Any possible way i can dirt my tank without taking out substrate?

hey, im cycling my 5 gallon bow right now, and was wandering if there was any way to switch to dirt without taking out my sand i already have in. also, if i can do it somehow and drain the water to get the dirt in, will this start a mini cycle?

thx,

spencer:)

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Permalink Reply by Martin Seel on August 6, 2011 at 8:01am

lol thers no way to do it without taking the sand out , for all the time it will take to remove sand from a 5 gallon don't see why you would try to avoid removing it ,thers no point doing it half hearted

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Permalink Reply by PK on August 6, 2011 at 10:11am

I agree with Martin!!! if its a 5 gallon it should not take you more than an hour tops to finish the whole conversion!

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Permalink Reply by Spencer Henry PHD Mermaidology on August 6, 2011 at 1:58pm

ok, thx! i was thinking about capping the dirt, but now ive noticed that would be way too much substrate. thx for the info!

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Permalink Reply by Spencer Henry PHD Mermaidology on August 6, 2011 at 2:09pm

oh and also, would draining the water cause a mini cycle?

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Permalink Reply by Martin Seel on August 6, 2011 at 2:13pm

you have to cap the dirt or you will just have muddy water , do you have fish in the tank ?

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Permalink Reply by Spencer Henry PHD Mermaidology on August 6, 2011 at 2:22pm

no, its cycling right now. but ill eventually put the betta i have in it with a bunch of live plants (obviously).

oh and i know about capping the dirt, i was just thinking of adding dirt over some of the sand and putting the rest on top.

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Permalink Reply by Martin Seel on August 6, 2011 at 2:27pm

na better to do dirt then the sand and if it's a sand cap 1inch of dirt 1.5 ich of sand are you filtering the tank ?

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Permalink Reply by Spencer Henry PHD Mermaidology on August 6, 2011 at 2:47pm

ya, but its that crappy built in filter that comes with the aqueon mini bow. the light is incandescent, so ill be using a clip on light and no hood, and probly a lower water level so the betta doesnt jump out. probly a riparium.

but will the tank recycle if i drain the water?

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Permalink Reply by Martin Seel on August 6, 2011 at 2:51pm

na not really that much bacteria in the water , your going to need to do a few big water changes like 80-90% to get rid of the excess nutrients anyway

dirt it do a few water changes and wait for it to cycle wont take long