2. Fish food is why you dont HAVE to dose carbon. Its just that dosing could help. not sure what you mean by top soil 3. drift wood or lavarock could do that. depending on the characteristics and size. 4. I don't dose vodka. or anything. I just mention it to explain how denitrification works.
If I slow down the flow on my ehiem 4+ 250 to the lowest setting and N2 starts to be created, would the N2 be dissolved in water and evaporate outside the filter or build up as a gas in the filter, eventually causing the filter to run dry if enough gas is in there?
Can you or someone explain exactly how to build a low flow filter? I have no experience with filters so what would be helpful is maybe if you did a live video, not a drawing, of creating the filter that has low flow. Thanks.
Hello, thanks for the thorough explanation! One question though, since oxygen won΄t be able to reach the anoxic zone (in an >10cm substrate), how will NO3 be able to?
@@hrishar Just in case Jay's reply isn't exactly clear, think of it like a Balloon. When you first breath in (the top of the Substrate) its all O2. When you blow that air into the Balloon it contains a mix of O2 that you didn't use the first time, and CO2. This is as if the water has traveled through the first part of the Substrate. If you keep breathing the air back from the ballloon, and back into the Balloon, the O2 level will drop, and the CO2 level will rise. Eventually it will reach a point where the Balloon only contains CO2. And as Jay said, at this point a human will just die if they keep breathing from the Balloon. This is what's happening in your Substrate. At the top the Bacteria eat NH3 and (then latter NO2), and breath O2, and then breath out NO2, (and then later NO3). But as Bacteria keep doing this, they use up the O2 gas. All that is left as you reach the bottom of the Substrate is the waste product from the original Bacteria. Some Bacteria however can convert consume Carbon and breath NO3, to create N2 and CO2.
@@Peregrine1989 thank you for the clarification! My question had more to do with the molecule sizes and the substrate’s resistance during the movement of O2, NO2, NO3. So, what I understand from your post is that it is not so much about the O2 and NOx reaching the bottom, but about their rate of depletion and replenishment. (English is a foreign language to me, I hope I chose the terms correctly) Ok, two more questions regarding anoxic filtration: a) Sponge filters tend to clog over time, so people will periodically take them out, squeeze a little and put them back in the tank. If we were to let a sponge filter as is, it would have a lower flow, so would it help with denitrification? What size should it be in relation to tank volume? The tank I have in mind is a 10litre with lots of floating Salvinia, some Taiwan moss and a sponge filter. Stocked with neocaridinas that are breeding. b) When choosing to go the deep substrate route, does it matter if we use dirt below the gravel? It would provide nutrients for plants according to D.Walstad and FatherFish, so would that affect the necessary substrate depth? Thanks in advance!
So when I accidentally overfilled the substrate in our 75g I unwittingly created an ideal situation. Nice. And now I know the bubbles that come from it are nitrogen and not mysterious swamp gas.
thank you for great explanation but i have question about the coil denitrator i make my research of how they make it and there are a lot who diy it but i can not understand the needs of spiral tube ? that go spiral inside large diameter tube . they say it is for slow down the water flow !!! but what if i add straight direct tube and valve and i can make the water flow run very slow what is the needs of that spiral tube ? in your video you say the bacteria will colonies inside that small diameter tube ! how we can sure that there is a bacteria there and not in the output or in the tank i mean the bacteria colonies in rough surface not in water . is that spiral tube is special tube designed so the bacteria can colonies there ? and dose that mean who make it as diy and they use a normal small diameter tube will not work with them ?
ngc charle I'll answer your question it's like with electricity a coil is used so a certain amount of power can go through it but it's reduced by time it gets to the end with the spiral the water is a constant stream so on there's more volume going through And two there's more surface area for the bacteria for denitrifying to do there job the longer the tube the better but as said stupidly unnecessary if you had a small tube and a valve it would be pointless
bacteria can colonize any surface. They are not free floating, they stick to the inner surface of the airline tubing. That is the concept of the coil denitrifier. The tubing is coiled because you need several meteres of tubing for it to work and it would be messy otherwise
Hello thank you very much for this information. Can I use lava rocks as biological media is it ok to achieve full cycle? Do they effect water parameters Ph / GH Because I have discus fish and water parameters is important factor. Thanks
another question please usually when we make water cycle we do it 4-6 times per hour for the whole tank now if i want to use the denitrification filter what is the water flow rate will be i have 450 liter tank about 120 gallon with water flow 2500 liter per hour ?
