Doc. Impressed beyond belief. I made a large bcb bag with special kitty litter 2 months ago. The nitrates was slowing climbing but now the nitrates going backwards with no change in routine. 👍
thanks Doc! i have been hunting for an iron source in the uk at a reasonable price. thanks for the idea of soaking the liquid iron source in the kitty litter … ingenious 🤣
Remember that you don't have to soak all of it maybe just a little bit of it that's going to be put in the center of the basket. That way you won't have a big mess.
Glad to hear that the BCB might work in a HOB. I have a 29 gal set up with a Tidal 55. Curious if there are others out there that have tried the BCB in a HOB and its effects. As always, thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I have loved fancy goldfish for years! I have had them about 10 years total now and i refuse to give up. I finally created a small pond its about 180 gallons. I believe they are making nitrate filters that have some combo of this but i am now making a filter out of my spillway. I use to put filters in it. I started with bioballs but i ordered laterite and kitty litter (natural non clumping) im hopeful this will keep my fish happy. I have thier water very good through at the moment. The water is crystal clear and everything i can check seems to be great. I have 3 fan tails in there now for 3 years and they seem very happy. Im excite to implement this for my tank inside where i have a moor who is a little lethargic and a oranda that is very sick. I have tried everything to help him. He had wen removal surgery and nothing has stopped him from floating. I found a bubble in his fin and i almost wonder if he has gas bubble disease. I have tried everything (frozen deshelled cooked peas 1st) medications, constant water changes, fasting, fish forums, and facebook groups. I am at a loss i know one day i may lose him. One day i may have to put him down. I know you probably will not see this but if you have any thoughts it would be appreciated. You are the one person who seems very invested in these fancy gold fish. I did over winter my moor last winter and he could be slowing down due to the cold coming in but i was too worried to leave him outside. Thank you so much for this information.
Rewatching this video and thinking my bags did not work because I'm using the normal filter mesh bags. I might try laundry mesh bags since these are made very fine, and I cannot find any fine mesh bags for aquarium.
Greetings from India. Thank you very much, i was waiting for a more convenient way to make a BCB, and you have shown it. Planning to put the same in my 5 foot sump for a 6 foot discus tank.
Excellent information, very well presented! I have watched several of your related videos. Very interesting. I have one lingering question: does a BCB bag prepared with laterite or with liquid iron need to be refreshed in any way?
I was thinking about making a BCB in a box filter (just for experiment sake). But this video basically tells me that won't be a good idea, because the water will go through the BCB, not around it. Oh well.... Back to brainstorming. Great video. Thank you.
Thanks for the videos Dr Novak! Would seachem Flourish red work on its own without kitty litter, being that it is a clay substrate with iron? Thanks for any info
Could you do a video on which cat litters will work? There’s so many different ones, maybe find the most popular brands and let us know which ones are ok. Thank you!
Just bought a bag of Walmart special kitty last night to try this. It dissolves instantly to mud when rinsed. All of the non clumping litter I've found in NJ have been doing this. Just going to try akadama or zeolite for the clay part.
Thanks again. I found that the instructions on how to add the liquid iron was very informative. I'm going to build a bag for my third tank, since it has a different filtration system than the other two. I have been getting everything ready for the conversion for two of my aquariums. I just need to get the liner for the plenum and new substrate.
