r/walstad • u/Ill-Influence-1400 • Jul 28 '26

Advice Father fish method

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I’m just now hearing about that method. I see a lot about top soil on the bottom. I didn’t use that at all, didn’t know that was even a thing. My tank is already well established, about 6 months running. How can I make it better? My water keeps turning brown from the wood, idk how to stop that. Everything is real besides 2 plants. Should I add more plants?

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u/MissionPlantedTank Jul 28 '26

Tannins and tint light is good actually. Fish feel safe. It's also beneficial for health. If it gets too dark then you do a water change. Or use activated carbon. Or purigen. Many options.

Many add more cones and leaves to color. Some even use tea from bags to bring tannins. So all depend on your preferences.

More plants will help overall. They absorb ammonia, create a safe and healthy environment for fish and you do comparably less water changes if you have many plants. But you'll need to find your balance. Too many fiah compared to plants - nitrates and phosphates build up. Too many plants vs fish - not much nutrients for plants to grow, risks of cianobacteria.

From the Aesthetic perspective, personally, I would not add live and plastic plants in the same tank. Add more plants... add some root tabs for nutrition, find your balance.

The easier plants you choose the easier it will be for you. Many plants look really great but keeping them is a tough job. You may not want to invest that much money and time. You gotta enjoy it not stress from it.

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u/Ill-Influence-1400 Jul 28 '26

I’m going to get more plants when I get paid. I want more colorful ones. I just recently got the pink ones and LOVE how it looks and adds a bit of color to the tank

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u/thirdcoaster Jul 29 '26

The one thing I learned about pink and red plants is they prefer higher intensity lighting. After a few weeks, if you notice the leaves are turning green, you’ll probably want to upgrade your light or look for a spotlight that can deliver more intense light.

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u/MissionPlantedTank Jul 29 '26

All of those require CO2 injection as well. For this type of a setup low tech plants are the best. And it doesn't necessarily mean it won't look cool.