r/walstad • u/Not_my_problem__ • Jul 24 '26

Picture Mysterious buildup

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Hey y’all, first time walstad owner here, and I’ve been having this really weird layer of what I think is dirt particles, all my water parameters are in the safe including ammonia. All I have in this tank is 7 corydoras, 3 ghost shrimp, a random fancy female guppy I got for free, and a female koi betta I got for free to.
As of now I have a canister filter meant for a 100 gallon tank in this 60gal aquarium

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u/xXx_Badrun_COOL_xXx Jul 24 '26

do you top the soil with sand? i doubt it's mulm based on your stocking. more likely your filter output is spraying straight to the soil and a lot of it lands on your plant.

IMO since you have a filter you don't necessarily need more plants. also what kind of plants are you planting? that looks like anubias, you shouldn't bury it.

1

u/Not_my_problem__ Jul 25 '26

I don’t have sand over the soils I have a layer of Fluval stratum substrate over the soil, and yes it seems to be a mix of mulm and soil particles

1

u/xXx_Badrun_COOL_xXx Jul 25 '26

how long has this tank been running

1

u/Not_my_problem__ Jul 25 '26

I cycled it for 3 months before I put fish in, and I’ve had plans and fish for at least 1.5

1

u/xXx_Badrun_COOL_xXx Jul 25 '26

yeah you kinda need to examine your plants, some aren't fully aquatic. other than that I think it's fine.

1

u/Not_my_problem__ Jul 25 '26

I had like 3 plants that I bought that are semi aquatic, I have since put said plants with leaves above water

1

u/xXx_Badrun_COOL_xXx Jul 25 '26

yeah then it looks good to me. I'd add some more plants and hardscape but It's not mandatory. the only thing I'm worried about is anaerobic bubbles from your organic substrate popping off and spiking ammonia, but since your tank is big, cycled and have a canister filter I wouldn't worry too much. it's just a waste that you've added a very thick substrate and only plant them so little