Why I Let my Tanks Get Dirty - The Benefits of Mulm and Natural Aquariums

Your tanks are amazing and your fish are thriving so that is the most important thing for them, so ignore these ignorant people's opinions and keep enjoying your fish.

I have a lot of surface stuff that is the same as in a stream or lake on top and have been sprinkling sand over it to keep it under control but not completely do you think i should just let it do its thing and if the top layer is covered by all that lays on it as long as my fish / shrimp and snails are fine then i shouldn't be so worried about it

Wow dude! Great video, great info, great channel! Both mine and my father's fishtanks are natural and "dirty". We try to simulate natural environments as close as possible. To create a natural ecosystem, with all it's "dirtyness". The fish are frickin lovin it! They have babies and we rarely get any deaths.

Thank you for this knowledge. I used to worry the debris on the bottom and I would vacuum it. Now that you said it’s good to feed the bacteria or other microorganisms I’m all for it. I also like the natural aquarium. 👍👍

I don't want mulm in my aquarium because the cory and pleco with absolutely make my tank snow with the visibility of 4”😑 it's getting crazy in my tank

Since I started keeping ecosystems, my fish has been breeding a lot and they are healthy. Nice video.

Thank you for doing this video. While aesthetic tanks can be absolutely beautiful, they don’t really seem to be great for a live animal. We have to consider their comfort, health, and safety. We have taken them from a natural environment, and they need us to understand where they came from not where we would like to see them be. It’s like seeing a penguin without any snow or ice at the zoo. It’s sad. Thanks again.

I love it, I had been cleaning all my detritus off the sand and realized my kuhli loaches loved sifting through it all and now I have decided to just keep it.

Well said!!

Love your take man.

This is great news! Does this mean I don't have to vacuum the gravel??? Just do water changes when indicated?

Great video Blake. People need to realize in the wild fish live in dirt not in a sterile laboratory. I keep my tanks the same way and my fish breed regularly. I use the eye method.

The sooner people realize that fish keeping and healthy/thriving aquariums are a long game, the better. This video helps aid that cause. Well done.

Loved this episode, well said 👍

I like some mulm, it makes my carpeting plants happy and it's free fertilizer. Sure it might not look "good" but it's good overall. I'm not the kind who spends hour cleaning my tanks.

Thanks!

Wow. Never heard the reasons as to why you don’t vacuum your aquarium. It makes sense. This was my first time running across one of your videos. I am looking forward to your future videos should you make some. This video is worth a contribution. Sincerely, Marty Borst

Excellent information and this makes perfect sense . I too subscribe to your way of thinking and don’t really fancy pristine aquariums .Thank you !

So belive if my fish are happy I'm happy most fish don't like it sterile

So sorry to hear have heart ache over fish my self I realise we all learn some times the hard way thankyou for sharing

I am quite the same, I believe that if my fish breed happily then I know for a fact they are happy and that I’ve mastered the conditions they need to thrive

Honestly I'm quite surprised more people aren't going for it. Might be a question of time, though I wouldn't bet on it. Blackwater aquariums have gotten popular after all

I'm the same mate I breed more fish in dirty tanks and I like algae I grow it in some tanks on purpose for the fry and the microfauna that hide in it. I am very proud of an enormous growing mat and ball of it. Green water still escapes me however. I don't feed my fry in my mulmy tanks with leaves and algae they have enough food. Noone cleans the creeks and ponds outside and the fish do better than they do in clean tanks. I rarely even do water changes unless it is really needed. I like to keep things stable.

I know I'm late the party on this one but I definitely wanted to add a comment after watching this video. This video earned a smash of the Subscribe button by me. What impressed me about the video was how you took the time to make a measured and educational video to address not just comments, but criticism. It's very easy to discredit opinions that you don't agree with using slander or mocking responses. Your thoughtful and instructive response addressed the issue that some viewers had in a wonderful and positive way. This approach not only speaks well of your knowledge of fish keeping, but also of your character. Very nicely done. I have enjoyed many of your past videos but only today came across this one. I look forward to continuing to see what interesting things you post about your tanks and your knowledge about fish keeping and aquatic plants. Have a wonderful day!

This guy is way ahead of the curve.

Are 4 Kholi loaches too tight in a 52 litre tank? Can I just use an ornamental smooth tumbled & polished coloured Green & blue Glass thin substrate & only have column growing plants like Anubius & Java Fern & moss plants in with the Kholi loaches?

This means they would not have a dirt substrate or plant roots to dig through or borrow into. They could still sift through the smooth substrate but I’m sure you know what I’m talking about with my description just fine so what do you think 😅?