Sediment a debris builds up on the surface of substrate which I clean about once a year. I've never touched the deep areas. Never found that to be necessary
Nice... I'm figuring out if the same principles will work on pond, and cleaning only top layer of bottom gravel with a vacuum once per season is enough, It will be absolutely great... As long as I provide water with lots of oxygen and plants I think It might work well
Simple, straight and no lengthy explanation. Good diagrams, no fancy colors just straight to the point
Jay, I recently discovered your work on UA-cam concerning nitrate removal and management. I thank you for such great explanation.
Jay, I want to thank you!!!
You are the first person that I have come across, who explains in English (layman's terms) the complete process. This is what I have been trying to accomplish. I have African cichlids, many tanks. I use sumps, refugiums, even aquaponics, but still have off the chart NO3, without doing water changes. You have answered so many questions for me. I knew in my mind that this was possible, an ecosystem. Just had to many missing links. Asked others questions, got a few answers, but mostly got, that won't work, you have to do water changes, refugiums are for saltwater. I have even built a bridge system in one room that connects 3 aquariums together, 4 inch's in diameter (so the fish can swim from one tank to the other), I did this to increase the volume of water. Larger volume, more stability.
I could go on forever.
I won't bore you.
I just want to thank you, and shout, HA! I knew it could be done!!!
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!
You rock my friend!
Eternally grateful,
Cindy
Congratulations
But Cindy - you do know that high nitrate levels are fine - they are not even toxic at 1000 ppm. Plus this old video was fake news.
Do you live in Maryland? Someone is selling a custom tank like that near my house haha
Huge bio loads make all kinds of external bs necessary. Keep that in mind. Less fish and you can have no filtration AND no water changes. Just use R.O. or distilled for top offs or you shoot yourself in the foot. Hardness builds up quickly in aquariums.
how did this go in the end?
What a breath of fresh air your videos are. So many videos on this subject are by people who keep saying it's complicated but then they don't demonstrate a lot of knowledge of the subject. Good to have it explained reasonably thoroughly.
I love the explanations of chemistry!
Thanks for the video,
Jim
NH3 >> NO2 >>NO3>> And then, I didn't quite get it ..... I'm remembering high school chemistry class, haha.
I have not delved into this for about 20 years, but the slow flow denitrification does work, as you said.... I built a "spiral tube" filter for a marine tank. Surely enough the water coming out was nitrate free, but the flow was so slow (ie, about 2-3 drops per second), it was ineffective on the 300 litre system.
I like your ideas, and science.
Subscribed, and will be looking more back (past) through your videos.
Thanks for the detail! :)
A diverter after fast flow filter (for Standard ammonia and nitrite cleaning ) that splits water flow (80% back to tank and 20% through next low flow anoxic filter , then back to tank ) is an alternate .(this utilizes the reduce 02 levels from first filter moving slowly )
Your idea of a thick bed is ,I believe, the best natural way in that it mimics nature . (I have had old school tanks that lasted , untouched for a year at a time with the heavy planting and small fish count with minimal feeding relying solely on a simple slow flow under gravel grid filter (sort of , minimal air ).
You can get anoxic conditions by having a large amount of fairly fine substrate as well. The nitrates will difuse into the soil through hypertonicity. Keep this in mind if building a low tech system like this. If the anoxic bacteria in your filter die you will have a healthy supply in the soil to help maintain parameters. Great video man. Well done and very simple.
Jay, you are missed. At least I do. Come on, do another video, you're gold man.
Hello Jay, Thanks a lot for this smart and perfect serie.
I have this project to build my own DIY freshwater tank with a sump, and your video really help me to take the ‘nearly’ final decision.
The only think which keep bothering me is why don’t we add a plenum below the DSB? For example of 1 “ bioballs with mesh.
