fertilizers necessary?

[Evaunitone]

I have a planted tank that is about a month old so I haven't been fertilizing yet because its not yet densely planted. I have a couple blyxa aubertii, several anacharis, a red tiger lotus, dwarf hair grass, and an anubias. Since I think most if not all of these plants are root feeders, will I even need to dose the water column with fertilizers, or will root tabs suffice? I have all the fertilizers and I could do the EI method eventually, but if its not necessary I'd like to avoid that hassle.

 

[Purrbox]

How much you need to fertilize depends on the type of setup that you have. Most all plants can take nutrients out of the substrate or the water column, they just tend to be better getting it from one or the other. In High Light setups it is necessary to fertilize in order to keep up with the demands of the plants that are being pushed to grow fast. In Moderate Light setups that are densely planted, you may find that you need to supplement one or more nutrients especially if you have some fast growing stem plants. In Low Light setups the need to fertilize is generally pretty minimal, and not likely to be more than just the occasional Micro Nutrients and Potassium to supplement what isn't being provided by the tap water and fish waste.

Keep an eye on your plants for nutrient deficiencies and watch out for algae, as these are the two best indicators that you need to start dosing something.