5 gallon Betta tank setup

[Scaperoot]

    I tried asking this in a dedicated Betta forum and got obliterated (tank size), but I'm sure I'll get gracious answers here. I have a 5 gallon tank that's had some Serpaes for about 6 weeks. It's a bare bottom tank with a sponge filter and a couple of plants. It's an ugly thing, but I want to convert it into a Betta tank. My plan is to use black sand, some stones, and wood. If water tests show that there is no ammonia or Nitrites, and the Nitrates are below 20 ppm, what else can I check to make sure it's safe for a Betta? I'll be leaving the few ramshorn snails and removing the Serpaes. Should the sponge filter be properly seeded by now? I don't want to assume that since the Serpaes are doing well that all is good to go for the Betta. I've lost three in the past year so I'm probably overthinking this. I'll be focusing on Anubias on the wood, and possibly two or three stem plants to give him cover. I'll also add Catapa leaves and frogbit. He'll have a heater, of course. Am I forgetting anything? 

[PonyPlantedTanks]

Sounds like you’re doing everything right! If you take out the sponge filter and keep it in some water while you drain the tank and put sand in (I’m assuming) then you should be able to just plop the sponge filter back in and let it sit for a week or so. But the bioload of a betta is so small you shouldn’t have any water quality issues. Best of luck 🙂

You could toss in some floating plants, if you have any! My betta loves hanging out at the top in the roots of them!