Can you please tell me what would be your opinion ? This idea of a plenum with DSB is not clarified for me and I have to really take care to provide the minimum maintenance possible due to the limited supply of clean water I have where I leave in Asia. All opinions and yours of course are more than welcome. Thank you !
What a fantastic series! I am using a deep sand bed and plants (actually slow growing plants but I plan to add some faster growing stem plants soon) and I can't get any nitrate readings. I do a 25% water change weekly right now. I'm going to see what happens if I just top-off. ...I'll do a water change if my NO3 goes above 10 but I'd like to see how long I can go....
Any updates on your tank? How much sand do you have? What kind of "sand" are you using? How large is your tank? What is the stock? I am very interested in knowing thanks for your time.
Is 10 ppm scary? Or is 50 ppm where it might get scary? People who want to sell test kits....and filtration products will say 10 every time. The ponds and lakes where these fish come from don't have any of that. Top of with distilled or R.O. so parameters remain the same (regardless of testing) Nothing but pure water leaves the tank. The minerals are bound up in the plants which release them back for others use during the decay process. If one has to supplement certain plants with minerals to keep them happy they simply have too many of that kind of plant. Plants compete too and getting their ratios right is another key. Good luck
I have 2 piles of rock in my tank, because my hillstream loaches like that sort of thing. I was starting to worry that they might be a source of pollution, pressing the substrate below, collecting mulm and blocking flow in those areas, but maybe they're actually a good thing and create denitrification zones? I do have oddly low nitrates all the time, I only do water changes for aesthetic reasons (suspended particles and problems they cause, like hydras etc).
Hi Jay. Thank you for your excellent video and explanation of the anoxic filtration system. I needed some advise with the following:
1) Is there a minimum or optimum quantity of the fired clay media per gallon of aquarium water?
2) How much sugar would you suggest I put into the media to start of the anoxic filtration?
3) I want to use red clay for the media. I presume the red colour is due to the iron content, in which case do I still need to add an iron source such as laeterite or flourish iron to the clay? And if so what other substitutes can I use for the iron source? Are the iron syrups or tablets for human use acceptable?
4) Instead of an under gravel plenum inside the aquarium, I want to build an over the aquarium sump/ aquaponics filter system with a plenum under the clay media, sand and gravel and needed your advise if it could work at achieving anoxic filtration. Please share with me your email address on which I can reach you so that I can send you a drawing of my design so that you can guide me on any corrections required.
Thank you once again for your excellent videos.
Kind regards
Ally
It would be smart to put undgravel plates (or any type of plenum) under substrate which will create the needed anoxic wo going full anaerobic at the bottom. It will allow the water to fully pass through the entire layer instead of hitting the bottom glass and going nowhere and losing all oxygen. Heterotrophs can live in .25-1 dissolved oxygen. Undergravel is imop the best way as you can retain the uplift tubes and use airstones as very little airflow to help pull water though if you do endup with full anaerobic instead of anoxic, thus allowing you to fine tune the flow. Using any clay based substrate is best as the crystals help attract the molecules due to negative ion charge as well as the iron content helps promote bacterial growth similar to how it does with plant growth.
Dr.Novak, right? Makes sense but downside is you can’t use plenums with deep sand beds or dirt.
@@Badandy538 You're incorrect. Check out Kevin Novaks latest videos.
@@Badandy538 I have an UGF with sand. It works fine. I just put a filter pad on top of the filter plates.
Hi, Dr Kovak does not mention feeding the bacteria with Carbon ???
@@Badandy538 You can!
Will a deep four inch substrate work for denitrification on a two or three gallon bowl/tank? Along with fast growing plants.
Thank you for explaining all this. You are genius.
NH3 >>NO2>>NO3>>N2....... Excellent
....Go ahead,,,,,,👍👏👏👏
Seems like having two filters would be a good option. We don't want to neglect the aerobic process which does well with high flow. But if we have second filter with very slow flow that could build up anaerobic filtration it will work for Nitrates. I wouldn't feel good about slowing it down and risking insufficient aerobic filtration.
