diff --git a/bigchaindb/__init__.py b/bigchaindb/__init__.py
index b21f69fb..f297717c 100644
--- a/bigchaindb/__init__.py
+++ b/bigchaindb/__init__.py
@@ -59,6 +59,10 @@ config = {
         'advertised_host': 'localhost',
         'advertised_port': 9985,
     },
+    'tendermint': {
+        'host': 'localhost',
+        'port': 46657,
+    },
     # FIXME: hardcoding to localmongodb for now
     'database': _database_map['localmongodb'],
     'log': {
diff --git a/bigchaindb/commands/bigchaindb.py b/bigchaindb/commands/bigchaindb.py
index 871bf0de..188cb7b3 100644
--- a/bigchaindb/commands/bigchaindb.py
+++ b/bigchaindb/commands/bigchaindb.py
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ from bigchaindb.commands import utils
 from bigchaindb.commands.utils import (configure_bigchaindb,
                                        input_on_stderr)
 from bigchaindb.log import setup_logging
-from bigchaindb.tendermint.lib import BigchainDB
 from bigchaindb.tendermint.utils import public_key_from_base64
 
 logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO)
@@ -82,6 +81,10 @@ def run_configure(args):
             val = conf['database'][key]
             conf['database'][key] = input_on_stderr('Database {}? (default `{}`): '.format(key, val), val)
 
+        for key in ('host', 'port'):
+            val = conf['tendermint'][key]
+            conf['tendermint'][key] = input_on_stderr('Tendermint {}? (default `{}`)'.format(key, val), val)
+
     if config_path != '-':
         bigchaindb.config_utils.write_config(conf, config_path)
     else:
@@ -167,7 +170,7 @@ def run_start(args):
     setup_logging()
 
     logger.info('BigchainDB Version %s', bigchaindb.__version__)
-    run_recover(BigchainDB())
+    run_recover(bigchaindb.tendermint.lib.BigchainDB())
 
     try:
         if not args.skip_initialize_database:
diff --git a/bigchaindb/config_utils.py b/bigchaindb/config_utils.py
index 7a2521fe..be5ab69c 100644
--- a/bigchaindb/config_utils.py
+++ b/bigchaindb/config_utils.py
@@ -248,10 +248,8 @@ def autoconfigure(filename=None, config=None, force=False):
 
     # override configuration with env variables
     newconfig = env_config(newconfig)
-
     if config:
         newconfig = update(newconfig, config)
-
     set_config(newconfig)  # sets bigchaindb.config
 
