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Permalink Reply by Danny1107 on October 16, 2011 at 2:55pm

I just dirted my tank yesterday, I drained the tank half way into a big container and put my fish in there with the filter + heater then drained the tank as much as I could (almost fully drained) then scooped the gravel out with a net and put it into a bucket, which i just poured boiling water over afew times then rinsed it before using it again.

 

i got about 95% of the gravel out with just the net, the other bits i scooped out by hand, then emptied the tank and gave it a quick clean.

 

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Permalink Reply by Collin on October 17, 2011 at 3:59pm

What did u do after u took the gravel out? Can u giv me the rest of the steps because I plan on dirting my tank soon

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Permalink Reply by Danny1107 on October 17, 2011 at 4:08pm

I cleaned the tank then boiled the gravel to clean it then rinsed it all out
I added the dirt and kept adding water to make it into a thick mud, after it was a thick mud I leveled it to how i wanted it (1inch at the front built up to around 2inchs at the back) then added my gravel (about 1.5inchs of gravel spead out evenly over the dirt is what I did) then pressed it down. if you have any fert tabs ect to add do that before you add the gravel and mix them into the dirt abit so they aren't right on the top of the dirt.

 

then I placed the bogwood where I wanted it and slowly filled it half way with water then started to plant it, I haven't finished my tank yet as I've got more plants coming this week, but idealy you should have all the plants you want ready to plant it straight away.

 

you need to do big water changes for the first 4-5 days to get any excess nutrients out of the water, I don't know if these are harmful to fish at all, but my fish are in a large container with the old tank water and a filter + heater just until I've finished planting my tank.

 

there are better guides on here and youtube if you need more help/advice, I'm new to the hobby so I'm not the best person to ask for advice.

 

when you add the water make sure you do it slowly or have a plate on your gravel otherwise you will disturb the gravel and just end up with dirt in the water, when you add plants you will get a little bit of dirt in the water but this comes out with the big water changes you do for the first 4-5 days, I've been doing about 80% water changes

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Permalink Reply by Collin on October 17, 2011 at 5:20pm

So do I have to wait 4-5 days before putting the fish in? Also does the dirt affect the pH or nitrate, phosphate, etc.

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Permalink Reply by Danny1107 on October 17, 2011 at 5:23pm

I've noticed no effect on PH, I've been doing daily tests, I'm not sure if it affects the nitrate or phosphates but plants use nitrates. 

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Permalink Reply by Collin on October 17, 2011 at 5:30pm

Do I put the fish in right after I replant or do I wait a few days?

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Permalink Reply by Danny1107 on October 17, 2011 at 5:34pm

unless you have really sensative fish I think they will be fine to put straight back in.

 

I've only kept mine in a seperate container for afew days because I haven't finished planting and I don't want to disturb them and stress them too much.

 

Its probably best to leave it till you have finished doing the big water changes so the fish don't get stressed from the water changes, I've got a spare heater and filter so I could easily put them in a seperate container, I think its down to personal preference really,

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Permalink Reply by Collin on October 17, 2011 at 5:43pm

Thanks for all the advice. I just have one more question? Did u use dustins dirt or another kind( if so which kind)? (:

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Permalink Reply by Danny1107 on October 17, 2011 at 7:19pm

I used some aquatic compost I found at a local home & garden store, I don't remember the brand. they didn't have any of the Mirical gro eco-complete or organic potting soil, so I thought I'd give this stuff a try cause it wasn't too expencive.

 

So I'll see how it goes (so far so good) not sure what the difference between regular potting compost and aquatic compost is though.

Permalink Reply by Burgess on October 16, 2011 at 3:48pm

Use a shop vac and make sure you take out the filter parts on the in side make sure the vac is clean and it will only take a few min to get it out only if the tank is drained .

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Permalink Reply by Robert on October 16, 2011 at 4:34pm

I removed as much water as I can then I use a spatula to scoop it  in my case I didn't use the same gravel ... But would like to suggest useing fine gravel it's easier when you plants the plants and it makes it easier for the plants to get the nutrients threw the soil ..... Don't use big gravel .. With big gravel it's easy to get pockets of poop or fish food rotting ..... But don't use sand because sand really seals off the dirt .... Sand and dirt = ugly plants ... Any question feel free to ask :)

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Permalink Reply by Robert on October 17, 2011 at 7:36pm

Bro I got some vids on my profile showing the process of dirtying your tank I don't really care about the views I just want to help ... The only thing it doesn't show is the water changes in the days to come

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