Hello Dr. Novak thank you for all the information you have contributed to the aquarium community. I have been subscribed and have been watching your videos for a while. I currently have a 60 gallon tank with a plenum, that was installed after watching your videos last January. The tank is running great, with no algae at all. I haven't vacuumed the gravel yet! I've never seen anything like it! Thank you so much for that advise and information. I have recently thought about adding plants to the aquarium. However, I wanted to add them in a riparium style, not submerged in the water in aquarium. I also didn't want to hang the plants on the back wall of the tank and have the roots dangling into the tank. So, I am thinking of adding a 3 foot long by 8 inch planter outside the tank with a pump to circulate the water from the tank into the planter above the tank. Kind of like an overhead sump. I was initially thinking of just putting the plants in the planter. But now, I'm thinking I should make this into a hybrid with plants and anoxic filtration. I am wondering what would be the best way to set this up. Should I just fill the planter with kitty litter/laterite and plant the plants into the litter? Or should I make some sort of a plenum at the bottom, then fill with the litter/laterite and plant the plants into the litter? Or should I use BCB bags and then put the plants in around the bags? I am trying this for a few reasons. 1. I think the plants will just look nice above the aquarium. 2. I've tried plants in the aquarium before, and I really didn't have great success with that, so I don't want to try that again at this time. 3. I also read that plants that are not submerged, actually filter the aquarium better because they have access to much more CO2. 4. If the whole thing fails, it's the easiest to just throw out. LOL Thank you for everything you are doing and adding to the aquarium hobby.
Pretty much exactly how I did me Oase filter. Stacked two bags on top of each other in the bottom 3 square trays and have 2” open space on all sides for the water to flow around them. The Oase pre filters keep out any sludge, etc out of the bags. Used Laterite powder and mixed it in like you show. Proof is in the pudding. 😊
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums I like them a lot, the pre filter is a breeze to remove and clean. If you clean them weekly or so, the filter Medea in the 4 baskets really never get dirty, as far as flow it is a lot like the others, probably rated higher then what your going to get depending on head height and other restrictions but so far I’m glad I went that route. My tank was crystal clear with just the one and I probably went overboard and could have used a cheaper canister for the bcb bags but the 4 pre filter sponges that I can get in 3 different PPI and the water shut off makes cleaning a breeze. No water mess…..Highly recommended
Great information, truly! Bentley Pascoe pointed me this way, and I’m enjoying the content! Great job at explaining the components of how and why the system works. Will be trying this in a few new tanks this week! Thanks for sharing, Doctor Novak!
I’m having problems finding the correct kitty litter here in the UK. Would I be able to use a scented glass media as an alternative I can’t get the exact brand you use and I can’t find enough information on other brands of Kitty litter or oil dry to ensure they are safe for me to use hence why I’m looking for alternatives I’ve watched quite a few of your videos over the last few days add everything you’re saying makes perfect sense. The pond community here in the UK have been using a lot of your ideas for many years with great success I don’t understand why the aquarium community aren’t doing the same they seem to be pushing back doesn’t make any sense to me at all. I mentioned the idea in my local aquarium shop recently and they started laughing absolute fools. Keep up the good work this method may be a little bit more work in the initial stages setting up but man does it pay off in the long term. I honestly believe if these ideas are implemented correctly thank crashes will become a thing of the past👍
Hi There, I am based in the UK as well and I have been wondering which type of kitty Litter should i be using? did you have any luck with that? Dr Novak's method seems really interesting. i am planning to use BCB bags in my canister filter
I just made a couple BCB bags with laterite and kitty litter. I modified 3 out of the four trays in my Fluval 407 by cutting the grids out of the bottom and inserted the BCB bags vertically thru the stacked trays. After 1 week my nitrates have not changed (25 ppm) when I am used to doing a water change every week. I am currently waiting on my phosphate checker and redox meter to arrive, however I have 4 pairs of angelfish lay eggs as well as a pair of bristle noise plecos lay eggs in a cave. Neither have done so before the bags! I’m shocked!
Very detailed video, we all will know that we are doing it correctly now. Thanks! 👌❤️🐠🍀 Going to make another BCB right now. Ordered the FritzZyme Trace Elements and it came in today. Now I can kick start everything off after a water change!
This is great alternative. I have a small pond (1100L) with 3 x 100L drum filter, thus the basket method was challenging to implement. I have instead use the same types of bags (30cm x 20cm) and make 6 bags and placed in one of my drums for 2 weeks. Hope that I get it correct!
