Seachem Flourish Excel Vs Co2 Injection

[ericmatz]

I've got the Hagen, although I think I need to put a DIY gas separator inline to cut down on the cloudy stuff that I'm seeing in the bottom of the tank. I have an Emporer 400 on my 38 gallon...wondering if CO2 is even doing any good with all that agitation. Would get a canister, but not in the budget right now. Do you think it would be beneficial to dose with some Flourish in addition to the CO2?

Also, anyone tried a DIY mixture with their Hagen system? Would think that could save a few bucks over buying the packets.

 

[TankGirl]

Also, anyone tried a DIY mixture with their Hagen system? Would think that could save a few bucks over buying the packets.

Look back on page 2 and I give the recipe I use- you could buy a whole lotta yeast and baking soda for what they get for those packets.

Also, you can try turning the spray bars off the biowheels on your Emperor, or just removing the biowheels, if you are concerned about the splashing outgassing the CO2. As long as you keep your water level high the return should not splash too much, but the biowheels definitely add some surface agitation. It might not be enough to matter, and this is a subject often debated, so try cutting the power to them or removing them, and see if that makes a difference. It is a good experiment.

 

[Absinthena]

I tried using Flourish Excel in my tank and the new Sword leaves came out more fragile and more yellow. Also, on the older leaves some yellow-brown spots began developing. I stopped using it. I am not sure if it was Excel or some thing else I was unable to catch. I am now doing to try a DIY system.