How to take plants out of dirted tank

So i have sag in my 55 dirted tank. When i got it i was told it was dwarf sag and it is absolutely not so i want to get it out of my tank. There is a lot of it and it all has good roots.

How can i get it out without making a mess of the tank? I have 9 rainbows and 7 corys so it is full of fish and i have no where to put them so i cant drain it and take them out.

I really want it out and i really don't want to make a big mess cause its going to over whelm me and i will freak out lol.

Its like over 2 inches of dirt with clay then 2 inches of white sand. So its really easy to see when its messy.

If anyone has advise or knows how i would love to know. Thanks

- Alejandro

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Permalink Reply by GSP on February 9, 2012 at 1:41am

The tribulations of dirted tanks...

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Permalink Reply by Evan Plommer on February 9, 2012 at 7:54am

I've had good success just snipping plants off a little below their crowns: leave the roots in the tank. Some will tell you that this will toxify the water but in my experience it's never happened. Make certain you're fertilizing and doing water changes so that these roots will just break down in the natural way. In the long run this will actaully make your dirt richer.

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Permalink Reply by Alejandro on February 9, 2012 at 7:27pm

i have actuly tried this and it has worked with some plants. But not sag, its to hardy and grows to easy. it all came back in a week.

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Permalink Reply by 2apes2gp667wr on February 9, 2012 at 9:35am

This method has worked well for me. Grab the plant as low to the sand as possible and slowly rotate it as you slowly pull up. Once you get the roots free just continue to the next runner, if it has any, and continue. If you are careful you won't make a mess.

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Permalink Reply by Paul V. Rotondi on February 9, 2012 at 12:32pm

Taking deeply rooted plants out of a dirted tank is alot like removing a huge splinter from your hand...if you just rip it out, you'll end up with blood and chunks of skin and stuff flying everywhere. slow & steady is the way to go. Twisting the plant while you extract it will help coil the roots up around the core of the plant and minimize the amount of dirt that leaks through the cap, and make your life a whole lot easier.

Evan also brings up good points, too...if your bacterial cultures are healthy in your substrate, you can just prune the crowns of the plants right off at the substrate, and the roots will die off and dissolve and be converted into fertilizer as they're broken down. Doesn't work for some species, though, as they can be very persistent...like Dandelions in a lawn...if you don't get the whole root it keeps coming back.

Most important thing is to find a method that works both for you and for your plants. Just my $0.02... :D