I’m brand new to the hobby and I’m a little confused about how often I should be changing the water.

I haven’t gotten any fish or shrimp yet because I’ve heard the longer you wait for things to settle the better. I really like the way my tank looks but when I stir up the water there’s a ton of debris. This could be snail poop or just dead plant matter.

I have a pretty bad bladder snail outbreak and quite a few hydras(although H2O2 has helped a bit). Everything I’ve read about these pests issues suggests I’m over feeding my fish, but like I said, I don’t have any yet. I’m assuming it’s from all the excess plant matter melting off. The Java fern isn’t very happy but everything else seems to be healthy.

I slowly went from daily 50% water changes to weekly 50% water changes. With the pests and all the debris should I be changing water more frequently? Should I just nuke the tank with no planaria? Is the snail outbreak even something to worry about?

I could use some friendly advice. Thanks!