Video není dostupné.
Omlouváme se.
Denitrification (N2) using a Biocenosis Clarification Basket in the Aquarium Sump.
Vložit
- čas přidán 2. 01. 2018
- Denitrification (N2) using a Biocenosis Clarification Basket in the Aquarium Sump.
NOTE: To all those that are watching my CZcams channel, please be aware that there are some younger viewers that will see your comments that you post. If any of your comments contain offensive, vulgar language, name calling of others or myself, discourteous remarks, then I will delete all your comments you have made on my cannel and henceforth.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter,
Dr. Kevin Novak Ph.D.
Planning make my first BCB baskets very soon! Been watching your videos and I am excited about this!
It really works! I was skeptical, but made one, 6 weeks later and my nitrates test was below 5ppm!! No more 4-5 day water changes, now I change 25% every month just to add fresh water. Thank you for the info!
That's great to hear, thanks.
Dr. Novak excellent video! I just joined the discus hobby just under two years... I'm currently running a canister and overhang filter with partial water change and gravel cleaning 3 times per week. I need to investigate how I can install anoxic filter in my cabinet with limited space. if I figure a way to build anoxic filter, I hope can reduce my water change and gravel cleaning maintenance for the lowest nitrate level.
yesterday, I made two bcb* in pond baskets using pets at home clay kitty litter (non clumping, unscented) plus a core of flourite (iron source). Within 24 hours, I could see the bottom of my container again 😆 The green water algae in my 80 litres patio pond literally cleared up overnight!!
* Biocenosis Clarification Basket
Instead of using bricks, I used the baskets to prop up a Kidney Planting Basket for marginals … hiding in plain sight 😄
Coming summer i am going to set up a patio pond using mini frame pool . I will definitely opt for BCB .... actually in all my planted tank i had been using inert Seachem florite substrate which i believe is same as BCB . Its written in pack that these substrate is high in AEC & CEC . No wonder it worked for me . I found them much better than those substrate which leeches ton of ammonia
I find all of this very interesting, I hate to think that I have lost fish due to my own ignorance! And what harm does a little more education do to anyone? Thank you Kevin... You have a NEW SUBSCRIBER 👍😷👍
Take care my friend and may I wish both yourself and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year 👍😷👍
Thanks. Merry Christmas to you and your family too. Next year you should not lose any fish . I’ll do my best to help with that.
Dr Novak, thanks for sharing info about the denitrification. Appreciate your knowledge and salute. I saw someone asked you about a zeolite as substitute to cat clay litter. I believe you've read about the zeolite capacities. It is well known, that zeolite absorbs ammonia and nitrates, but not for eternal. It has kinda capacity and need to be replaced in order to not spread absorbed elements back in water.
Size of the Zeolite is the key here. If the size of the medium is the same the bacteria 🦠 will take care of any ammonium/ammonia that then gets dislodge back into solution.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums any recommendation on the sizes doctor?
@@MUFCnextnumber7 As long as it’s the same size is kitty litter which kitty litter can vary from very small to .5 mm all the way up to about 3 mm. From my understanding from people in other countries that use the product zeolite is, once the bacteria establish it then utilizes the ammonia that it has absorbed and the nitrates and therefore it acts like kitty litter.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums thank you doctor! God bless you
To make the basket for Koi pond and aquarium correctly just fast forward to 6:30minutes.
Thank you, Dr. Novak.🙏🙏🙏
You miss a lot of good info if you skip.
Hello Kavin, Great videos and so much learning. When I am using the Anoxic
Filteration do I need to consider the water flow rate?
First off I love the videos... It gives me hope that I can keep discus one day! Here's some interesting questions. I am really into black water set ups... Does the BCB remove tannins from the water? Also is it possible to make a very small basket to fit into my canister filter on my 10 gallon or does it have to be a certain size? I guess the question is, is it scaleable? And is there a ratio of basket size to water volume? Sorry for all the questions! Thanks!
Zachary Baez I use BCBs for my two blackwater tanks and I can say that they don’t remove tannins
Thank you Dr. Kevin.
I did put it in my sump tank and no more fishes get sick. But I just wonder this filtration can be used to reef tank too or can't.
Are you in the Aquatic Circuit? Do you do seminars and tutorials? I enjoyed watching! Thank you for sharing.