Now obviously I don't know anything about this as I have my first BCB on an aquarium right now and its only been a week, but my thought is that the kitty litter should not get exhausted because whats happening here is not simply a soaking up of ammonia but the bacteria are also there turning it into free nitrogen..so that it keeps being renewed all the time....but then I suppose if it brings in other things than nitrogen products and phosphates that bacteria can't break down eventually it could happen....
Hello Doc, old forums suggested to use cat litter as a substrate an aquarium. It kinda fell out of popularity because I don't know why. Do you think they (people in the past) would've achieved the same effect as BCBs when they used cat litter as substrate?
Hi dr novak, could you tell me, how many bcb bags do I Need for my 15 gal fish tank ? And what bcb bags size you recommend ? Does it exist some kínd of relationship between water gallons and the amount of bcb bags to put inside my sump or just depend on biomass?
Hi love your videos 🙏 Can I use the large dryer nylon style bags with larger holes To make large bag to make large island in tank then cap it over with fluorite gravel or fluorite sand 🤷🏼♂️to give it a island look This will be all placed over a under gravel filter with low draw pipes with very small power head to move water underneath very slowly 🤷🏼♂️ I don’t want to make a mistake Do it once do it right The tank size is a 55 gallon ✌️🇨🇦👍
If the holes are not that big to allow any of the substrate out of the bag. So you need to compromise on too small of holes that will restrict water flow or two big of holes that will allow the substrate to migrate out of the bags.
Thank you so much for all your videos and for freely sharing you valuable knowledge. Would you please tell me if it matters if the kitty litter you are using is from calcium bentonite or sodium bentonite. The sodium bentonite apparently swells up more than the calcium bentonite and I'm not sure if that is desirable in the canister. I am finding it difficult in Australia to find a suitable kitty litter if it has to be calcium bentonite as they are all sodium bentonite as far as I can find anyway. Thank you very much.
Hello Dr. Novak, do you think that crushed terracotta or powdered terracotta is a substitute for laterite? Or is it the same thing? Maybe could smash a terracotta pot until it becomes powder, not sure if it will give the same results
Hi! Such GREAT videos, Thank You! Will a BCB work in a fluval FX4 on my 90gal planted tank ??? I don't have a plenum in it but it is a pretty mature tank that produces an insane amount of water lettuce and duck weed...
Hi Doc I am in Australia and have been watching your vids. Great stuff. I am going to set up a bcb and am wondering if plant laterite is ok. It is in a rock format not soil. I have a 2000 ltr outdoor pond with a submersible pump / filter . Would you recommend I remove the 3 sponge filters and use the bcb in there place?? Do I leave the bio balls in there ??
Thank you for the answer to my last question. Do you have a video that talks about TDS in aquariums with plenums and BCB’s? I have 4 tanks converted to your method now and I’m recording my TDS so far compared to tanks without Plenums etc. I get my ORP meter later today and will test also and send you images.
I'm trying this bcb experiment on my 55 gallon Mbuna overstocked Aquarium. I've got kitty litter non clumping, non scented, clay based version. I have thoroughly rinsed it for 20 minutes. It doesn't ever get 100% rinsed or cleaned where no grey color water vanishes during it's cleaning. I've just added Flourish Iron liquid supplement & have that absorbing into the clay kitty litter for 30-45 minutes. I intend to add this mesh bag of kitty litter / aka BCB bag to my sump with space all aroused and BCB bag etc. My question is how bad & for how long will this newly added bag take until my aquarium water is not grey in color? 1hour, 2 hours, 24 hours or 4 5 months or 2 years?
Hello from Scotland Dr Novak, i have a natural local rock outcrop pf Red Bole (laterite) it is heavy in aluminion as well as iron,, could i use this in replacement of commercial soil products if broken down into a finer substrate or even would a lump at the center of the kitty litter clay work also in bags. Best wishes and thank You for the information you provide to simplify things for everyone and make it more accessible financially, top job
Hi there, thank you very much for your guidance. May I ask if we can use hard baked clay (the one use for tree planting) instead of cat littler? And what if we put those BCB bag in a no firlter aquairum will it still work?
