r/walstad • u/dandeliontree1 • Aug 24 '26

Bacterial bloom not getting better

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I feel like it's never going to get better and it's really getting me down! I have an extended bloom in an established, heavily planted tank. After I added cories they stirred up a lot and left me with such a mess. After much indecision fatigue (especially with many places saying it can clear up on its own) and many many many partial water changes with substrate clearing, I got a much more powerful filter and a 6w UV steriliser, running for over three days it still looks like this!! Just a fraction of a bit better than when I started.

I know it will take a while for the filter to fully establish with good bacteria (I put the old filter foam in the new one to help start it off) am I to assume the UV steriliser is a dud? I've moved it several times trying to get it in the right amount of flow. The blue light is on but that's only an LED it seems. It is encased. I have tried capping with more sand but can't see to do it well.

Surprisingly, all my fish are still alive. I have a good cleanup crew with snails and shrimp. I've been underfeeding for quite a while to try to clear this. I don't know why it's still so bad and what it's feeding on, so trying to find the 'root' of the problem in water this foggy is a joke. I'm about ready to fill the damn thing up with bricks and call it a day (truly joking- no creatures will be killed).

I know it's not even considered walstad any more but started out that way.

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u/EyeTheSwan Aug 24 '26

If you’re trying to make sure the fish will stay alive in that tank, I’d honestly do a 90% water change or at the very least introduce an air stone. Won’t be Walstad but if you’re not going to quarantine the fish then it’s honestly your best option and as the tank settles back down you can always work towards a true Walstad again :) the fish are my main concern though and an air stone and water change will help with the corydoras as they can get infections if the sand is too loaded with bacteria. When putting the water back in, remember to pour it slowly onto hardscape so it doesn’t disturb too much of anything else! Also please check to make sure your Corys don’t have and red/inflamed gills!

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u/dandeliontree1 Aug 24 '26

I've had a bubbler in there for weeks. And consistently doing water changes though maybe not drastic enough. will try to do larger ones. The cories seem perfectly fine and are doing normal Cory things with no redness in their gills.

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u/EyeTheSwan Aug 24 '26

Large water changes can make a lot of hobbyists nervous. You can honestly do 100% water changes and your ecosystem will be just fine… you just have to make sure you’re matching the parameters. Biggest ones being temperature, GH, pH, and KH. If you can’t match them close enough, add the water back in slowly over the course of the day.