Thanks a ton jay. Can you make video on substrate quality and size like kind of stones we can use . Many thanks in advance
Great video, thank you. I do have a deep substrate and it does form nitrogen bubbles. When I set it up, I put a matrix of PVC pipes with holes and an outlet in case I want to suck some dead water out from underneath. Now I'm thinking about put a little suction there to cause some flow through the substrate. Any thoughts? Also the clay gravel that you showed is also used by some here in US and I was going to add to my tank or filter, but I wasn't sure if it'll hurt my fish since it's used for gardening. There are biomedia that act the same way but cost a lot more, Seachem Matrix and BioHome being a couple of options. After watching your video, I think if you pack a canister filter, and use a taller canister one, you may reach a higher denitrification.
Great video! Can you incorporate this dual aerobic and anoxic conditions still in a deep substrate by incorporating an under gravel filter? Same question but having a plenum only instead of UGF? Does this replicate similar to your turtle tank with a deep substrate but adjacent to open water (similar to space below UGF?). Also if you are opposed to either, why? I ask because I would like to add a filter to a deep substrate tank but prefer not to use canister, HOB or sponge filter.
Awesome video! Is it ok to use dirt to create deep substrate instead of sand or gravel? Thanks!
Great video! Would you say that normal pumice could also work instead of hyuga stone?
Hello Jay I just discovered your video upon searching for Anoxic filtration and I would love to try your method for my future aquarium tanks. My only concern is the food carbn food source. Does liquid Carbon works as a food sorce?
Excellently explained 👌
Very nice theoretical deliberation. As we would say in reef hobby: will it actually work...
So I actually looked for this series because I wanted to experiment with my reef tank and I got very confused as to why after about 2 months I had 0-3ppm of nitrites, and this answered that for me, I still dose my tank, but I have since, and it’s been another 2 months, have not had to do a water change, only top offs
Hi Jay, fantastic set of video's thouroerly enjoyed them. I have a question, if I make a large slow flow canister type filter - what will happen if the bacterrier convert all the nitrate in the rest of the Anoxic media? Thanks for your help in advance
Love this info for some of us simpletons, but would like it if the questions were answered.
Great explanation Jay. Thank you so much.
Hi Jay--thanks for these great lessons. I would like to try the deep substrate method of denitrification for a saltwater aquarium. Do you think it would work?
yes
If i use sugar for Carbon dosing, How much sugar should I add and how often ?
Hello again
Just a quick question about oxygen as I understood from the video the oxygen inside the filter should be reduced by reducing amount of water flow in an out .
But how then can get oxygen for the fish in the aquarium because the surface will be stable because of less water flow ??
Can we use air pump?
Does the oxygen in the water which is good for fish will also delay the denitrfication. Thanks
Hi. I was thinking about ways i can reduce water change on my 50g planted tank with back sump and came across your videos. My tank is planted and almost 2 year aged. very low fish stock lots of shrimp. I think i have already achieved a good balance ecosystem, i feed very little to my fish at alternate days. and the shrimps pretty much just graze on the algae. But the NO3 levels are not at 0. Which i think is why my plants are not showing their red colors.
I am currently planning on making a 2ndary sump under the tank with a tiny pump. its not gonna be very large. maybe about 20inch x 10x12 plastic container. My original idea was to just jam it with some plants maybe duckweed. But after learning about anoxic filtration i am curious if i can do a 5 inch deep substrate in this sump using 2/3mm crushed stone substrate.
is there a limitation to the deep substrate method if used outside of main tank. for example on how deep it is from the water surface? can i close the lid on the 2nd sump? and flow rate etc...
your suggestions will be very appreciated.
I now understand why Juwel Bioflow has such design with "2 flows" and why it is quite good at its job.
Question ⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️
For the denitrification part ....can i add as a source of carbon ...inorganic carbon like grafite or charcoal?
Hi Jay. Thanks for the interesting series of videos. I watched you videos last year and am re-watching them as I would like to try out the carbon dosing to kick start the denitrification in my anoxic filter which I have set up using baked clay media.
1)What would be the quantity of sugar to add to the filter?
2) Is it necessary to dose daily or can I dose every 2 or 3 days to avoid a bacterial bloom & or ammonia spike? It is an established tank and I have other filters running so ammonia & nitrites are zero at the moment. Nitrates are around 40 to 50ppm.