Awesome work!This just sems to be the best way to filter an aquarium or pond, but I'm having trouble finding the right kat-litter in Germany.All Bentonite products here are labeled as clumping.Would Sepiolith might work?
This is an realy great idea i'm gonna build in in my tank, i almost gave up the hobbyThanks to algea an the chemicals ar not working.
Absolutely fascinating stuff. Thank you so much for sharing. I've been reading all over the place about the use of deep sand beds in freshwater tanks but this seems so much more reliable and significantly less risky. Unfortunately I run a canister on my fancy goldfish tank, would a basket like this be OK sitting in the main tank, behind a piece of driftwood for example?
matthew smith As long as the goldfish can’t get to it and dig in it it will be just fine
P4p
T
Hello Kevin thanks for your work its inspiring and helps a lot of people eager to have a beter understanding of the process and how to apply this science with regular products. I will continue investigating since my dream is to make an ecosystem as perfect as possible, what i dont understand or get the information yet, is the amount of water that should pass through the anoxic filter, is there any sort of chart where we can get that information, how many gallons or liters of water are denitrifyed per hour. I just know the flow should be slow.. but how much. I excuse in advance if that is explained in another video or resource provided. I just get to know your channel and the concept of anoxic filtration for completing the cycle just blew my mind. Would really appreciate any additional resource you can share.
The flow should be as slow as possible. Even if that means 1-gal a day.
Could you repost your video on your CO2 diffuser using the penn plan filter please? Got the parts but can't find the video anymore. Great videos by the way. Very Impressed with your videos. Thanks.
DR Novak , is it important to set the laterite in a core or just layered? ?
Thank you
Hello Dr Novak fthanks to you for all your study an experiments. also for sharing with us. I am in process of setting up a new 55gal an a 29gal tanks and would love to set up with plenums an your bcb baskets. is it possible to place kitty litter and laterite in nylon stocking or mesh bag and avoid the plastic mesh on the sides of the basket. I myself would love to start rasing discus. thanks again and many blessings
Hi Dr. Novak, I apologize if you've already answered this. I am curious to see if there is a formulas of size of filter to gallons of water. I work on Koi ponds for a living. some 20,000 gallons or more. Do the bacteria remain only in the filter, or do they eventually spread to the rest of the pond, or aquarium? Thank you for putting out such great information!
Wow nice.
Kevin, do you think seachem fluorite would work as it is natural clay as well (I think it should work as a substitute for botg, the kitty litter AND the laterite?) For reference I'm trying to create a similar effect at the bottom of my tank.
Hello Dr. Kevin, thanks for sharing this kind of information! I have a question, can I use nails insted of laterite? Or the bacteria need Ferrous iron ? Thank you
Luís Gândara yes iron nails can be used. Most nails today are no longer made from iron only.
I wonder if this would work as well? www.amazon.com/Carl-Pool-CP104-Iron-Chelate/dp/B001SGXL56
Hi Dr Novak,
Is it more more important to maximize the surface area around the BCBs to increase contact with the water flow around the bags (ie lots of small bags cumulative increasing the surface area)?
Or is it better to have a larger Anoxic area inside the BCBS for the Anoxic bacteria to process NO3 to N2 (ie 1 or 2 large bags maximizing the Anoxic Zone 3?).
Grateful for your kind advice!
Recently found your channel and am loving all the knowledge you are sharing. I know I am late to this video but I was wondering if I could use hydroton/ lecca instead of the natural clay kitty litter? I already have a lot of the hydroton and I believe it is just baked clay pebbles.
Yes you can! If the size meets the requirements of 1 to 3 mm.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums it will after I take a rubber mallet to it 😆
thanks for your question, Im still finding another ingredient for natural clay kitty
@@eadomke2150 does it really works?
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums can baked akadama soil for bonsai be used?
Dr. Novak, thanks for the information. I would like to see how this technology can be applied to large aquaponics systems. Do you have an email?
Dr Novak, how long can you use the same cat litter and laterite for? Does it need to be recharged or washed very now and again?
Can BCB be used without a sump ? Is there a ratio of basket volume to aquarium volume ? ( I realise that the stocking level would effect this.) Am considering trying this on 3 of my aquariums which are 220 , 280 and 490 litres respectively. The last 2 have canister filtration and the first uses internal power filtration.