 
diff --git a/bigchaindb/core.py b/bigchaindb/core.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/bigchaindb/fastquery.py b/bigchaindb/fastquery.py
deleted file mode 100644
index f2190cb4..00000000
--- a/bigchaindb/fastquery.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,60 +0,0 @@
-from bigchaindb.utils import condition_details_has_owner
-from bigchaindb.backend import query
-from bigchaindb.common.transaction import TransactionLink
-
-
-class FastQuery:
-    """Database queries that join on block results from a single node.
-
-    * Votes are not validated for security (security is a replication concern)
-    * Votes come from only one node, and as such, non-byzantine fault tolerance
-      is reduced.
-
-    Previously, to consider the status of a block, all votes for that block
-    were retrieved and the election results were counted. This meant that a
-    faulty node may still have been able to obtain a correct election result.
-    However, from the point of view of a client, it is still neccesary to
-    query multiple nodes to insure against getting an incorrect response from
-    a byzantine node.
-    """
-
-    def __init__(self, connection):
-        self.connection = connection
-
-    def get_outputs_by_public_key(self, public_key):
-        """Get outputs for a public key"""
-        res = list(query.get_owned_ids(self.connection, public_key))
-        txs = [tx for _, tx in self.filter_valid_items(res)]
-        return [TransactionLink(tx['id'], index)
-                for tx in txs
-                for index, output in enumerate(tx['outputs'])
-                if condition_details_has_owner(output['condition']['details'],
-                                               public_key)]
-
-    def filter_spent_outputs(self, outputs):
-        """Remove outputs that have been spent
-
-        Args:
-            outputs: list of TransactionLink
-        """
-        links = [o.to_dict() for o in outputs]
-        res = query.get_spending_transactions(self.connection, links)
-        txs = [tx for _, tx in self.filter_valid_items(res)]
-        spends = {TransactionLink.from_dict(input_['fulfills'])
-                  for tx in txs
-                  for input_ in tx['inputs']}
-        return [ff for ff in outputs if ff not in spends]
-
-    def filter_unspent_outputs(self, outputs):
-        """Remove outputs that have not been spent
-
-        Args:
-            outputs: list of TransactionLink
-        """
-        links = [o.to_dict() for o in outputs]
-        res = query.get_spending_transactions(self.connection, links)
-        txs = [tx for _, tx in self.filter_valid_items(res)]
-        spends = {TransactionLink.from_dict(input_['fulfills'])
-                  for tx in txs
-                  for input_ in tx['inputs']}
-        return [ff for ff in outputs if ff in spends]
diff --git a/bigchaindb/tendermint/event_stream.py b/bigchaindb/tendermint/event_stream.py
index 4d9a59f2..9cbd28f2 100644
--- a/bigchaindb/tendermint/event_stream.py
+++ b/bigchaindb/tendermint/event_stream.py
@@ -2,17 +2,17 @@ import asyncio
 import json
 import logging
 import time
-from os import getenv
 
 import aiohttp
 
+from bigchaindb import config
 from bigchaindb.common.utils import gen_timestamp
 from bigchaindb.events import EventTypes, Event
 from bigchaindb.tendermint.utils import decode_transaction_base64
 
 
-HOST = getenv('BIGCHAINDB_TENDERMINT_HOST', 'localhost')
-PORT = int(getenv('BIGCHAINDB_TENDERMINT_PORT', 46657))
+HOST = config['tendermint']['host']
+PORT = config['tendermint']['port']
 URL = 'ws://{}:{}/websocket'.format(HOST, PORT)
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
diff --git a/docs/server/source/appendices/the-bigchaindb-class.rst b/docs/server/source/appendices/the-bigchaindb-class.rst
index ed9e6067..0054e3f4 100644
--- a/docs/server/source/appendices/the-bigchaindb-class.rst
+++ b/docs/server/source/appendices/the-bigchaindb-class.rst
@@ -3,5 +3,3 @@ The BigchainDB Class
 ####################
 
 .. autoclass:: bigchaindb.tendermint.BigchainDB
-
-   .. automethod:: bigchaindb.tendermint.lib.BigchainDB.__init__
diff --git a/docs/server/source/server-reference/configuration.md b/docs/server/source/server-reference/configuration.md
index 3bc1ca31..1e9849fa 100644
--- a/docs/server/source/server-reference/configuration.md
+++ b/docs/server/source/server-reference/configuration.md
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ For convenience, here's a list of all the relevant environment variables (docume
 `BIGCHAINDB_LOG_DATEFMT_LOGFILE`<br>
 `BIGCHAINDB_LOG_FMT_CONSOLE`<br>
 `BIGCHAINDB_LOG_FMT_LOGFILE`<br>
+`BIGCHAINDB_TENDERMINT_HOST`<br>
+`BIGCHAINDB_TENDERMINT_PORT`<br>
 
