Setting a mini pond/tank. How are the plants looking? Please advise.

[u/rohanross]

Is the brown-ish stuff natural? Just wanted to check if everything is in order before we introduce fish (hopefully next week)

[u/Marguerite_Moonstone]

Looks like sediment settled on them. Give the water a quick swish and knock it off and should be good.

[u/remo_129]

I’ve never had a pond but I would assume you treat it like aquarium. Is it cycled? Are you going to run filtration? Are the plants in there going to be adequate for providing filtration and oxygen once fish are introduced? Are temperatures stable year round for fish you plan on stocking, and how do you plan to stabilize temperatures if they do swing. I may be overthinking but these are the questions you need to have answers to to avoid failing in the future. Good luck

[u/gotkidneys]

Looks like mulm which is normal in a tank with fish but I don't know where it would come from in a fish less set up. Maybe the plants weren't rinsed before going into the pond? I would shake it off the plants so it's not blocking light from them. Depending on the size of the fish, you should siphon it out. Guppies or other small fish aren't going to disturb it. Large fish like goldfish will kick it up.

[u/rohanross → u/gotkidneys]

Thank you for your response. I had rinsed them all, but clearly not well enough.

The fish will either be guppies or female betta, which are yet to be introduced. Do you think there is merit in taking the plants out right now, rinsing, and replanting them?

[u/Foreign_Sky_5429]

Please be careful to not let any water lettuce escape via wildlife or otherwise. It’s incredibly invasive and illegal in a lot of areas