Hi .. great job ... but i need to ask if this littre can i use it as a substrate i.s.o gravel ??l...thanks
Hello Dr. Novak. I have setup a 110 gallon tank with a 35 gallon sump with 2 big BCB (11" 11" 8") and I'm planning to use those BCBs as single filtration means. I have seen a lot of people that turned their traditional filtration system in anoxic but I would like to start my anoxic filtration system by scratch. Is it possible ? Thank you
ciao I use it here In Italy on my aquariums and cats nice nice
Hi Dr Novak , the kitty litter you use in this video is great. It is so clearly marked as to what it is made with. I bought a cheap supermarket own brand and wrote to them to find out the ingredients. They told me it is made of " an attapulgite / gypsum blend " does this mean a type of clay ?
Yes it is very common.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums thank you very much indeed. Xx
Greetings Dr Novak from sunny Malaysia. I’ve been watching your videos for some time now and absolutely love this concept. I’ve searched high and low but can’t seem to find non clumping Bentonite clay. We only get the clumping variations here . Is there any other substitutes we can use for this? Any chance for crushed clay bricks or small pumice stones to work?
For the iron, I managed to get red flourite.
Best regards
Ian
Do they have a product called oil dri? . It’s used to throw on floors of garage to soak up oil dripping from cars.If you look it up on the Internet you’ll see that it is actually just bake kitty litter
You can look for natural clay based granular all purpose industrial absorbents. You should find one.
Hallo Dr. Novak,
I'm starting with a new tank with a sump that will have 4 bcb's of 11x11x7" (28x28x18cm) as unique filtering system. I made the sump big enough to host such big bcb's because I understand that big is better for anoxic zone growth and for the strenght of the ion attraction.
I've seen in some of your video that the pH value of one of your tanks is around 7.2-7.3 and I've read that pH optimal value for facultative anaerobic bacteria is a weak alkaline environment. I've read also that facultative anaerobic bacteria decrease their activity in acid environment.
In your eperience what is the pH range compatible with the use of the afs ? moreover which is the pH (acid) value which is not advisable to overcome ? which are the relations between faculative anaerobic bacteria activity and pH ?
I can image you are full of requests, but I hope an answer since I could find only few documents about facultative anaerobic bacteria growth in low pH environment.
Thank you in advance
Hello, i would just like to find out if it is possible to use sun dried clay cat litter? I cannot seem to find baked clay cat litter.
Hi, can I use crushed lava stones as a substitute to laterite ? Or can I use the Seachem Flourish Iron fertilizer in the crushed lava stones in order to put more iron in it? I don’t seem to find laterite anywhere.
Thank you for all your infos !
Thank you for this information Dr. Novak!
I have questions though.
Some keepers, like myself, prefer that a green carpet algae grow so that we can have a nice natural color enhancer and i like that my goldfish eat it, it's veggies lol. I use a bare tank too. W
Due to the lack of Nitrates, Nitrites, and/or Ammonia, won't green algae slow or, maybe, not grow?
Yes and yes
I left a couple messages along time ago and never heard back from you don’t know if you’re still on the channel or watt
Great info! I’m curious will this work in high ph of a African chiclids also
Yes it will
Can you substitute kitty litter with Marineland's White Diamond Ammonia Neutralizing Crystals in the BCB baskets? I often see it sold right next to carbon in pet stores and online.
Can the basket be placed anywhere in the tank? Does it require a slow flow? Thanks in advance.
Hi Dr. Novak. Thanks for all the info. Does the kitty litter have to be baked clay based only or any non-clumping kitty litter will do?
Best to use only BAKED CLAY only. Oil-Dri or See-T-Sorb will work too.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums ok doc. Doing a fishless cycle and I miscalculated ammonia dose and went up 8 ppm. In less than 48 hours the BCBs/plenum wiped out 8 pm ammonia to zero!
How about using a marina breeder box with 2 bags of kitty litter sandwiching a bag of laterite from flow to exit? Very slow moving water which can be adjusted with the airflow. I have a 20l Id like to try it in. Worth a go?
It’s worth giving it a try.
DR Novak, can traditional biological filtration be combined with anoxic filtration? ?
Hi Kevin can I use pottery clay for the iron in the kitty litter
Dr Novak can zeolite be used as a replacement for kitty litter. also does it serve the same function ?
Hi Dr. Novak, it’s hard to find clay non clumping kitty litter here in the Philippines. What can I substitute with?