3) Does carbon dosing require a protein skimmer as done by marine aquarists?
4) Once the heterotrophic facultative anaerobes are established do we still need to continue carbon dosing or will the bacteria manage to get the carbon from the fish poop & waste food?
I havent found carbon dosing to be necessary. It helps but is redundant in most cases.
Wouldn't a canister filter create anoxic zones? Water goes in at the rated speed but the sponge filter pad paired with a fine filter pad would slow it down flow rate. After the filter pads would be the media baskets zones. Would you say that the media zones are in anoxic condition?
Can we use zeolites or very small lava rocks play a similar role as the orchid growing media ?
What are the stones called?
What is the name of the baked clay graunles? Hyuga stones?
very interesting video, would zeolite work as well instead of baked clay?
anything that provides a surface for bacteria to colonize should work in theory. I'm not familiar with zeolite so can't say for certain.
Fantastic idea. Do you have any recommend about the design of an Anoxic filter? Thank you.
Great work. From now on I'm gonna link this series to anyone that will ask me about filtration and/or nitrogen cycle.
hi good day! your videos wereso good. can you please make a videos regarding to ph levels? what are the factors of increasing and dercreasing ph levels in outdoor or indoor and also what to to do to sustain a ph level. thank you
Thank you Jay for your videos. If you are using deep substrate, What about cyanobacteria? it coul be a problema with that deep substrate
Hello. Did you say HUGO stones @10:43? I cant find info of those stones over the internet. Maybe i heard wrong perhaps?
hyuga stones. aka pumice stone
@@Jaysaquarium So... any stone than can wick water? cool!
You mention that you don't dose carbon, what exactly do you do for the carbon source?
everything is clear and connected now, i always wonder why tanks that even didnt have filter at all, or just using under powered hang on filter, can maintain the water clear also the plant and fishes are super healthy, at first i just keep on that plant memes "that if we let plant live by themself they will find a way to become super healthy, BUT if we take care of them even a slight miscalculation can make them melt"
its all clear now, the answer why in some cases natural no filter ponds, underpowered tanks even abandoned tanks and pond can maintain their water quality, anoxic state to get rid those nitrates
I have a question, so fro your explanation, we need 2 filtration system right? 1 for aerobic and 1 for anoxic? so if we use canister we use 1 underflow canister and 1 correct flow canister?
second question is, in my country i cant find baked clay cat litter like u use and Doc Kevin do, but the hydroton and laterite is widely available, can i use that after u mention it too , do you already testing it with hydroton?
Dude, you're awesome for explaining how is works. But in practice, what size should my low flow anoxic filter be for a 100l tank ? You said something like 20 liter filter that scared the heck out of me in the previous videos.
But a slow flow means a slow rate to clean out the nitrates so the filter volume would have to be large. How large is needed then? Also with a deep substrate, aren’t there other concerns with poisonous trapped gases that you could release by disturbing the substrate?
Can a fluidized sand bed have anoxic zones or is the flow too great? In other words, if I build an oversized fluizied bed filter that barely stays fluidized, will it perform both functions?
Do you have a video on bake clay as a filter media
Is lava rock an good media for get rid of nitrate. Thanks for good explanations
Yes
Thanks Jay, truly enlightening
I just saw that hyuga stones are made from clam shells. What else can you recommend for someone who works with fish who thrive in acidic water conditions? Also, when slowing down water flow and creating conditions where oxygen is depleted in the filter, will the water that goes back into the tank be oxygen poor?
Hi. I have a question. If you use a liquid carbon source like excel it will work too? And thanks for the video I think it is the most clear explanation that i have seen so far.
Nope. Has to be something bacteria can eat.
Water change, sure is strange.
Dont be phobic, when it comes to anaerobic.
This series is awesome!
Decreasing flow in a filter..
So how much do we decrease
That will also decrease the total volumes per hour filtration..conventional recommendation is 4-6 times tank volume per hour..so after this suggested reduction, what value should that be brought down to?