I am so excited by this method of filtration for my pond. I have an established bio filter. Will it compete in a negative way with my anoxic filter? Should I gradually remove the contents of the bio? I have reduced my fish load down to 9 koi in a 4500 gallon pond. Are 10 baskets enough? Many thanks for all your work!
Please Dr Novak, would you tell me if Aquatic Plant Food is a safe alternative to Laterite? It's produced by BioTec in Granville NSW, Australia. Dosage on the bottle states 20ml to 100 litres per week. It also states, "Contains potassium as sulphate 3%, chelated iron 0.1% with added specially filtered seaweed fertiliser solution contaning a wide range of trace elements and growth hormones." Has anyone used this in their tanks as a source of Iron? I'm concerned about the growth hormones but don't have another iron source available right now anyway. Many thanks.
I have an extra HOB that I would like to setup with a sponge and then over it a bcb bag like shown here. Would this work without a plenum in the substrate? If I understood correctly I think the answer is yes but want to confirm.
I'm only just learning about plenums and BCBs in the last week and am very keen to get all my tanks, especially all the goldfish tanks, switched over to Dr Novak's method. Just having major issues trying to find the kitty litter and large enough quantities of laterite. If anyone in Australia knows where to buy the kitty litter and larger quantites of laterite, I'd really appreciate it if you would please share your sources. Thank you.
Hi Kevin. .. Thanks for more information about this and I'm thinking of trying this in my juwel rio125 filter box ( which is inside the tank on juwel aquariums )... will be interesting to see if it works .
Hello Dr. Novak, I just discovered your videos and I'm intrigued with your concept. I set up a 200-gallon fresh water aquarium 6 months ago and I don't want to break it down to add a under gravel filter. I have a thirty-gallon sump, could I add these BCB bags to a Fluval 406 canister filter to control Nitrate and phosphate in my aquarium? Do you have a way to control Phosphate?
Hi Doc. I've been having a hard time. Like really really hard, finding a non-clumping unscented clay cat litter in my place. I live in singapore. Question is, can i use an unscented clumping clay?
Fabulous video content Dr Novak ,Thank you very much. I now know just what to do when my canister filter arrives. However I have a big problem. I live in the UK and I can not find baked kitty litter anywhere. Please can anyone help me . What can I use for my BCB bags ??
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums Hi Dr Novak ,Thank you for the reply. I have bought a bag of a product called Flourite Red ( 15.4 lbs) all natural porous clay. By Seacham . The product looks like kitty litter except that it is red. Does that mean that I use it exactly the same as kitty litter but I now do not need an iron source thank you very much for your help in this matter I do appreciate it ?
doc, I been using the BCB in my 100 gal tank, w/a plenum, and they have worked perfectly. The BCB have kitty litter w/an Ironite core. I remember seeing somewhere how long they last but can't find the post. How long do they last? And do you still recommend ironite as a center? Can I use ironite in a bag like you have demonstrated in this video? Thanks for your insight.
Great! As fish breeders we obviously can't use power filters, sumps or canister filters. First because of the cost and second because they tend to suck up fry... not to mention the nature of having lots of small aquariums on a rack.Which means the footprint of the BCB has to be as small as possible and still be effective. So, I get where the BC Bag will work right inside the aquarium, which is starting to feel like a solution to nitrates in small or breeder aquariums. But as far as I can tell, the center of the BC Bag still has to be anoxic for the process to work. How small or thin can the bag be made to still be effective? (In other words before the anoxic area becomes too small for efficient de-nitrafication?) Please share your thoughts as your schedule permits. Thank you.
Yes you were right it will work right inside the aquarium. Some people are doing that because of the fact they don't have either a hang on the back filter or a canister filter big enough connected to the aquarium. Some of these aquariums are like your Fluval all in one aquariums that have built-in filters already into the aquarium it's self.
