cyle of a NEW dirt tank with fish.

Hey, guys I had some question about switching to dirt I have had a 46 gallon bow front for about 6-7 yrs and i now want to switch over to dirt. I have many fish in my tank (5 angels and some small misc. fish). Fish are very important to me, I do not want to lose them.

What my concern is with is the cyle of my tank, can I simply pull out about half of my water and put it in containers and get rid of the other half. Then I would go ahead and dirt , gravel and add the water (old water to sustain the cyle, and not lose my fish). Like I said above the fish are very important to me, I want a planted tank/dirted. But, not at the cost of losing my fish.

What do you think?

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Permalink Reply by Josh C. on October 18, 2011 at 11:13am

As long as you use the same filter media, your tank should be cycled and you will be able to add all your fish back to the tank at once. The tank may do a mini cycle but other than that, it should be fine. Also when you dirt you are going to have to take out EVERYTHING in the tank. (like wall the water not just 50% of it). Then lay down the dirt, cap it with gravel or sand, and slowly fill it up with water. When i dirted my first tank i filled the tank up and the water was so cloudy i couldn't see the back of the tank. Just be prepared to do major water changes to get it clear. Daily water changes are a must for the first 2 weeks or so due to the excess amount of nutrients the dirt is putting out in the water.

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Permalink Reply by 2apes2gp667wr on October 18, 2011 at 12:03pm

Do exactly what you described and you will be fine. I did the same. 50% old water, 50% new. Just like a water change, but with new substrate.

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Permalink Reply by Andy on October 18, 2011 at 12:24pm

wow, thanks for the fast pace responses. I understood about taking out all the water I just meant keeping 50 percent on hand to add back in.

-So what danger if any does dirting the tank play on my fish (angels) I can not lose them.

-Daily water changes is hard to do for me, I have very bad well water (iron bac.) Can I do it less often between these two weeks? I get water from kroger, there purfied system and I put in bottles.

-Side note where is a good place to get amazon plants that are in good condition and less exspensive?

-where can I get clay, like on dustins videos?

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Permalink Reply by 2apes2gp667wr on October 18, 2011 at 1:51pm

I don't see any real danger to the angels. I didn't even have to do any extra water changes, just cleaned the filter out after a few days. I also used plain topsoil with root tabs and clay added to it instead of Organic Choice. Dusting has swords for sale pretty cheap. That clay can be had at most craft stores like Michaels or A.C. Moore, whatever is in your area.