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  1. #121
    Hey Doug,

    Thanks for your reply, I'm really sorry that you haven't been able to rectify the issue.

    Do you think the ingredients in the Aquabasis could have changed? Although that wouldn't explain why your first baskets stopped working.

    Your tap water theory could have some weight to it. I'm assuming to dechlorinate it somehow. (Which reminds me, I need to replace my carbon filters)

    I was really hoping that someone had found the answer by now. It's crazy when people have had systems running perfectly for over 10 years.

    Jay

  2. #122
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    My situation is pretty much the same as Doug's.

    The timeline is identical.... Minimal nitrates for a year then a very sudden ammonia spike and nitrates through the roof.

    However I've never run the Anoxic system exclusively as the sole bio since I didn't have the bottle to shut down the moving bed, and therefore it can be argued that I'm not running it as it should be run.

    I completely cleaned out and rebuilt the Anoxic pond in early spring, nitrates are currently ranging between 20 and 40 mg/l which on average is lower than before building the Anoxic filter. When it was working nitrates were between 0 and 20, more often between 5 and 10mg/l which is lower than they are out the tap.

    Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

  3. #123
    Hey RS,

    Thanks for your reply.

    So to conclude, do you think it's working again?

    Jay

  4. #124
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Should be able to answer that soon.

    Been around 4 weeks since I increased feeding to 3+ times a day and 10 days since the last good size partial water change, so now the Anoxic filter has had a good chance to catch up I should have a good idea by the next water tests I do this weekend.

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  6. #125
    Junior Member Rank = Fry Rockfella's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Bass View Post
    I can’t comment on the pink stuff as I only use Catsan which cleans with a milky white residue which is clear after 2 or 3 rinses. Only then do I put the core of clay in the middle using a pipe or tube to create the space or empty column in the middle to which I then pack around the cleaned Catsan, mesh on the top....job done
    p.s. I take the tube out leaving a core of Manado clay
    Not sure but Catsan is not made of clay. They do state it is 100% natural but nowhere it states it is clay. Amazon seller in my country said it is made of thermocol.
    Last edited by Rockfella; 11-06-2021 at 07:17 AM. Reason: More info.

  7. #126
    Excellent, I'm looking forward to hearing the results, and keeping my fingers crossed for you.

    Good luck.

    Jay

  8. #127
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Just tested water, on Colombo test kit nitrates are reading 20 mg/l which is lower than they average reading prior to installing the Anoxic filter so I would hazard a guess that it is working.

    Test also revealed elevated nitrite which is obviously being produced by the moving bed filter that remains operational.

    In total I have 100 litres of moving bed and 23 anoxic baskets to service a 12k litre pond with 14 koi, and I still get ammonia, nitrite and nitrate spikes. Has been a few months since i last had a nitrate reading over 40 mg/l so it does seem the Anoxic filter is doing something.

    Prior to anoxic 40mg/l was quite a typical reading. 20mg/l was rare, 60-80 mg/l was not uncommon.

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  10. #128
    Junior Member Rank = Fry Rockfella's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RS2OOO View Post
    Just tested water, on Colombo test kit nitrates are reading 20 mg/l which is lower than they average reading prior to installing the Anoxic filter so I would hazard a guess that it is working.

    Test also revealed elevated nitrite which is obviously being produced by the moving bed filter that remains operational.

    In total I have 100 litres of moving bed and 23 anoxic baskets to service a 12k litre pond with 14 koi, and I still get ammonia, nitrite and nitrate spikes. Has been a few months since i last had a nitrate reading over 40 mg/l so it does seem the Anoxic filter is doing something.

    Prior to anoxic 40mg/l was quite a typical reading. 20mg/l was rare, 60-80 mg/l was not uncommon.

    Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
    If it has been more than 90 days since you installed the "magic baskets" consider getting rid of the other filtration you have....

  11. #129
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rockfella View Post
    If it has been more than 90 days since you installed the "magic baskets" consider getting rid of the other filtration you have....
    Baskets were installed 2 years ago.

    I started gradually removing plastic media last year but ammonia was getting higher and would not go back down so not only did I end up putting the plastic media back, I actually added even more! Not the route I wanted to go down but had to put the koi welfare first.

    If I started over with a new build I would do it differently for sure, maybe 3 baskets per koi and the baskets to be housed in darkness to avoid having to clean out rotten organics multiple times a year.

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  12. #130
    Senior Member Rank = Hassai Mike Bass's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rockfella View Post
    Not sure but Catsan is not made of clay. They do state it is 100% natural but nowhere it states it is clay. Amazon seller in my country said it is made of thermocol.
    No that’s correct Catsan has no clay…… as I said I use Manado Clay in the middle, however Catsan is not the correct type of litter to use as it is the wrong type ( too much Calcium Carbonate I believe)
    1kGal BD/Skim RDF/UV/k1 2.3kGal 2windows 2airBD/skim Sieve/Eazypod RDFcombi+bakki 3xVP/UV,ASHP

  13. #131
    Senior Member Rank = Nanasai GadgetBazza's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RS2OOO View Post
    If I started over with a new build I would do it differently for sure, maybe 3 baskets per koi and the baskets to be housed in darkness to avoid having to clean out rotten organics multiple times a year.
    How big are your baskets? I’ve bought 24 baskets, I think they are 20x20x18 from memory. Planning to keep around 25 koi in 50k litres. I was under the impression (maybe wrongly) that 1 basket per fish is the rule of thumb???

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  15. #132
    Junior Member Rank = Fry Rockfella's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RS2OOO View Post
    Baskets were installed 2 years ago.

    I started gradually removing plastic media last year but ammonia was getting higher and would not go back down so not only did I end up putting the plastic media back, I actually added even more! Not the route I wanted to go down but had to put the koi welfare first.