Same here in India. Is there any alternative pls?
Can I use aquaponic baked clay pepper (hydroton) in the basket? There is no non clumping cat litter where I'm living. Thank you.
Sir excellent video and i want to know whether kitty litter is zeolite or other mineral pls mention i india we dont get non clumping kitty litter
Thanks
Kitty litter is actually the same as oil dry it’s a baked clay.
Can I use clay pebbles(crush it so it's smaller, if needet) insted of cat litter? Thank You
Hi, do you know if this would work in a salt water tank ?
I have bags of natural clay kitty litter from the dollar store (which I use to pot my tropical water lilies in my pond each spring). It is the non-clumping, non-fragrance kind but it does turn into a fine compacted mud/silt at the end of the season. Does the Walmart brand you use do this or does it truly stay granular? Would my cheapo brand be okay to use in BCB?
FWIW to anyone else reading, the Special Kitty litter was only $4/25lb at Walmart. It does look different and hold its granular shape better than the dollar store brand (although the latter is also labeled as natural clay non-clumping litter). Best to shop around for the right stuff before making your baskets!
i just found out about this and here is what i just bought :) time to test it out. www.walmart.com/ip/Special-Kitty-Unscented-Natural-Clay-Cat-Litter-25-Lb/10293705#read-more
Hi Dr Novak, "Non-clumping kitty litter is mainly the clay mineral attapulgite (aka palygorskite) which is a magnesium aluminium phyllosilicate common in soils in the southeastern U.S. Attapulgite derives it absorbency from its needle-like, 3-dimensional crystal structure" is this the crystaline structure you mentioned in the video?
The clay or kitty litter has been backed and that’s what gives it the crystalline structure and holds it together. You can also use oil dry as a replacement.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums can we used akadama soil for bonsai or hydroton as substitution alternative? Please answer...
Must nonclumping unscented kitty litter clay type .
hi...can you replace the late rite for fluorite?
Dr. Novak Can I incorporate a UV sterlizer with the anoxic filter?
Hello Dr. Novak, im from the Philippines and i cant find kitty litter that is not clumping and unscented on my place, any other recommendation/ substitute for the kitty litter?
Hello Dr. Novak,
I have set up three baskets in my sump but have two questions. Should Seachem Purigen be removed from the tank? Also my second question would be if I had to use medicine such as Prazi or Metro, would this have any effect on the filter?
maybe only set up the filter after you've quarantined all your fish... for a new setup
you can also use mesh net pots for the basket, they are sold on amazon and can have 3 to 6 inch diameter. I am making bcbs using those.
Yes they will work too
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums Thanks for your reply Sir. I have a big question. We know that Zeolite release ammonia if there is salt in the water, and since you had mentioned that zeolite can be used instead of the kitty litter, I am worried that it does not work in my goldfish tank since I usually add a tsp/10Gallon of salt to help the fish with minor nitrite spikes that I measured after each gravel vacuum session. Now, could you please let me know if salt has any adverse affect on the performance of BCB's?
Thanks a lot!
Farzad T First of all you should never use salt with goldfish it messes up their osmotic ability. If you’re using salt as a prophylactic then I would have to ask you: Why?
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums Thank you Dr Novak. I had added salt (1 teaspoon/10Gallon) to protect them against small nitrite spike that happen after cleaning. Now that I know its not good for them I will do a water change and take the salt out. Thanks for the information!
I used hydroponic clay pebbles in one of my filters just becouse i had it spare, found out later the clay pebbles also pull ions from the water
you're right, however, it will not produce Anoxic conditions that will turn Nitrates into N2.
What’s the ideal ratio required per gallon’s of water? Will a basket this size be too much for say... a 29Gal tank? This is really cool,thanks for making and sharing.
You really can’t have too much of the biocenosis clarification baskets so yes, it will work on a 29 gallon 20 gallon 15 gallon or even larger.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums Thank you Dr. Novak, I appreciate your response.
Hi Doc, lots of questions here about media but I'm curious about the flow rate. Typically a bio filter rule of thumb is 4x tank volume per hour. How would you set the "low flow" rate, in terms of tank volume per hour, for anoxic filtration through a BCB filter?
The cat litters we get in Europe are different I think. They do turn into a kind of mush if they get wet.
Hi there Dr. Novak. Can we replace kitty litter with something else? Such as zeolite maybe? I can’t seem to be able to find unclogging kitty litter anywhere in my country. Thank you.
