When I first set up my dirted tank, I admittedly capped it a little too lightly I think. Most areas of sand are only about half an inch thick. I had also gotten a little rough adding water and some dirt stirred up. Wasn't too bad and I kind of liked it actually, looked very natural.

Fast forward a couple weeks and I added some floating plants. I got them from someone off a facebook group and it was mixed Frogbit and Salvinia minima. There were some loose roots and leaves that sunk to the bottom. I didn't think much of it, mostly just an extra nutrient source for the plants. After all, this is supposed to be a natural, relatively self sustaining tank right? The roots and leaves had decayed to be unidentifiable mulm at the bottom. I figured once I added some bottom feeders, that would help solve the problem a bit. Well, I've got 5 corys and 2 Kuhli loaches and they haven't really bothered with the mulm.

It is just a bit unsightly to me. I would like to remove it. Just got a few questions regarding that.

Should I even bother removing it? I do plan on adding 20-30 cherry shrimp, will they help much? I'm worried my sand cap is too light and I may mess up the vacuuming process and stir up a ton of dirt. What's the best way to go about cleaning this stuff?

Ultimately, if it is better to leave it and let nature take it's course, I will.

Thanks for any input!