# Gettin' dirty!



## Fuzz (Jan 27, 2012)

Getting ready to make the switch to a dirted tank. I put my dirt in two 5 gallon buckets and a 10 gallon tank and filled them with water. I'm going to change the water out every day at least once using a pillow case which seems to work pretty well. The water that's coming out is really dark and I hope that I'm not dumping out a bunch of dirt. I read somewhere to use this method, but I'm not sure. 

This is my first time doing it, so I'm trying to do it right the first time. I got some pool filter sand from the local hardware store, which I'm going to rinse really well, too. My next day off is Tuesday, which I hope to get the switch done on...I might hold off until next weekend, which I will also have off. 

I've got my plan as far as aquascaping goes, so there won't be a bunch of moving around. I plan on doing 25% water changes every day or every other day for the first week or so to get rid of as much excess nutrients as possible.

I hope this goes well and I at least don't kill my fish during the process. Any advice or help or whatever is appreciated. Thanks!


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## snyderguy (Feb 9, 2010)

Straight up dirt?? Try eco-complete. Much easier, also will settle within 24-48 hours. Give it a chance to settle before you start vacuuming it out


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## Mikaila31 (Nov 29, 2009)

I've used both dirt and eco-complete. I just rinsed my dirt with the hose. Make a lot of mud lol. You can't really clean dirt. I used dirt from the woods so I mainly just removed lots of stick and insects lol. I layer oak leaves then capped with sand I dug up. Everything came from outside except 2 pieces of wood. My dirt tank did amazing for about 8 months and thats comparing to my high tech tanks. I moved it about 15 miles away and it had some weird crash. It wasn't a water quality issue though, fish died slowly and shrimp did not. It still runs today just fine housing only shrimp. I could probably add fish back to it but I think its fine as it is for now. It runs filterless and use to stay very clear, at the most it held ~24 small fish and many cherry shrimp with just weekly water changes. These days it never clears up as fast as it use to. For many months after I moved it it had extensive mulm problems where stuff would build up everywhere. Its improved but still not back to prior move conditions. 



















I have another dirt tank that is also high tech about 8 months old and hasn't been moved. It seems to be doing okay, but it likes its algae. Fish do just fine in that one lol.


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## giggitygiggity (Sep 14, 2011)

Mikaila31 said:


> I've used both dirt and eco-complete. I just rinsed my dirt with the hose. Make a lot of mud lol. You can't really clean dirt. I used dirt from the woods so I mainly just removed lots of stick and insects lol. I layer oak leaves then capped with sand I dug up. Everything came from outside except 2 pieces of wood. My dirt tank did amazing for about 8 months and thats comparing to my high tech tanks. I moved it about 15 miles away and it had some weird crash. It wasn't a water quality issue though, fish died slowly and shrimp did not. It still runs today just fine housing only shrimp. I could probably add fish back to it but I think its fine as it is for now. It runs filterless and use to stay very clear, at the most it held ~24 small fish and many cherry shrimp with just weekly water changes. These days it never clears up as fast as it use to. For many months after I moved it it had extensive mulm problems where stuff would build up everywhere. Its improved but still not back to prior move conditions.
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wow beautiful tank! 

What exactly are the oak leaves for?


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## Mikaila31 (Nov 29, 2009)

Oak leaves I buried under the sand to slow the initial flow of nutrients out of the soil. IDK if they actually worked for that purpose but I didn't really have any nutrient issues on start up. I had cherry shrimp in it from the moment it was setup. Soil was pretty anaerobic in the beginning which I expected but its pretty simple to manage. Those oak leaves broke down completely after a few months. The tank was algae free up until I moved it. I think the change in tap water is maybe what upset it. My old well had 20ppm nitrate and my new city water has 0ppm and I assume other differences as well. I know both my high tech tanks had nutrient issues and I had to completely redo my dry fertilizer dosing to stabilize them. My soil tank also gets dry fertilizers too now and that has seemed to help it. I have a good 3wpg on that tank so its nutrient demands are high, especially now without any fish in there. Its currently doing very well, plants pearl and baby RCS everywhere. I pruned and did a water change yesterday and here is what it looks like today. It still runs filterless with just a powerhead to move water around. Its a standard 2x1x1' 15 gallon, so not much bigger then what you are working with.


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## Fuzz (Jan 27, 2012)

those are some sweet lookin tanks Mikaila! I'm excited to get this done, but I have to work all day tomorrow and have a pretty busy day on Sunday, too. I hope to have time for it on Tuesday. If not, it will have to wait till next weekend . 

My plants don't fill my tank anywhere near what yours do, but That'll change pretty quickly once I start spreading my Ludwigia Peruensis and Cabomba Purple. I got Glosso recently and I hope to get that going as well...my other plants will fill in some midground space and I should be all set. I'm excited!


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## Fuzz (Jan 27, 2012)

It's done, finally! Now I get to sit back and wait.

Laterite is on the bottom, MiracleGro Organic Choice potting soil on top of that, and pool filter sand is on top of that. Went pretty well...the most difficult part was to catch the fish while the siphon was doing its thing. 

Here's a few pics that I took after I pulled everything out and cleaned the tank. 
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0733.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0734.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0735.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0736.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0740.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0741.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0742.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0743.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0744.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0745.jpg


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

excellently done. looks like I might have some competition. You might want to straighten those gravel lines for optimal look.


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## Fuzz (Jan 27, 2012)

Yeah, I had a difficult time planting with my fingers and messed it up. I should have used an old credit card to smooth it out, but I was excited and somewhat rushed. lol. I like it a lot better than the Flourite, too. That red color hid my crypts and Ludwigia Peruensis...Now to get that Rotala Wallichii to look better...


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

initially it looked like crap...lol..but it got better....i think that once everything fills in it will look great....it id hard to wait for though...that's the part that kills me...the waiting..


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## Fuzz (Jan 27, 2012)

I hope the Glosso works out and starts filling in. I put a circulation pump in recently and if i get a floating glosso "bunch", I try to split it up smaller and stuff it in the sand...hopefully at least one piece will take hold and grow. I don't really care how long it takes, I just want it to eventually fill some space...I might remove some of the stuff in there so it's less jungle. I like the fewer species look(almost like the single species japanese style), just unsure which plants I want the most.


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

A dry start would have been a good idea if you were wanting a carpet.


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## Fuzz (Jan 27, 2012)

I haven't done a dry start before. I saw the thread where you did the baby tears, but I'm unsure about how to go about it. If I was smart, I would have gotten a mat of the stuff instead of just a pot. At least the mats are organized and aren't just crammed in there all willy-nilly. Oh well. If it doesn't work out, I can always figure something else out. Dwarf Sag looks cool and is supposedly easy to grow...Or I could just keep the sandy bottom and not have a carpet, which I don't really mind either.


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