 
 The local config file is `$HOME/.bigchaindb` by default (a file which might not even exist), but you can tell BigchainDB to use a different file by using the `-c` command-line option, e.g. `bigchaindb -c path/to/config_file.json start`
@@ -426,3 +428,26 @@ logging of the `core.py` module to be more verbose, you would set the
 ```
 
 **Defaults to**: `{}`
+
+## tendermint.host & tendermint.port
+
+The settings with names of the form `tendermint.*` are for
+consensus(Tendermint) backend that we are using:
+
+* `tendermint.host` is the hostname (FQDN)/IP address of the tendermint backend.
+* `tendermint.port` is self-explanatory.
+
+**Example using environment variables**
+```text
+export BIGCHAINDB_TENDERMINT_HOST=tendermint
+export BIGCHAINDB_TENDERMINT_PORT=46657
+```
+
+**Default values**
+
+```js
+"tendermint": {
+    "host": "localhost",
+    "port": 46657,
+}
+```
diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index 078896cb..d17afd5c 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -107,6 +107,10 @@ def _configure_bigchaindb(request):
 
     config = {
         'database': bigchaindb._database_map[backend],
+        'tendermint': {
+            'host': 'localhost',
+            'port': 46657,
+        }
     }
     config['database']['name'] = test_db_name
     config = config_utils.env_config(config)
diff --git a/tests/db/test_bigchain_api.py b/tests/db/test_bigchain_api.py
index fa1c2bad..c285401a 100644
--- a/tests/db/test_bigchain_api.py
+++ b/tests/db/test_bigchain_api.py
@@ -978,38 +978,48 @@ def test_get_owned_ids_calls_get_outputs_filtered():
     assert res == gof()
 
 
+@pytest.mark.tendermint
 def test_get_outputs_filtered_only_unspent():
     from bigchaindb.common.transaction import TransactionLink
-    from bigchaindb.tendermint import BigchainDB
-    with patch('bigchaindb.fastquery.FastQuery.get_outputs_by_public_key') as get_outputs:
+    from bigchaindb.tendermint.lib import BigchainDB
+
+    go = 'bigchaindb.tendermint.fastquery.FastQuery.get_outputs_by_public_key'
+    with patch(go) as get_outputs:
         get_outputs.return_value = [TransactionLink('a', 1),
                                     TransactionLink('b', 2)]
-        with patch('bigchaindb.fastquery.FastQuery.filter_spent_outputs') as filter_spent:
+        fs = 'bigchaindb.tendermint.fastquery.FastQuery.filter_spent_outputs'
+        with patch(fs) as filter_spent:
             filter_spent.return_value = [TransactionLink('b', 2)]
             out = BigchainDB().get_outputs_filtered('abc', spent=False)
     get_outputs.assert_called_once_with('abc')
     assert out == [TransactionLink('b', 2)]
 
 
+@pytest.mark.tendermint
 def test_get_outputs_filtered_only_spent():
     from bigchaindb.common.transaction import TransactionLink
-    from bigchaindb.tendermint import BigchainDB
-    with patch('bigchaindb.fastquery.FastQuery.get_outputs_by_public_key') as get_outputs:
+    from bigchaindb.tendermint.lib import BigchainDB
+    go = 'bigchaindb.tendermint.fastquery.FastQuery.get_outputs_by_public_key'
+    with patch(go) as get_outputs:
         get_outputs.return_value = [TransactionLink('a', 1),
                                     TransactionLink('b', 2)]
-        with patch('bigchaindb.fastquery.FastQuery.filter_unspent_outputs') as filter_spent:
+        fs = 'bigchaindb.tendermint.fastquery.FastQuery.filter_unspent_outputs'
+        with patch(fs) as filter_spent:
             filter_spent.return_value = [TransactionLink('b', 2)]
             out = BigchainDB().get_outputs_filtered('abc', spent=True)
     get_outputs.assert_called_once_with('abc')
     assert out == [TransactionLink('b', 2)]
 
 
