“Nitrates will affect your TDS readings - the other damaging effect of nitrates were explained 25-years ago, Takayuki Ezaki MD; Ph.D. Prof. bacteriologist, writing on behalf of the ZNA Research Division, shared his observations of the effect of nitrates on the white ground of Kohaku. He urged that the maximum concentration of nitrate be 15 ppm, stating: "Anything more than this and the skin gradually begins to deteriorate, improving again as the concentration lessens." He recommended that if nitrates can be kept at 5 ppm or less, "the skin becomes so white it virtually shines". He ascribed the negative effect of nitrates on (1) reduced the ability to discharge metabolic toxins from the body, resulting in buildup of metabolic wastes in the skin, and (2) on the pond/aquarium water becoming less receptive to dissolution of atmospheric oxygen into the water. Nitrate levels above 10 ppm adversely affect dissolved oxygen in the water column saturation levels cannot be maintained.
Hi Dr, can you please create a playlist for your plenum focused videos please? I've only just come across your videos but am in the beginnings of setting up my new fish room, but really keen to do plated UGF.
How to not let substrate compact how to make it permeable all the time so much so that there shall be anoxic conditions always under the plenum kindly keep guiding I guess annamox is going to be the coming thing
Dr Novak, my experience is the same as yours. In the old days they would never die. I purchased Endlers guppies from Petsmart and had them in a 10 gallon (no plenum) and some would just drop dead for no reason at all and others would live without a problem. I feel that the strain has been so overbred that they are inherently weak.
Dr. Novak. Have you tested ORP of the tap water? I know you have hard water, but maybe the minerals are depleted before they are added to the tank. Adding extra minerals even a little at a time provides that more constant electrical charge without having to wait for a water change. We did testing with these shorter life fish like 2 year average and added mineral improved longevity along with with other redox balancing technique. Also another thought... we purchases a handful of cheaper ORP meters and 1/2 of them were damaged in some way and all gave different results. We thought we could see trends though. Talking with higher end meter manufacturer claim ORP is hard to measure anyways and a cheaper meter doesnt help. All this to say even with harder water maybe a little electrolyte suppliment will help boost immunity.
Hello from my fishroom channel in Chicago, where I'm a subscriber to yours. That is the perfect tank for guppies. I can't fathom why you haven't had luck with these fish. In general, guppies like a higher PH but otherwise they are pretty darn hardy.
Here in Florida we have high pH and very hard water compared to Chicago. But for some reason even when I lived in Chicago, the fish never seem to live very long. The Guppies I have now are doing just fine. Will see what their longevity is.
Hi Dr Novak, I've been having similar issues with guppies. They breed & multiply initially and then they start dying out. On a separate note, I had a question about the bcb bags/baskets. In your experience, which one works better and more efficiently in breaking down the ammonia, nitrites & nitrates in a sump having one or two large bcb baskets/bags or several smaller or medium sized bags?
Maybe those guppies that die. Are from inbreeding lines. Those fancy ones that die are more likely to be an inbreed strain, they are delicate maybe because they have a weak genes, which cause fin rot, drowsy and so on. If the water condition are not met from their former tanks, then they likely to die in week or month.
Hi, Dr Novak, I've been following your videos for some time now. I have a question (NOT sure if you already have an answer on one of your videos) I it possible to replace the Natural Clay (kitty litter) with zeolite?
The key with guppies is breeding them yourself in your own water. Keeping them alive is easy if you start by keeping the original pair/trio/colony in an set-up similar to the one they came from (in biome, pH, and temperature). My suggestion for anybody interested in starting a healthy colony of guppies: Either buy babies or start with a bare bottom sponge filter with 82F heater. Do daily water changes to siphon the bottom. Add a little salt. If they come from overseas they're used to pretty soft water so don't go TOO hard.