Would using scoria be of any use as a substrate or in the cansiter? I just read that scoria cause pH problems due to calcium being released, but I haven't noticed that problem in my tanks which are all running with scoria as a substrate. I have tried to construct a plenum in two of the tanks but am having trouble finding suitable kitty litter as per my previous question. I intend to convert them all to plenums with BCBs in the canister filters. I would really appreciate your input please Dr Novak. Many thanks.
Iron helps plants, but it also helps to grow bacteria in its initial stages. As bacteria become established, iron is less important to the bacteria, as it was, in the very beginning of its inception.
Dr. Novak, I would like to do a bare bottom Goldfish Tank with some flat river rocks sitting on BCB bags and an external canister filter. Do you think this would work? Thank you!
One question, how many filters do you need if you have a plenum and a bcb basket ? A filter to polish the water also like your eheim ecco ? Thx again for your video just great
Hi Dr Novak. Thank you for your excellent educational videos. I needed your advise on making the bcb bags for my canister filter. The kitty litter that I got is made from non clumping fired red clay. Since it is red clay and already contains iron, should I skip adding the iron or add it anyways?
Hi Dr Novak, great vid. Very educational. I have 2 questions, which if you can help answer would be great. 1. You mentioned that it would be ideal to have a fast flow rate to maximize contact with the water. Would using an air diffuser or air stone to increase water agitation around the BCBs help? It would also increase the dissolved O2 in the water but I'm wondering if that would be offset by the increased contact the BCBs have with the water. Or does Anoxic filtration work best with any air stones or air diffusers near them? 2. I have a small sump. Can I just stack the bcb bags in the sump instead of using baskets? Looking forward to your reply!
I'll answer your second question first. It's better off to have them in a basket or bag that you just put it in a sump because you do not want water to be forced through the kitty litter at all unless it is in a Plenum and it's moving very slowly. And yes if you want to increase the oxygen level having an air stone around the BCB baskets or bags would not hurt in anyway.
Hi Dr. Novak, is there any replacement for the non clumping kitty litter. In Indonesia, I havent been able to find the non clumping clay/bentonite, many of those also with odor
The video that's coming out and shows you all the parts to a Plenum that I just made the happiest used a product called oil dry he bought it at tractor supply house.
I think he did mentioned baked clay [kitty litter that is not soft or mushy in water] And no additives in the kitty litter like perfume and such. Recent batches of kitty litter has some issues in the US. Alternatives suggested was Oil Dri. Ordinary gravel can still work like Dr.Novak's smaller aquarium where he used his äncient" gravel on his plenum. Maybe going through all his videos can be very helpful. Just a simple click on his icon will take you to all his videos. Click on the video tab [2nd tab from left]
I have fancy Goldfish that keep dying. Like you say on your other video, I’m doing everything right but they keep dying. I’m using a Fluval 407 and I’m gonna add this into one or two of my trays. Do you think it will help?
Hi Dr. I have a sunsun canister which has 3 trays and I have 4 bcb bags 2 of them using 6"x8" inch bags & 2 of them 4"x7" inch bags. The net stretches a little so they end being a little bigger than the empty bag size. One 6x8 is placed in the aquarium, & one in one tray of the sunsun & the two smaller bags in another tray of the sunsun. Is it better to have the larger bag size per tray or several of the smaller ones?
And, another comment... I find it difficult to use RU-vid comments to ask questions and have a discussion. Are there any aquarium forums that have a community for plenum/bcb discussions? I have a question about. What volume of media per tank size/stocking level is appropriate? I'm using Aquaclear 70 on a 55 gallon tank and was just going to fill one Aquaclear 70 media bag. Is that enough? Should I set up another HOB and pack it with media.
Hello Dr Novak, have you had the opportunity to experiment with clay soaked iron and how long it lasts compared to clay impregnated with iron? Not sure if I’m saying that correctly but I’m wondering if it would degrade faster with soaked.
