# Is there "too many plants for a tank" ?



## 123playcard (Jul 25, 2015)

So I have a 5 gallon tank with only one Betta.

It currently has 5 different plants (Amazon sword, Hornwort, Rotala indica, Elodea and Cryptocoryne wendtii)

Currently there is no use of root tab or Excel 

My concern is that the bio load of a single betta may not be enough for all of these plants? 

Is that concern valid? (All plants look good for now - just 1 week old tank)


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

I have a lot of plants in my 3 gallon. I had to start using excel because my anubias were starting to show signs of deficiencies. Even my salvinia and duckweed were dying off because of it. Everything is doing great since I started the excel.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

The sword and crypt would benefit from a root tab, you can get them cheep on ebay
osmocote + root tabs
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=osmocote+plus+root+tab&_sop=15
As for bioload you can add small snails like ramshorns, Malaysian trumpet snails (good for sand tanks-sift the sand) or pond and bladder snails to clean diatoms, eat missed food and generate a bit more ammonia for the plants. Mystery, apple, and nerite snails are larger and make a pretty big bioload, I don't really recommend them in such a small tank but thats just my opinion. 
I have a single betta in a densely planted 7g with dwarf lily plants and a LOT of java fern, I periodically put a ramshorn snail in to clean the glass diatoms. No sighs of nitrate deficiency.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

I read a DIY of a pop bottle Co2 thing once, and there's lots on YT. I think it might benefit your tank to help your plants get all the things they need.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

DIY CO2 systems take daily or every other day work, can be messy, and are not as consistent with the co2 production (starts slowly and tapers off at the end) as a proper co2 tank (non diy).


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

I never messed around with it but it seemed simple enough. Co2 kits are available though pretty cheaply?


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Fluval has a cheap kit for small tanks 10g and under according to reviews you should get a different brand or co2 tubing and not that brand of diffuser (disc cannotbe removed to clean or replace and the material around it may deteriorate from a bleach dip (way to clean the discs).


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Excel is a substitute carbon source; not fertilizer. Seachem Comprehensive _Flourish_ is the fertilizer. 

Root tabs and Flourish are plenty for my low-to-mid tech plants like yours to do well.


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## 123playcard (Jul 25, 2015)

So my test kits arrives today. 

I did a test for my 11 days old Betta tank (5 gallon, 1 Betta, heavily planted with (Amazon sword, Hornwort, Rotala indica, Elodea and Cryptocoryne wendtii. It was cycled with Tetra SafeStart. No water change yet)

To my surprise the nitrate reads almost 0 (while the ammonia is 0.25, nitrite 0 and PH 7.4). (The reading is correct since I tried the kit with my longtime cycled 20 gallon community tank and the numbers show up as expected)

I feed betta about 6 pellets daily. Food is never wasted since he eats them as soon as I drop them.

So my guess is I have too many plants and too less waste / bioload from one single betta. All the plants grow well (better than the same plants in my 20 gallon tank)

I plan to move half of my plants to the community tank.

Is that a good decision? Or I should just continue with some Excel 2-3 times per week


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

You don't use Excel if your aim is to fertilize; as stated above it's a carbon source and not a fertilizer. Comprehensive is the fertilizer. I have those plants and found Excel made no difference in how they grow.

The plants should be fine and I'd leave them be. However, root tabs are definitely needed for the rooted plants like Swords and Crypts.

You should not see Nitrates until the tank is cycled. First it's Ammonia, then it's Ammonia/Nitrites and then it's Nitrates.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

If you see nitrates while test still show ammonia readings, test your tap water. My tap gives me a 10/20ppm nitrate reading straight from the faucet.


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> Excel is a substitute carbon source; not fertilizer. Seachem Comprehensive _Flourish_ is the fertilizer.
> 
> Root tabs and Flourish are plenty for my low-to-mid tech plants like yours to do well.


That's good to know, I'm going to pick up some comprehensive flourish today


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