Hello Dr. Novak, Have been watching your videos, for a few years now, and really enjoy the presentations. Your experiences with guppies are similar to mine. This is my 5th year in keeping guppies and would like to respectfully share some of my experiences with you. We are on well water and the TDS, out of the ground averages about 150 ppm. Other ground water parameters: 4 dGH 3 dKH 7.0 pH 5 ppm N03 I do buffer the water with a bit of baking soda and WonderShell. Keeping the parameters around 6dKH and 12 dGH, 7.3 pH in the aquariums. My guppies substantially did better with a TDS over 400 ppm. Actually had guppies thrive from a TDS 400-3000 ppm in the 'guppy tanks'. For me, anything below that, no so good. Aquariums are planted and well stocked with various community fish (mostly livebearers, platies, swordtails) Also have Corydoras and other bottom dwellers. Primarily feed Xtreme products (1 or 2 moderate feeding per day) and plants are fertilized very lightly, daily (potassium and Iron). Occasionally, some extra minerals. Never like to personally add nitrate or phosphate. As a side note: Strangely enough, the guppies didn't do well for me after feeding blood or tubifex worms. Seems like a good quality flake or tiny pellet worked much better. Small water changes are performed as needed (approximately every 4-6 months) The fish have been doing well and water is tested weekly. Thanks for reading and all the best to you Dr. Novak
I've had that aquarium since 1987 and it is a reproduction aquarium. I bought in Chicago from a Fish store called Grand Aquariums. If you see any of these aquariums for sale, along with a seahorse stand in brass,, they are all reproductions.
My thoughts. Livebearers need extra GH minerals. Plus a quality food to get minerals. Tetra has among the highest starch % in the hobby cause excess energy which leads to overbreeding. A breeder always feed more and extra engery to get them to spawn. Finding a quality supplier and using extra minerals. Of course keep a solid KH to keep a stable pH, but also GH will help stabilize the pH cause of that plant load you have. Ive always wondered if your filtration method provides that mineralization or just denitraification.
I do think it has to do with getting the guppies from your neighbor whom has basically the same water parameters as you. Plus the fish are of a better quality and not being over breed. I use to have the same issue as you when I bought them from big chains pet stores. Then when I was attending aqua expo, Diana Walstad was there selling her 3rd generation rainbow guppies. I bought me a trio and now I have guppies galore. Although not the same water quality they are high quality fish. Love your tank!
I add 300ppms of calcium-magnesium-potassium to my tap water plus prime this brings my gh over 400ppms i put this water in a 55 gallon brute container and let sit for one day with power head, my 75 gallon guppy tank i use 3 inches sand and lots of plants. water temp 75 degrees i change 50 percent of water weekly and feed hans discus flakes 3 times per day with 3 cory cats. the key for me is the high gh my ph out of tap is 7.0 which i do not add chemicals only prime for the chloramines.
I know, that the limestone regulates the right ph and gh in guppy tank. You mentioned about magnesium, so maybe small amaunt of epsom salt would be also beneficial ?
I think I'm the only hobbyist who refuses to buy guppies hahaha. I've just never found them interesting. But super happy your latest batch is doing great. BTW, did you ever get the 125 you talked about a few videos back? You were planning to get two of the Brooklyn 40B stands to support the tank. I am really hoping that works because I do NOT like most 125 stands and can't pay prices for others. The two 40B stands has me very interested 😀
The guy I got my copies from had kitty litter as a substrate and he just said it was normal Walmart, kitty litter. Which I have found is not baked but softer kitty litter than the baked kitty litter.
There are several videos on how to make a Plenum or an anoxic filter. I will be this November /December be doing a rebuild on 125- gallon aquarium so stay tuned..
I'm trying to figure out if I set up the plenum with kitty litter and gravel. Does the kitty litter increase the ph and the TTS ? I bought the powder laterite also. Should I use these on my aqurium, There are people who say that the kitty litter changes the ph very high and TDS or Wil it lower after a while? I'm trying to figure it out prior to setting my aquriums. I'm going to get the orp meter also. Thanks for this information and your time with teaching us and responding to my questions.
Good question, some people say it increases the pH, and other hobbyist will say it decreases their pH. I guess it just depends on the kitty litter you buy.
@anoxicfiltrationplenums , I purchased the whiskers and tails that you showed and laterite powder. I only purchase what you recommend. I watch every video that you make that I can find. Thanks so much for your help. we appreciate you ❤️
It is an addition to not a replacement. However, my antique aquarium is being run off of nothing but a BCB bag in the canister filter and no under gravel filter or sponge filters are being used in the aquarium.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums I'M ON MY THIRD CAT LITTER BAD TRYING TO MAKE IT WORK SO IT DOES NOT TURN INTO A BIG MUSHY MESS AND SO FAR NO LUCK, HOPEFUL THIS KITTY ONE FROM WALMART WILL WORK, LOVE YOUR RU-vid CHANNEL
Excellent video. I remember when I was 10 or 11 years old with my first aquarium. This would've been in the early '80s. A 20 gallon high with a Whisper HOB. I was so afraid of harming my fish if I didn't replace the disposable cartridge on time. I thought that was the life blood of the aquarium. I just didn't know any better. How truly inexperienced and naive I was! This video, in my opinion, ought to be viewed by every LFS and taught to their customers let alone their staff.
