I have shifted to a new place and soon going to set up my 75 gallon aquarium and as suggested by Dr. Novak will install a plenum. I also plan to upload video of the entire process in Hindi as there are no videos on this subject in my native language. I will also give links of Dr Novak on the related subject in the description box.

What you are describing w the use of a plenum is basically turning an entire tank into a nitrate reactor. This is exactly how they work. Very slow flow through Long hose to reduce o2 but not completely make void of oxygen. After watching a lot of your videos on this there is still one problem you’ve not addressed. These bacteria have essentially a 3 day lifespan. Once they die off the end product is Mum. As someone who’s used undergravel plates a lot there will always be a buildup of mum under the plates. How do you clean this out wo increasing flow to suction it out and kill off the anoxic bacteria that just got a massive o2 spike cause of the increased flow. I know mum is an inert byproduct but at some point it will build enough to block off the plates and eventually create anaerobic areas. You’ve maybe not had to deal with this yet at your stocking levels but I assure you it will happen. Just depends on tank load vs time.

Hello Dr. Novak thankyou for all you teachings and videos, very interested in the anoxic filtration with a plenum sytems, i am starting a brand new 55gal. tank and want to do this however i dont want to loose any fish. how should a brand new tank be started with this system as far as cycling. sorry for the ignorance just want to do this correctly thankyou again.

Dr.Novak , i always love your videos . So , if im correct , please clarify , putting more substrate in my tank with undergravel filter overtime should Reduce my nitrates ?

where are the links to the articles figured they would be in the description...thx

THANK you modifying my tanks as we speak...yep...no plenum though but it still works

Always informative.

And Also- from what I understand is that the black goo I see under some of my rocks is actually anaerobic bacteria?

btw,I rarely remove that filter to wash it out. I found it never really clogs in a week to week time...it takes a couple of months before I give HALF the media a wash. Then the other half the next week...then rest for a couple of months.

Is there a resource for anaerobic heterotrophic batreotative bacteria culture ? Does anyone produce seed culture for aquarium use ? 🤔

Very low nitrates in my planted tank but it's almost all anubias and buce another tank that is simply 4" pool sand substrate stacked with stems nitrates are undetectable....lol I find that fascinating the super thick sand substrate has gotta be playing a role? Maby it's the fast growing stems?

I use an undergravel filter, which is hooked up to a canister filter. Water is drawn through my gravel, and into the canister. I’ve been trying to determine whether you just used the undergravel filter to raise the substrate or have it hooked up to your filter system. Can you clarify?

Happy birthday and thank you so much 🌎🐟🐠🐡

Hello Dr, Novak. You mention in your video that the plenum is approx 1 inch tall, and then your substrate is 3.5 - 4 inches thick. The substrate in your aquarium doesn't look to be 4.5 to 5 inches thick, so I just wanted to reconfirm that I'm understanding you correctly. Thanks.

How about the substrate sitting on an inch or two of soil? Would soil be considered a plenum. If that sounds dumb, I apologize. I am still learning 🤙🏻

Hi, is there a way to to build this under “gravel” plenum with sand substrate?

So putting the substrate on something that covers the bottom of the tank helps?

Would be interesting to see what bacteria i have in my tanks one of them always looks so much better then the rest

Why would you add CaCO3 as a carbon source as its already fully oxidized. It cannot act as a electron donor for denitrification

What calcium carbonate chips were used in this test?