Do you recommend a sponge filter or should I just put a thick sponge like cover or perhaps a thin woman’s nylon socks like material over my filter intake pipe? I have three 29 L tanks & they are the Aqua One name brand which have a built in type filter. I will also be getting a fourth tank of at least 52 L but probably bigger. Alternately I might get two 52 L thanks instead of one bigger tank in addition to my three 29 L tanks.

Good job mate. Keep up the good work. Your tanks are perfect & I appreciate your skills & abilities & advice. I can see that your fish are very happy (reflected in their excellent coloration) & that you are very smart in your comments where you are taking the best care of the fish 🐙🎣🐟🐡🐠 first because that is what I want for the little critters to be as natural as possible.

I absolutely love every word you had to say because I 💯%feel exactly the same way you do regarding your preference & successes on the perfect way you keep your tanks. Good job mate 👍🏻. Keep up the good work 🎣🐟🐡🐠🐙👍🏻.

My view is that if nature doesn’t do it, why should I

amazing, subscribed

Thanks for this video. Always learn something from your content.

Thank you Blake! I feel validated in my choices to keep the mulm in my tanks and focus on parameters and tank residents' "feedback" rather than visual aesthetic. Great video!

Creating that miniature biotope is what I love about fishkeeping, grunge included. I don't really show my aquariums to people anymore because I've been judged to heck for spot algae on my glass, or letting snails breed with abandon in my tanks, and while i love planted, natural tanks i don't really fit in with the aqua scaping crowd either because not really aesthetic, more functional.
Thanks for normalising tank grunge!

I totally Agree! Bravo!

This is very helpful .... i have seen many fish keepers who leave mulm in their tanks. I do too. I don't have high nitrate issues and I have actually seen my fish rummaging through the mulm. I decided it was a good thing!
Take care!

Great video! I wish that more hobbyist realized that they are keeping an ecosystem and not a painting on the wall. Natural is always better for the fish as long as water parameters are good! Thanks for the awesome content!

Great video. I'm somewhere in the middle. I like a clean tank but I'm not obsessive about its appearance. Proof is in the pudding. Happy, colourful and active fish is the priority.

Just curious, I have deep sand bed/natural set ups… how do you introduce all the little critters into the system?

I love the beautiful aquariums in the fish room. I can't believe people actually said that?!

I never vacuum the substrate...ever. I do have a big aquaponic tray on top of the tank filled with pothos and peace lilys to keep nitrates low and my tank is heavily planted. Am I lazy? Yes...am I smart? Perhaps also yes. Lazy/ smart. My tank is designed for minimal maintenance. I only do water changes to lower dissolved minerals and rarely have to tone down the nitrate level.... Only if I inadvertantly overfeed. These people who are OCD about cleanimg are welcome to their obsession but I dont see the need for it. To paraphrase Einstein " if a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind , what then does an empty desk signify"? Lol.

Subscribing because you are just sensible, practical and knowledgeable.

Feeds the plants too. Ponds and lakes don't have external filters, they use deep substrate.

Nyc

I have to agree with a mulm natural style tank. I hatched some corydoras eggs in my roommates "clean" shrimp tank recently. When the cory babies got larger, I took some out and moved them into my natural, plant heavy, dirty mulm tank. Now, those babies are twice the size of the baby corydoras that are still in the "clean" shrimp tank. Even though the babies in the shrimp tank are still getting extra food. It drives my roommate crazy that my tank has mulm in it, but its obvious that its really great for fish to grow.

best aquariums i have are one i leave alone

This points to the difference between aquascaping and fish keeping. Both are enjoyable hobbies but are distinct even though they can overlap.

Ecosystems FTW. Pristine tanks are not necessary healthy tanks.

I give my tanks plenty of light-time to encourage plant-growth and some algae. I also make sure though my fish get plenty of dark rest-time, about 10 hours at least. When the lights are off, the plants absorb oxygen so I do have air coming in with the filters and/or bubble aerator.

So glad you did a video on natural tanks. I let my tanks go natural and watch the water parameters. I do partial water changes as needed. The hanging side filters get cleaned when needed. My plants love the natural dirtiness. As long as the fish and snails are healthy, then I know all is okay. USA

I once saw some firemouths filmed in their natural environment. You can't even see the bottom there because it's covered with a huge lawyer of some sort of poop.

I don't think you had to respond to these comments, but I'm glad you made it a learning experience.

These people probably wrote those out of ignorance. If you look at breeders around the world, in videos and in person, you will rarely see "tidy" containers. Personally, I've never seen any. Some would even do black water with plenty of leaf litters to keep the tannins up. Some would stock the tank full of algae, use green water, etc.