How would you setup an eheim canister filter that has the input from the bottom and output is at top? How would you also setup the media inside? I could adjust the flow with the valves supplied. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Rommel R you've bonused if your inlet is at the bottom already you have less oxygen going in I'd have course sponge at the bottom then floss then media of your choice that should make your filter at least 75% anoxic
Hello Jay, i was wondering if an aquarium with 2 canisters mounted in serial will make the second filter anoxic, since the oxygen will be very reduced at entrance of the second canister.
I also reduced the flow using only one canister pump leaving the second canister pump off. The first canister pump is electronic and i was able to choose the most reduced, pump flow setting, considering your advice in this video about reducing the flow. Please reply.
Thanks for this wonderfull explanation
He's just making this stuff up. The answer is no - it will not. High nitrate levels are quite safe. The chances of creating an anaerobic filter are laughable.
@@SC-hk6ui Hello Simon, can you please tell us why you think anaerobic conditions will never occour in canisters, since it can be achieved in sumps, right ? its just a mather of lenght.
Some ppl say that the gas build under substrate and kills shrimp and fish, is that posible?
So what are those stones called? And are the similar to kitty litter or Akadama?
So, if a guy had a sump set up without the refugium portion, do you think it would be feasible to add a small tube to the overflow box, let it gravity feed through a large canister type filter full of a good biomedia, and then discharge into the sump? Might need to ensure the water is prefiltered so it wouldn't get gunked up, but I think the flow would be slow enough and if the canister was big enough(5gallon bucket DIY style perhaps) then it might work as you explained for denitrification. See any problems here?
Ison Tenney I have a reactor that’s full of carbon. I just started a saltwater tank and the reactor draws water from the sump through it which has carbon in it. The water flows through the carbon back up to the top and back in the sump. The way he’s explaining it it’s the same thing
Hello. Thanks so much for all the information. When using a thick substrate for denitrification, does this mean that the substrate should never be cleaned with a gravel vac? Can you recommend any specific sand or fine gravel for this method?
Gravel vacing is fine in moderation. I gravel vac once or twice a year. Otherwise too much detritus builds up. Sand or gravel all work fine its just a matter of personal preference.
@@JaysaquariumThanks so much for responding. I was concerned that vacuuming the gravel would disrupt the deep anaerobic bacteria. When you vacuum do you see a temporary rise in nitrate levels?
Van I not dose with carbon sources and just add cellulose (indigestable sugar)min the form of a cottonball and will slowly dissolve in and if I do add sugar how much do I do you only said about about vodka
Hi Jay, if there any benefit if my substrate is like 36" thick in a 200liter drum vs 4" to 6" substrate? can it remove 5x to 9x more than the 4" to 6" substrate?
I bet it's better by far.
thanks for the gold category education. what if i do this : say there are 4 trays for the bio media. the first two trays i fill with suitable bio media as u use, but keep it loose. Not dense. for the flow / oxygen. the 3rd tray (part of it) I add a Carbon foam (dont know whether this will provide the carbon for the bacteria). the rest of the 3rd tray and and the 4th tray, i fill with full compaction the bio media. shouldnt this provide a good amount of anoxic condition hence facilitating De-nitrification ? Kindly guide and oblige. thanks again
probably yes. carbon form will not provide carbon source. the fish food will
Hi Jay,
You have really thrown me here with the carbon food, I have never heard this before.
I have read that with standard nitrogen cycle bacteria that you have to keep your carbonate hardness up in the water column by adding baking soda otherwise the bacteria will die. But feeding the anoxic bacteria with vodka, I have never heard before!
Is it possible that in my setup, I am using BCB baskets, with cat litter and iron rich plant substrate, that the bacteria are eating something in that?
Thanks so much for helping with our understanding of this.
The fish food you add can also feed the bacteria. Vodka or sugar dosing is just adding extra food amd can help in certain situations
Thanks Jay,
I found a scientific research paper tonight saying that non soluble Humin ( organic part of soil) enhanced the denitrification abilities of the Pseudomonas stutzeri. So I am going to see if I can get this and test it against the performance of a standard BCB.
I will let you know how it goes
Hi bro! Your video videos are great but my English is poor so pls kindly tell me which one, high or low flow into the filter, is good ?
How long did your deep substrate/sand tank to cycle?