Hello and congrats for the great job you do! I'm in the process of building a habitat for my turtle and I want to make one of these as part of my filtration system. I have checked the local market in Greece where I live, for cat litter and the only natural, unscented one I've managed to find is labeled as: 100% betonite, which is a volcanic mineral highly produced in my country. It looks exactly like the material you use, but is it the same? and if not, do you believe it is suitable for a BCB? Also, as laterite is hard to find, could I just put a piece of solid iron in the center of the basket or the rust could harm my turtle? Thank you in advance.
Θέλεις κάτι να είναι από πηλό. Δεν είναι απαραίτητο να είναι αυτό για τη γάτα. Αυτό το βιολογικό υλικό που πουλάνε εδώ, τα μακαρόνια που λένε, είναι απο πηλό. Γιατί είναι το καλύτερο υλικό γι' αυτή τη δουλειά, όπως εξηγεί κι ο δρ στο βίντεο. Εμείς εδώ έχουμε τον μπετονίτη για τη γάτα, αλλά εκεί έχουν απλό πηλό ψημένο. Η διαφορά είναι ότι ο δικός τους δεν απορροφάει τα υγρά και να γίνεται μπετό. Γι' αυτό άμα δείς τη σακούλα στο βίντεο γράφει '' no clumping''. Στην Ελλάδα δε πρόκειται να βρείς τέτοιο, είναι όλα clumping.
Βάλε είτε σφαιρίδια αργίλου που χρησιμοποιούν για την υδροπονία, είτε ψηφίδα κεραμεική. Και τα δύο πηλός είναι. Τα υπόλοιπα κάντα όπως τα λέει.
@@alexblue8317 Thank you so much for the advice, and for texting in my language. I will renspond in English so that others can also understand without having to use google translate. It's obviously more than a year since I asked for information, since then the aquarium has been built and running without the need of water changes at all (except filling up what is evaporated). For filtration I used various things: the main filter compartment is filled with polyester cotton for the bigger particles and ceramic media for the bacteria to grow. On top of them there are pots of pothos plant that absorb nitrates with their roots. From there the water goes to another compartment where the BCB sits. I filed the BCB with NON CLUMPING betonite cat litter and flourite red aquarium soil in it's core. I also put a thick layer of river mud mixed with planting soil under the substrate of the main tank, that creates anoxic conditions. The filtration is also supported from lots of duckweed another floating plants that absorb nitrates. All this is working absolutely fine, nitrates and nitrites are always 0. The turtle is living there from April to late November together with some guppies and snails, during the winter I leave only the snails in there, turtle and fish are moved indoors for proper temperatures. I use water from the outdoors aquarium for their water changes and the water I remove goes back there to be cleaned, no water waste at all!
@@user-eq7yn1ri7o Πολύ καλή δουλειά. Έκανες έρευνα από τότε . Άμα μπορείς να μου πεις τη μάρκα άμμου γάτας θα τανε πολύ χρήσιμο.
@@alexblue8317 φίλε μου δεν θυμάμαι ακριβώς, πάει ενάμιση χρόνος από τότε. Την επόμενη φορά που θα πάω στο super market θα τσεκάρω αν την φέρνει ακόμα και θα σου πώ. Έγραφε επάνω non crumbling πάντως, άοσμη και 100% ελληνικός μπετονίτης.
@@user-eq7yn1ri7o Έγινε ευχαριστώ, άμα με θυμηθείς.. Εγώ πάντως στο ίντερνετ δε βρίσκω πουθενά, είναι όλα crumpling. Μπορεί του σούπερ όμως να είναι καμιά δικιά του και να μη τη βγάζει. Καλή συνέχεια.
Hi Dr Novak, great video ! , i wonder if the kitty litter & laterite combo will work if i just use those as a deeper substrate about 3-4 inches (as a base substrate) in the main aquarium, will it perform denitrification ?? - Hansen from Indonesia -
I wonder the exact same thing! Would be great if we could combine a bio-ball plenum at the bottom of the tank, topped up with the kitty litter + laterite base substrate...
Itrianto, good question, and I haven't seen any answer to this question from any expert so far.
Dr Novak, how much NO3 removed by BCB compare to non BCB tank ? 90%, 50% or just 10% ? Does any body actually do the measurement ?