-@patch('bigchaindb.fastquery.FastQuery.filter_unspent_outputs')
-@patch('bigchaindb.fastquery.FastQuery.filter_spent_outputs')
+@pytest.mark.tendermint
+@patch('bigchaindb.tendermint.fastquery.FastQuery.filter_unspent_outputs')
+@patch('bigchaindb.tendermint.fastquery.FastQuery.filter_spent_outputs')
 def test_get_outputs_filtered(filter_spent, filter_unspent):
     from bigchaindb.common.transaction import TransactionLink
-    from bigchaindb.tendermint import BigchainDB
-    with patch('bigchaindb.fastquery.FastQuery.get_outputs_by_public_key') as get_outputs:
+    from bigchaindb.tendermint.lib import BigchainDB
+
+    go = 'bigchaindb.tendermint.fastquery.FastQuery.get_outputs_by_public_key'
+    with patch(go) as get_outputs:
         get_outputs.return_value = [TransactionLink('a', 1),
                                     TransactionLink('b', 2)]
         out = BigchainDB().get_outputs_filtered('abc')
diff --git a/tests/tendermint/test_fastquery.py b/tests/tendermint/test_fastquery.py
index 8f807c9a..8689000b 100644
--- a/tests/tendermint/test_fastquery.py
+++ b/tests/tendermint/test_fastquery.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import pytest
 from bigchaindb.common.transaction import TransactionLink
 from bigchaindb.models import Transaction
 
+
 pytestmark = [pytest.mark.bdb, pytest.mark.tendermint]
 
 
@@ -25,3 +26,46 @@ def test_get_outputs_by_public_key(b, user_pk, user2_pk, txns):
         TransactionLink(txns[0].id, 0),
         TransactionLink(txns[2].id, 1),
     ]
+
+
+def test_filter_spent_outputs(b, user_pk, user_sk):
+    out = [([user_pk], 1)]
+    tx1 = Transaction.create([user_pk], out * 2)
+    tx1.sign([user_sk])
+
+    inputs = tx1.to_inputs()
+
+    tx2 = Transaction.transfer([inputs[0]], out, tx1.id)
+    tx2.sign([user_sk])
+
+    # tx2 produces a new unspent. inputs[1] remains unspent.
+    b.store_bulk_transactions([tx1, tx2])
+
+    outputs = b.fastquery.get_outputs_by_public_key(user_pk)
+    unspents = b.fastquery.filter_spent_outputs(outputs)
+
+    assert set(unsp for unsp in unspents) == {
+        inputs[1].fulfills,
+        tx2.to_inputs()[0].fulfills,
+    }
+
+
+def test_filter_unspent_outputs(b, user_pk, user_sk):
+    out = [([user_pk], 1)]
+    tx1 = Transaction.create([user_pk], out * 2)
+    tx1.sign([user_sk])
+
+    inputs = tx1.to_inputs()
+
+    tx2 = Transaction.transfer([inputs[0]], out, tx1.id)
+    tx2.sign([user_sk])
+
+    # tx2 produces a new unspent. input[1] remains unspent.
+    b.store_bulk_transactions([tx1, tx2])
+
+    outputs = b.fastquery.get_outputs_by_public_key(user_pk)
+    spents = b.fastquery.filter_unspent_outputs(outputs)
+
+    assert set(sp for sp in spents) == {
+        inputs[0].fulfills,
+    }
diff --git a/tests/test_fastquery.py b/tests/test_fastquery.py
deleted file mode 100644
index e6c6dfbe..00000000
--- a/tests/test_fastquery.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,21 +0,0 @@
-import pytest
-
-from bigchaindb.common.transaction import TransactionLink
-
-pytestmark = pytest.mark.bdb
-
-
-def test_filter_valid_items(b, blockdata):
-    blocks, _ = blockdata
-    assert (b.fastquery.filter_valid_items(blocks, block_id_key=lambda b: b['id'])
-            == [blocks[0], blocks[1]])
-
-
-def test_get_outputs_by_public_key(b, user_pk, user2_pk, blockdata):
-    blocks, _ = blockdata
-    assert b.fastquery.get_outputs_by_public_key(user_pk) == [
-            TransactionLink(blocks[1]['block']['transactions'][0]['id'], 0)
-    ]
-    assert b.fastquery.get_outputs_by_public_key(user2_pk) == [
-            TransactionLink(blocks[0]['block']['transactions'][0]['id'], 0)
-    ]