I'm considering to use clay pebbles. Besides the pores within that are anoxic zones, are the pebbles going to help with ions? As in the anoxic zone which is -ve charged will attract the +ve charged water which will help to pull in ammonia/nitrite/nitrates faster
Texhnically yes but it wont last. Eventually any charged surface will become saturated.
same idea here. am trying to see if i can create this zone within materials in the substrate? Hard clay is what I will try.
How do you provide the anoxic bacteria carbon in the substrate?
I think this is fantastic. Thank you-
Hey Jay I stopped at 11:21 I was thinking of crushed terra cotta pots? What do you thing?
yes should work fine
When do you use air tube, and when u don’t- with plenum?
I think you're right and flow isn't really necessary if there's an opening.
Amazing video dude, could elemental carbon or even something like charcoal to place in the filter medium work instead of sugar or vodka? As that would be easier to deal with
I thought the same thing, but I think the carbon as food is must be carbon bonded with other elements since the breaking of these bonds is the source of energy that facilitates the reduction reaction.... But it has been a long time since I last took chem, I may be wrong.
@@yoshiaimee thanks, yeah I was thinking if it's just carbon then it would have been too easy 🤣
What percentage of a tanks filtration should be aerobic and which should be anaerobic? is there an answer? or do u just keep adding some of each until u have a stable no water change tank system.?
There is no clear answer for that.
An important question:
What do you think about Dr. Kevin Novak's invention; anoxic filteration with kitty litter to pull pozitively charged ammonia inward then produce N2 as a waste? Technically, do you think it is true?
A sheet of fine grade filter sponge under the substrate does just as well.
Wow that's some great information👍👍
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed!
So how do the fish breath if there is very little oxygen going back into the tank.
U must increase earation in the fish tank or use oxygen generator
Awesome explanations.
Is eco complete substrate fine enough to produce an anoxic region?
great vid I am new to this and it helps loads
Questions.
With low flow filters like the coil denitrifiers, is it more space efficient than deep substrate filtering?
As for the carbon source for the deep substrate filters, like vodka and sugar, can't you use fish food or a layer of topsoil as the food?
With the bio media, following the principle of wicking water, would driftwood also cause anoxic conditions within? Oh and lava rocks also wick water more or less depending on pore sizes.
What percentage of alcohol does your vodka have?
1. The efficincy will depend on how you build it. In any case coil denitrifiers are terrible in my opinion because they are expensive and complicated.
2. Fish food is why you dont HAVE to dose carbon. Its just that dosing could help. not sure what you mean by top soil
3. drift wood or lavarock could do that. depending on the characteristics and size.
4. I don't dose vodka. or anything. I just mention it to explain how denitrification works.
If I slow down the flow on my ehiem 4+ 250 to the lowest setting and N2 starts to be created, would the N2 be dissolved in water and evaporate outside the filter or build up as a gas in the filter, eventually causing the filter to run dry if enough gas is in there?
Not sure never tried it with a canister filter.
@@Jaysaquarium which would be the best filters to try this on in your opinion then?
Can you or someone explain exactly how to build a low flow filter? I have no experience with filters so what would be helpful is maybe if you did a live video, not a drawing, of creating the filter that has low flow. Thanks.
Check out Dr Kevin Novak on UA-cam
So if you have a reactor you should be good right?
Hello, thanks for the thorough explanation! One question though, since oxygen won΄t be able to reach the anoxic zone (in an >10cm substrate), how will NO3 be able to?
Oxygen is used up no3 is not
@@Jaysaquarium ok, so if NO3 is not reaching the anoxic zone how does the substrate help turn NO3 in N2?
No3 reaches substrate
@@hrishar Just in case Jay's reply isn't exactly clear, think of it like a Balloon. When you first breath in (the top of the Substrate) its all O2. When you blow that air into the Balloon it contains a mix of O2 that you didn't use the first time, and CO2. This is as if the water has traveled through the first part of the Substrate. If you keep breathing the air back from the ballloon, and back into the Balloon, the O2 level will drop, and the CO2 level will rise. Eventually it will reach a point where the Balloon only contains CO2. And as Jay said, at this point a human will just die if they keep breathing from the Balloon.