I watch videos of huge fish farms on Aquarium Coop.... they use wet/dry trickle towers.
That tells me, that's the "best" form of filtration. They raise millions of fish, they wouldn't waste their time and money with something inferior....
Your videos inspired me to make a plenum in a tank I'm redoing. Keep up the good work! :) I'm also starting to look into possibilities to incorporate the cat litter idea in my systems. I've been looking around a bit to see what other people are doing with it as well, and apparently some even use cat litter as a substrate. In a certain youtube video about that, though, cat litter is said to be SO absorbent that you risk losing nutrients and having important water parameters changed. I was wondering what your view is on that?
Just make sure you get the baked KL and not the softer kind.
hi dr. kevin can't find special kitty brand in india what should i try plz suggest.
Dr Novak
I finally found a natural clay Kitty litter...hormite clay...will this do?
How about putting a canister filter one Brian it what Kitty that are should you look for because I live in the UK
Hi Dr. Novak, I was reading resently about how the old-timer fish hobbiests used to place old iron nails underneath their aquarium substrate as an iron supliment for their plants. I'm curious about your thoughts on this since you have a lot more experience with these kinds of systems. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this practice and whether or not it works and how it works or if there's been testing research done on it? Thanks!
Yes back about 80 to 90 years ago iron nails were placed in the substrate to give iron to the plants. This practice of using cast-iron chips to sprinkle around rosebushes was also a practice that is still used today. Iron is a number one a critical element for all plants and they've known about that for years now.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums h Good day Dr.Novak. I’m from the Philippines and it’s so hard to find a 100% ground clay cat litter here. All we have are the bentonite, pumice and the clumping ones. Is there other alternatives for the ground clay cat litter?
All perfect .... but what kind of litter we should buy now???
Try looking for oil dri premium granular absorbent. This is used in chemical spill cleanup and is sold in 40-50lb bags. Essentially identical to old school unperfumed clay kitty litter.
hello Dr. Novak. I really want to make your BCB for my 125gal tank but I cannot find a Kitty Litter that is made of stones or "baked clay" from where I am (Philippines). 99% of the litters here are made of Bentonite and doesnt look like the ones in your videos.
Hello Dr. Novak,
I'm Gianluigi from Italy and I'm totally new to anoxic filtration, I have read a lot in these last days, and I want to try to set up a BCB. I have a question to ask. I know that anoxic filtration can be used as a stand alone system, preceded by a mechanical filtration at the beginning. My question is the following. It is somehow usefull to add a BCB inside a sump which has already other kind of filtration systems or not? For example a sump which has a stage with a moving bed filter ? and if the answer is affermative, which position will be the best, before or after the moving bed ? Finally do you recommend the use of an anoxic filter in combination with other traditional filters or it is preferable to use the system alone ?
Many tanks for sharing your knowledge
I got your anoxic filtration system document and also the answer to my question.
@@valp729 hi, pls share the answers to your questions, I have a moving bed K1 media in front of my BCB. Does yours work?
@@mikeaaronyap unfortunatelly it doesn' t work. I gave up after 5 months. Gratest problem was NH3 fluctuation. I passed from 0 to 0.5 or 1 mg/l whithout reason. It seems that in my cas Bcb sequestrate NH3 very efficently in a manner that facultative anaerobic bacteria cannot use. Then when saturation occurs NH3 came again. I have a Mbf in front of Bcb too.
@@valp729 does this mean you kept your K1 moving bed biological filteration, but took out the BCB? More frequent water change would take care of removing nitrates then.
Hello, I wonder why do we need to drill the holes in the bottom part if it is going to sit on the glass?
Daniel S no it has to get water flow underneath.
Very interesting, could you use just kitty litter while dosing fertiliser for plants that contains the iron?
yes
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums spot on, thankyou for getting back to me 👍
Have you tested using the kitty litter as substrate?
I have 0 nitrates without a specialized anoxic system. Just sand substrate and live plants. Would this still be beneficial?
Will iron oxide provide the iron needed by the bacteria?
Yes, iron oxide can be used like in the old days.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums One more question, please. If baked clay attracts nitrate ions will crushed unglazed pottery do the same?
No, Kitty litter has a crystalline structure to it where clay pottery does not. That Crystalline structure attracts the positive ions out of the water body proper.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums What creates this crystalline structure in cat litter clay?