    If I started over with a new build I would do it differently for sure, maybe 3 baskets per koi and the baskets to be housed in darkness to avoid having to clean out rotten organics multiple times a year.

    Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
    IIRC a 30cmx30cmx20cm basket is good for one adult Koi. I have a feeling your baskets are not working to full potential.. you need to dig this deeper .. I guess.
    Last edited by Rockfella; 17-06-2021 at 03:01 PM. Reason: OT

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  17. #133
    Junior Member Rank = Fry Rockfella's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GadgetBazza View Post
    How big are your baskets? I’ve bought 24 baskets, I think they are 20x20x18 from memory. Planning to keep around 25 koi in 50k litres. I was under the impression (maybe wrongly) that 1 basket per fish is the rule of thumb???
    Can you post a pic of your basket?
    Tia.
    Last edited by Rockfella; 11-06-2021 at 11:50 PM. Reason: edited

  18. #134
    Hey RS,

    Thanks for keeping us upto date, that all sounds really positive this time.

    Sorry if we are going over old ground, but a few things you've said make me want to ask, "are you sure the baskets worked the first time?" If so, why are you sure?

    Again, sorry, I know you've posted this elsewhere in the forum, what what ingredients did you use for your baskets the first time, and have you changed anything this time?

    BTW, the pets at home pink cat litter is fragranced, I've started building baskets with it tonight.

    Jay

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  20. #135
    Senior Member Rank = Nanasai GadgetBazza's Avatar
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    These are the ones I have. 29x29cm, it says 10ltr on the stickers.

    how far apart should they be spaced?

    also any links to the laterite alternative to be used in the middle that people are using successfully?

  21. #136
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Baskets definitely worked after first installation as I kept records of nitrate readings up to and post installation and average reading dropped from something like 38 mg/l to 13 mg/l.


    Even had a couple of readings between 0 and 5 mg/l yet water from my tap is between 10 and 20 mg/l.

    However since the filter "crashed" last autumn nitrates spiked to over 80mg/l and only over the last few months have readings come down to between 20 and 40mg/l. No longer getting any readings below 20.
    In regards to the other questions, my baskets are close together and with the baskets being sloped the tops touch eachother but the bottoms are about 2" apart. The rows are vertically separated by runs of 2" pipe.

    I have a mix of about 18 baskets at 29x29 and about 5 at 19x19. About 5 baskets are planted just to make the Anoxic pond look a little more interesting.

    In my pond I am sure 1 basket per koi would not be enough. At 23 baskets and 250 grams food per day in peak summer each basket would have to process over 10 grams of food worth of ammonia each day and I think that would be too much to ask.

    I'll post some photos when next posting from a computer.

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    Last edited by RS2OOO; 13-06-2021 at 12:13 AM.

  22. #137
    Senior Member Rank = Gosai Jampot's Avatar
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    baskets are close together and with the baskets being sloped the tops touch each other but the bottoms are about 2" apart.
    Same here. Mine are in a single layer with a pipework frame below so water passes there too.

    18 baskets (3 lines of 6) for 15 fish of various sizes, running since last August and all good. Perhaps I'm under feeding:-)

    I do wonder whether the water flow through stacked baskets can ever be as efficient unless used with a 'baffle' system between each stack, like a multibay - in at the top, out at the bottom.

    Jim
    I don't keep fish, I keep water. I don't keep fish, I keep water. I don't keep fish I kee........

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  24. #138
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Rokusai AlanF's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GadgetBazza View Post
    These are the ones I have. 29x29cm, it says 10ltr on the stickers.

    how far apart should they be spaced?

    also any links to the laterite alternative to be used in the middle that people are using successfully?
    Mine are stacked in an IBC, 8 on first layer then 9 and 9, giving 26 total. Touching at the tops and spaced with blue plastic water pipe on tops and bottoms ( also have another 6 in top lily/plant pond). Main target is water flow around all 6 sides if possible. I used JBL Aquabasis in mine, 350/400g in old stocking. Running as sole filtration for 30 months now and very happy. I only top up with rain water which works out about two changes per year. Nitrate static around 20, Ammonia zero but Nitrite always a trace on my tests around 0.1 and never changes. I used to worry about it but fish seem ok so I dont bother about it now. Currently have 25 fish from first batch around 30cm and 15 around 15cm from my New Forest Fry from last year. I expect the system to hit the wall at some point as these grow larger and plan to cull out at that point.

    https://www.pond-planet.co.uk/aquari...nt=Catch%20All

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  26. #139
    RS, thanks for that reply. I'm wondering now how much of an issue it is not running the system as a standalone, if the bugs want some ammonia, but are only getting nitrate as your conventional filter is getting all the juicy nutrients.

    I'm not sure if BCC ran his as standalone, although I don't think his stopped working, he stopped it as he was concerned about the baskets harbouring fugitives.

    As for "water flow" around the baskets, if you read Mankys Gazza, all you need is the ability for water to get unhindered to every side to increase efficiency, as no actual "flow" is needed. I'm not sure if it was Kevin or Did who conducted an experiment with a basket in standing water, and the negative charge worked to draw in the ammonia, so no flow needed, just access.

    As for alternatives to laterite, everyone uses JBL Aquabasis.

    https://www.lincsaquatics.com/jbl-aq...RoCdLUQAvD_BwE

    Cheapest I've found.

    As for the amounts, as this stuff is 55% sand and all sorts of other stuff (zeolite, lime, etc) I'd go on the upper side for volume. I'm just making some and I'm putting just over 400g in each 29cm basket.

    Jay

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  28. #140
    Senior Member Rank = Nanasai GadgetBazza's Avatar
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    I see the Aquabasis is sold in 5l bags. How many grams does that equate to for this product, since I need about 400g per basket?

 

 
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