On the computer it sounds just fine but I noticed when it gets on RU-vid the sound quality changes. But you are absolutely right. It doesn't sound right to me either.
Can you be a RU-vidr for a audiophile channel that you have. And then release a horrible overdriven microphone sound, that distort that much so your points and message we are not to hear it.😢😅❤ Apperently..😂 I have no problem to not use anoxic filtration and not using the whole nitrogen cycle.. When I use it as a indication as WHEN I need to do a water change. And rip the benefit of removing other stuff and add new stuff back that got depleted. I have no goal as father fish to never change out water.. It is water and not gold, as some treat it as..😂 But with that said I actually have a African cichlids tank that is a very heavily planted tank! That were my primary goal. But in that planted tank that us a high tech tank I actually never need to change the water when NO3 is not accumulated when the plants consume it.😅 It is a win win and one of the the best filters out there. I prefer lush and filtered cleaner water by plants (when they also consume from the water at least 15 other micro and macro chemicals from the water column.😅 And anoxic plenum is "just" converting one thing.. NO3 to N.. And all other "garbage" that it don't do is accumulating.. So by implementing anoxic plenum that convert NO3 to N will only remove my INDICATOR for when to remove ALL of the diffrent garbage with a water change. But of course anoxic plenum has it place for overstocked, heavy feeding grow up tanks and so on that benefits of all help that they can get in those situations.❤ But yes I am with you that many thinks that a partial N cycle is a "complete" cycle..😂😂
When I edit my videos, they sound perfectly fine on the computer. It seems after I send them off to the RU-vid channel. They completely change in their sound quality. Because this is not a channel that makes great sums of money. I cannot afford the most expensive mike's and/or equipment to do my RU-vid.
yes i have successfully used your method and its been more than 2years this small 2ft shallow shrimp tank been running until recently i started to notice the air bubble lift is having issues as what you have pointed out, the substrate is starting to compact. i wonder what happens to the fish/shrimp waste that is accumulating inside the substrate over time? do they actually get to break down fully over time or it will eventually accumulate and block the substrate over time ?
Coming from somebody who runs a wastewater treatment plant at an operations/administrative level, I think it’s important to note that the nitrogen cycle you are describing is accomplished primarily bacteria. However, nitrogen cycles more than just this way, and while the anoxic filtration system allows you to do so without plants, an important thing of course, many aquarists can achieve great success by simply cultivating plant growth in a natural system where waste is broken down and made available to the plants by macro and microfauna. I believe one can still be considered an expert in this hobby if they have cultivated significant experience and success in fish keeping while maintaining their systems this way for a significant period of time. Expertise is not always defined by formal education, and in fact is most valuable when accompanied by wisdom.
Well, once I watched for the very first time one of your videos, I didn't understand why I didn't watched any video about anoxic filtration in any "big youtube channel"... yes, the reason was the same, nobody was scientist... nobody promotes a cheap method to last fish healthy... and, of course, plants are the new source of money for stores. The new fashion is to change every year the hardscape, buy new plants, and sadly, new fish... yes... give up maintenance and start a new project... ever a ever... Regards
I am glad that I added plants to my tanks because I like them, not because I wanted them to filter my tanks, otherwise I would be very disappointed by now. 😅
Hi Dr Novak. A lot of fish stores & RU-vidrs don't even know the part nitrogen cycle properly. Some even have no clue about what the nitrogen cycle is. They simply know you need biological filtration to clean the water but have no clue how it does that. Also I feel the under gravel filter got phased out was because: 1) The store owners had no idea about the nitrogen cycle and how the plenum works. 2) A lot of fish stores and hobbyists think it is just a mechanical filter and that's why they started adding powerheads and pumping more water through the under gavel filter. 3) Due to the misconception in 2 above, a huge majority of fish stores and hobbyists think that the mulm accumulates in the substrate and can only be removed by emptying the entire aquarium, not realizing that the primary function of the under gravel filter is biological and that the resulting mulm is inert and therefore does not add to the pollution in the tank and so they started promoting other types of filters such as sponges, HOBs, canisters, etc where you can remove the filter media and wash it off.
Definitely interesting topic. I've come across a few and know of one store that the part owner started a fish room coming out of a home hobby. A lot of misinformation is given at time. I know when I worked in a new chain at the time, the training they gave was barebones and no talk of the nitrogen cycle, etc. This was back in the early 80s. Now we have a mass of info out there and not always correct.