Do lava rock attract ions? If not is there a replacement for the litter as it does not seem to be available in the uk?
Is lava rock crystaline? I dont know if that helps
Can i use akadama soil alternative to cat litter?
Dr., Could we use akadama soil for this? it's high in iron and suitable for filtration as it is a type of expanded baked clay used mainly but thoroughly in Bonsai growers, it's imported to the North America and Europe from Japan with plenty of different granulometry classifications. Arlite is usually the western version of akadama and its recommended as a substitute of this type of substrate.
If the diameter of the substrate is small enough and not the real big stuff.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums I figured, but couldn't be useful if we want to use the more coarse type at the very bottom of the fish tank with the plenum with very fine substrate on top of such layer ? Wouldn't that promote a much more controlled Environment in the substrate for microaerophilIc bacteria to get established? I mean less drag at the very bottom seems like a good way to manage suction force through the substrate without affecting oxygen levels.
Would Safe-t-Sorb work? It's clay, very similar to cat litter. I'm thinking of making some of these for my HOB filters. Unfortunately for me, all of my many tanks have gravel placed directly on the bottom and are planted. So I' trying to think of other ways to create an area in the tank to promote the growth of this bacteria.
If I understand this correctly, you are creating area that is low in O2 to facilitate the growth of the bacteria that consumes nitrates? And turns it into N2?
I think this might be happening by accident to some degree in some of my tanks. Sometimes when gravel vacuuming, gas will be released. It doesn't smell. So maybe it's N2?
Yes, it can be used too.
Is it zeolite?
Can't the kitty litter be replaced with something like red clay-based fluorite for aquariums, like the type Sachem sells?
I suspect that the "crystalline" structure you mention is mostly related to porosity and average particle diameter of the material. The small average diameter and large porosity Im guessing (necessary for adsorption) found in the kitty litter creates enough mass transfer limitations that lead to anoxic conditions within the kitty litter particles. The fact that it is baked Im guessing means that the particle will remain stable in shape and size still allowing for the anoxic conditions when exposed to water and slow flow.
If this is true, wouldn't it be possible to do the same with red fluorite? The only issue I see is that the red fluorite tends to be dusty and not baked as well as the kitty litter Im assuming. But if its compacted enough or made the center of a filter with slow moving flow rate the particles should remain in tact and provide iron as well as high clay-porosity for anoxic conditions. Granted this would likely effect the stability and overall longevity of the filter, but wouldn't it in principle work?
Red fluorite can be used but it must be packed tightly to achieve the same results in a BCB. It is bigger in size than kitty litter or safe T Sorb .
What about zeolite/carbon mix? Or does it have to be baked clay?
he recommended zeolite as an alternative in another comment, however I would not use activated carbon because it rapidly depletes
Dr Novak. Thank you for this revelation in filtration. Please could you advise if zeolite would suffice as a replacement of the kitty litter?
Judy Drench yes, it will it is already being used in Thailand
GREAT. You wouldn't believe how difficult pure, non clumping cat litter is to get in the UK. Kitty Litter is the only one I can find, and it's £50 for 25lb. That's $80 roughly!! Thank you :)
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums Thanks, i just posted the same question, i am having great difficulty in getting non-clumping kitty litter in India, its all the clumping type that is sold here. So will be using Zeolite to make the BCB !!
saif khan Hi, any updates on using zeolite for you BCB?
@@sspwang8013 I have made a basket but I am afraid of using it since zeolite would absorb potentially all ammonia initially disrupting my nitrogen cycle
Similarly, after the whole capacity is used up, Zeolite must be removed from the aquarium. Is laterite similar to zeolite?
No, it never has to be replaced.
Does the absorbency of the cat/kitty litter matter? Does it help to have high absorbency vs medium absorbency?
I live in the netherlands and really want to try this. But we dont have a wallmarkt. What do i have to look for in cat litter. I found one which is 100 percent sepiolite is this the right one?
No. Dont use sepiolite.
Hello Doc Kevin, can I put small pumies instead of kitty litter?
Wow, this is amazing thing Dr. Novak !! I am surprised why the basket is still not common, it needs to be part of every aquarium. I am from India and i have searched for Non-Clumping type of Kitty litter, it is not available anywhere. Is there something else that i can use as a substitute. I was thinking Zeolite, however i am not sure. I will be really thankful if you can take out the time to answer my query.