This is what's happening in your Substrate. At the top the Bacteria eat NH3 and (then latter NO2), and breath O2, and then breath out NO2, (and then later NO3). But as Bacteria keep doing this, they use up the O2 gas. All that is left as you reach the bottom of the Substrate is the waste product from the original Bacteria. Some Bacteria however can convert consume Carbon and breath NO3, to create N2 and CO2.
@@Peregrine1989 thank you for the clarification! My question had more to do with the molecule sizes and the substrate’s resistance during the movement of O2, NO2, NO3. So, what I understand from your post is that it is not so much about the O2 and NOx reaching the bottom, but about their rate of depletion and replenishment. (English is a foreign language to me, I hope I chose the terms correctly)
Ok, two more questions regarding anoxic filtration:
a) Sponge filters tend to clog over time, so people will periodically take them out, squeeze a little and put them back in the tank. If we were to let a sponge filter as is, it would have a lower flow, so would it help with denitrification? What size should it be in relation to tank volume? The tank I have in mind is a 10litre with lots of floating Salvinia, some Taiwan moss and a sponge filter. Stocked with neocaridinas that are breeding.
b) When choosing to go the deep substrate route, does it matter if we use dirt below the gravel? It would provide nutrients for plants according to D.Walstad and FatherFish, so would that affect the necessary substrate depth?
Thanks in advance!
So when I accidentally overfilled the substrate in our 75g I unwittingly created an ideal situation. Nice. And now I know the bubbles that come from it are nitrogen and not mysterious swamp gas.
thank you for great explanation but i have question about the coil denitrator i make my research of how they make it and there are a lot who diy it but i can not understand the needs of spiral tube ? that go spiral inside large diameter tube . they say it is for slow down the water flow !!! but what if i add straight direct tube and valve and i can make the water flow run very slow what is the needs of that spiral tube ? in your video you say the bacteria will colonies inside that small diameter tube ! how we can sure that there is a bacteria there and not in the output or in the tank i mean the bacteria colonies in rough surface not in water . is that spiral tube is special tube designed so the bacteria can colonies there ? and dose that mean who make it as diy and they use a normal small diameter tube will not work with them ?
ngc charle I'll answer your question it's like with electricity a coil is used so a certain amount of power can go through it but it's reduced by time it gets to the end with the spiral the water is a constant stream so on there's more volume going through And two there's more surface area for the bacteria for denitrifying to do there job the longer the tube the better but as said stupidly unnecessary if you had a small tube and a valve it would be pointless
bacteria can colonize any surface. They are not free floating, they stick to the inner surface of the airline tubing. That is the concept of the coil denitrifier. The tubing is coiled because you need several meteres of tubing for it to work and it would be messy otherwise
would lava rock work?
Can carbon dioxide be used for carbon dosing?
Or a passive stand alone large pond basket in the aquarium with porous media. Most of the internal media will be anoxic
Can I still do water changes while doing this process? because I have about 40 ppm nitrates or should I just leave it alone?
Yes do waterchanges hard to go wrong with waterchanges
What about if i have a undergravel filter in my tank?
Can we use ceramic rings as anoxic media? And even burying them in the garvel for this purpose?
yes
Hello thank you very much for this information.
Can I use lava rocks as biological media is it ok to achieve full cycle?
Do they effect water parameters Ph / GH
Because I have discus fish and water parameters is important factor.
Thanks
another question please usually when we make water cycle we do it 4-6 times per hour for the whole tank now if i want to use the denitrification filter what is the water flow rate will be i have 450 liter tank about 120 gallon with water flow 2500 liter per hour ?
Its not about the tank. Its about your filter compartment. Slow flow in a large filter compartment will ensure anoxic conditions
Hi! Great series of videos! I do have one question. Do you ever clean anaerobic zone on the bottom, or is it left undisturbed?
Sediment a debris builds up on the surface of substrate which I clean about once a year. I've never touched the deep areas. Never found that to be necessary
Nice... I'm figuring out if the same principles will work on pond, and cleaning only top layer of bottom gravel with a vacuum once per season is enough, It will be absolutely great... As long as I provide water with lots of oxygen and plants I think It might work well