dwalstad, you always know exactly what to say to soothe my spirits.
I do in fact have a filter running (no media, just water flow) so I will disconnect, stock up on floaters, and wait it out.
The nice thing is that the plants do look REALLY good in there. My high tech tank is going through some issues right now and those plants look HORRID. Could be the start of a new NPT in my house.
Hmmm...maybe not quite yet, but it's certainly on my mind.
-Dave