Just saw a reply from Dr. Novak, Zeolite can also be used he says, already in use in Thailand. And now, i will be using the same in India !! Will post the results once i have the bcb setup
saif khan it had work for you?
Greetings from Croatia. I've been looking for something like this for 10 years. I have only one problem. I can not get a nunclumping kitty litter. Can I use zeolith for Biocenosis Clarification Basket?
do not use kitty litter from walmart - read my post
Given that Laterite is now almost impossible to find (why, I wonder?) and that my water source is a deep well that's already high in iron, I'm wondering if I need the Laterite at all?
Honestly... if there is a way to reduce water changes, and directly remove nitrates from water... imagine how much money will be lost by retail aquarium companies... all the buffers, neutralizers, dechlorinators, disposable filter media, ... there's a lot of money involved
@@gold3nrul311 That is why they never tell us this.
Hello Kevin. Could you help please. Are there any other products that can be used. Those products of kitty litter’s are not sold where I am in the Uk. Is there anywhere else you can advise me to search to find the correct clay gravel to use for these filters? For example.. apart from cat litter. Could this material be used for gardening maybe. I’d be very great full for any help you can give about this. Many thanks.
To be honest with you, I really don’t know what’s available in the UK for the hobbyist. I do know at one time the UK did sell the correct kind of kitty litter and it was not a problem because it has been used on Koi ponds in the UK..
Kevin Novak thanks for the quick reply Kevin I do appreciate it.👍 could you tell me what clay is actually needed in these filters please. Would it be bentonite?
dr. Novak , will the clay in the BCB absorbing all the nutrients when liquid fertilizers are applied? what about putting in medications? Will the clay absorbs the medications in such a way that it renders them ineffective?
I've never had problems with medication and a BCB basket ever. It seems that the medication unless it is one that kills bacteria, does not affect the outcome of the BCB basket.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums really appreciate your reply. what about the medication? will it gets absorbed by the bacterias in BCB and hence loses its power?
hello, Mr. Novak, in my place dont sell kitten clay cat ( only bentonite clay). Can I use zeolite or akadama soil, perlite soil, bentonite instead of kitten
clay cat? How time it is required to clean or replace this filter media ?
Once set properly you won't need to replace it ever.
gặp đồng hương rồi :D
Hi, thanks for this information. Have a canister filter. Can I still use the kitty litter? I was thinking to replace one basket of media in the canister with the kitty litter and after a month or so to replace the other basket. Would it work? I don't want to remove all my media at once and risk amonia spike.
@xperia yes, I ended up with two canisters filled up with this. It didn't do anything to my nitrates after 6 months. Then I bought a sump and made the baskets and it didn't work either. I ended up heavily planting the sump just last month and can see good results already. I think his tank has low nitrates due to it being planted, not these baskets. Just another scam like biohome imo.
@@AllkoDH A scam?? What is he trying to sell you? Theres no way you couldnt follow the simple instructions huh lmao
@@NateHaileyNPSNPSNPS I did follow the instructions and it didn't work.
@@AllkoDH I was planning to try this concept in shrimp tanks as NO3 are toxic to the invertebrates. Did it really not work? Thank you.
@@ArcanineICU no it didn't work for me.
Is this similar to the way Zeovit media functions? Typically used in reef tanks.
Kinda yeah, Zeovit or Zeolite also leaches minerals back into the aquarium so it does have other benefits. BUT as i understand it zeovit, cat litter, lava rock, activated carbon, and 'reef' rock are just fossilized organic matter of various kinds. because they are super porous they have low oxygen areas deep inside them where anhydrous anaerobic bacteria can grow which feed on nitrate and to a degree phosphate. The difference being the "other" affects they have on water and how dense or porous they each are. Reef rock buffers PH and isnt that porous, carbon is so porous it can absorb toxins but its so good at it it cloggs and doesnt work well long term as filter media. its all the same really, some of the materials have more benefits than others but essentially you are just providing massive amounts of surface area for bacteria to grow, and i mean millions of times more surface area than a "Bio Ring". i always wondered if it was the case with cat litter now i know! apparently most Cat Litter is made of Laterite or Diatomite.
Good day Dr.Novak. I’m from the Philippines and it’s so hard to find a 100% ground clay cat litter here. All we have are the bentonite, pumice and the clumping ones. Is there other alternatives for the ground clay cat litter?
akadama