The clay with iron will be good enough to grow the bacteria that is needed and then when it dissipate or is finally oxidize it is really not that important anymore , plus the fact the iron that's in the aquarium will keep migrating inside the bag for the rest of its life expectancy.
What if I make a BCB bag and just fill it with Flourite Red? It's baked clay and has enough iron it it that it will stick to a magnet. Would that work?
@@aquaticsal6524 but wont all the iron in the flourite make it positively charged. I think the point is kitty litter is more like negatively charged. Dunno if the doc can chime in.
If you're not gonna have plans, really, it's very easy then to set up a Plenum and you don't necessarily have to have iron. However, iron is a catalyst to help bacteria growth, but it is not a necessity for the bacteria growth. If you understand what I mean, bacteria will utilize iron in its first stages quite a lot until after it's established.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums thank you for you time and expertise. Happy New Year! Which Island to you call home? We have a place on Maui. We live in Colorado.
Hi doc i made a mesh bag the bag is very big my tank is 170 gallon and a sump i put this bag in a sump but after six month i check the nitret but there is no change what is wrong i dont know i leave in krachi pakistan and i import kity liter and literite from usa but the dont work plz help me becuse i expend lot of mony to import these thing
Hi Dr. Novak, thanks for sharing this knowledge. I still wondering about using the pot planting clay (those red black balls), would them work as well? I'm trying a small indoor aquaponic system with a 10 gallons aquarium, in my planting bed (where are the clays) the water is pumped for 15 minutes every hour them flow back to the tank (I still wondering if should keep a water level up for the clays getting flooded all the time) . Also this aquarium is with a plenum with small bubbling. I setup this system in October, and having about 25 to 50 ppm of ammonia (0 ammonia and 0 nitrite) and the fish looks very happy, but I still doing weekly water changes mostly to get rid of the brown water due a drift wood added to the tank. Should I expect better results in a few more weeks, using only the pot clay?
Dr Novak - I am making more BCB s for my cannister filter which will contain seachem flourite, do I still need to add the iron injection? I did not inject iron in my other BCB's and it still was successful for the most part. Thanks for your advice
That is the stuff I used in the plenum; I added a huge amount, but it worked. Iron is very soluble so I think the liquid iron would be reapplied once you notice BCB no longer working, albeit years. Iron rich substrate would take much longer for the iron to be depleted.
Hi Dr. I surely want to try this in my Oase filters. My main concern is to use the proper, non clumping baked clay litter. Can you please suggest some brand names to look for? I am unable to read a brand on the bag in the video. Also, would bags made for Purigen be appropriate for use in this project? One more question; would I lay the bags on top of the matrix in the baskets, or use the bcb bags exclusively? I'm anxious to get started. Thank you so much.
Hello Dr Novak. It’s always interesting to see your videos. Few years ago I set up tank with two BCB’s but it failed probably because I used calcified kitty litter. Last week I put one BCB with sepiolite kitty litter and hope this time it works. I am also going to put in one BCB with perlite. Perlite is puffed clay. It looks like puffed rice or popcorn. What do you think if perlite will work?
would any of that (the kitty liter) be harmful to more sensitive shrimp like caridinas (not ammanos), would possibly want to try this but a little weary on doing it with my shrimp, a Taiwan Bee mix.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums I may need to do a small scale testing of this, most of these shrimp like a PH at 5.4 to 6.4, what is the PH of the tank(s) you have running, if I may ask
Hi again Dr. Novak, I've been able to identify the litter so getting the project is imminent. The final question remains, of the three trays of Matrix, do I leave two and put the bag in the top tray, or should I replace all Matrix with the bags? Again, thanks so much.
Dr I just put 2 bcb bags in the back drop filter of my Innovative Marine tank. The water turned a beautiful red for the preceeding couple of hours? Will this hamper the process or is it to be expected?
