# Detritus/mulm good or bad



## Craig Matthews (1 Nov 2018)

Like the title says is it good or bad? Organic waste is good for plants? Contribute to cloudy water and bio film? Is it best to gravel vac out and just strictly use liquid ferts and root tabs?


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## BubblingUnder (3 Nov 2018)

Craig Matthews said:


> good or bad? Contribute to cloudy water and bio film? Is it best to gravel vac ou



Just vacuumed my tank for the first time in 2 years as mulm was getting trapped in my carpeting plants. Prefer to blast plants with a turkey baster regularly to keep mulm in suspension. Over time the mulm tends to accumulate in one part of the tank due to water currents so easy to vac occasionally. It's probably a bit more cloudy due to my Cory's stirring up the mulm, but not too bad. One of the YouTubers I follow loves mulm...…


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## Craig Matthews (3 Nov 2018)

Wow that's some serious mulm cool video though, there is so many explanations


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## zozo (3 Nov 2018)

Craig Matthews said:


> Like the title says is it good or bad?



It can be both..  And it depends on a variety of factors which way it goes in the end, if it has an end. It probably will if you wait long enough.

I know a story regarding a German fish breeder, i doubt there are references to find about ti in English. Anyway i came accross this story listening to an interview podcast with an oldtimer German biologist working for Sera® and it was about aqaurium maintenance.
I bet it still can be found back here, meanwhile there many, i wouldn't know where to look to find it back, but it's in there somewhere.
https://my-fish.org/category/interviews/

Back in the days general consensus among fish breeders with very large tank racks setup were using very big completely self regulating maintenance free biological filter systems. No need to clean, no need to flush, only topping off evaporated water was common practice. Actualy everybody in the trade did it like this since it was a long term prooven concept.

But than the Exeption that prooved the rule happened to one breeder changing it. He suffered strange unexplainable and seemingly uncureable fish diseases, anatomical defects in fry and young fish developing it over time, premature death etc After long time searching, water tests that didn't reveal anything strange and several fish vet second opnions with loads of different medical treatments the problem couldn't be explained nor solved. Last resort against all believe, Flush the Filter system!

Lo and behold, the cure was found!.. He was the only unlucky one in the trade that caught and developed a pathogenic breeding farm from his alledged self regulating and maintenance free filter system. All accumulating and propagating in the filters debri collection. After cleaning this completely out and desinfecting the system all problems where solved.

He ushered in the day that all other breeders changes general consensus.. Into regularly clean your filter system/do regular water changes etc. before the sh#t hits the fan. When the fan is hit, you'll be to late and suffer the consequenses. Death and destruction. 

It has prooven no mater how large the system is, it is a closed system.. Once you caught something nasty and you don't flush it out to keep it under control. It might control you one day.. So beter be prepared and a step ahead. If it can collect in your filter it definitvely can collect in never cleaned out mulm in and on the substrate.

Look up Diana Walstads home page, listen to her latest interview, there is a link to it on her website.
She always advocated a long time, no need for waterchanges in a sufficiently and correctly planted tank. This might be 100% true respecting the biological nitrification process plants and substrate can provide etc. in keeping the water clean from that waste perspective. But she changed her opinion and lately also advocates water changes after experiencing and or acknowleding the risk of pathogenic accumulation if you don't. She's till a bit reluctant, with only 10% water change a month.. But never the less. Point taken..


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## Edvet (3 Nov 2018)

I like mulm in low tech breeding tanks. Fry nose around in it and find food in it, it also feeds tiny critters on which fish can feed.
I high tech tanks i think too much isn''t good, there i would advocate to keep the tank as clean as possible, remove all polluting elements and metabolites.


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