Trying Excel for the first time. WOW!

[Peyton]

I decided to pick some up friday at a LFS. All I can say is 8O WOW, what a difference! My rotala and didiplis diandra have grown about 2-3" since friday! Not only that but the BBA in my 20gal seems to have come to a standstill. I wish I would have tried this stuff sooner. It somehow almost feels like your cheating or something .

 

[Mosaic]

I had good success with Excel too, the first time I used it. Then I ripped out everything to replace the substrate and replanted, and then it didn't seem to work so well. Of course, I've changed the lighting and a lot of the species since then, so maybe it had something to do with the combo I had before. But it's great if it works for you! Watch out though - I heard Excel will kill off your Vals, if you have them.

 

[Wood_Dog]

I am using Excel also and had great success...have to keep stopping myself from uping the dosage lol. You should try some DIY CO2 if you arent already. When I added the CO2 the gowth went crazy...I dont have any Vals, but apparently if you cut the dosage and allow the Vals to get used to it they will adjust. Have fun

 

[Peyton]

I didn't know that it could hurt vals, thanks for the info. I'll cut the doseage in half for a while to let them adjust. Both my tanks have DIY co2 also.

 

[evercl92]

Yeh, I've heard you have to ease into the dosing for vals and crypts. Otherwise the 'melt' and pretty much fall apart. It was my first fert and pretty much what got me started with plants.

 

[malkore]

anacharis is also sensitive to excel.

 

[7Enigma]

Well after having algae problems (I have DIY CO2 but am bad about consistency) I purchased 2 500ml Excel bottles from Big Al's. Hopefully I'll get them this week and will start dosing along with the DIY. Then I'll be sure carbon is not being limited in my tank and I can focus on what other nutrient problems might be present!

Glad to hear you had good results.

 

[Zezmo]

You can melt quite a few plants with excel depending on your dosage. At the 2x dosage recomended for algae control a lot of plants seem to suffer.

Pelia, Moss, and Ranalisma are a few others to watch out for.

Also, FWIW, I have tried a pure excel wash and soak (in a bucket) to clean some really overgrown driftwood. The algae died, but the pure excel also melted the leaves and roots off of some Anubias, and it burnt off the leaves of the java fern. The rhizomes survived and have started to grow back.

 

[Peyton]

So is half the recomended doseage ok then maybe up it .5ml a week?

 

[dnaelting]

I did not see much of a problem when I started dosing Excel. But, I did not start with the mega dose they said to use. I started dosing at the regular level for my size tank (75 gallons). I only dose 2x a week, right after my water change and mid week. I have vals and crypts and no problems with either.

 

[7Enigma]

Since this will be a supplimental dosage, I won't be doing the double dosage that the bottle recommends for algae control, just whatever is recommended for my 20gallon tank (probably 17gallons of water). I'm hoping the combination of improved CO2 availablility, along with take better care of other nutrient dosing will have this algae nipped!

Thanks for letting us know about the overdosing possible problems.

 

[Purrbox]

Remember to keep an eye on sensitive plants (Vals and Anacharis) while dosing Excel. They may seem fine for awhile, and then suddenly start having problems. I've got Corkscrew Val in one of my tanks. It was fine for a very long time, but then suddenly started having problems. I stopped dosing Excel and it's now back to doing well again.

 

[newfound77951]

Hmm, I wonder if this is the cause of my crypt problems. I really need to get a DIY CO2 on my little tank.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

As for corkscrew vals, I have had no problem with them and Excel. But my Jungle Vals, they are another story, lol. Any amount of Excel seems to bother them. But now I have pressurized CO2 on my 29G, so no more need for dosing Excel. And the corkscrew vals are still doing well, other than getting buried in algae, lol. One of these days I'll conquer it. In a 5 day blackout now, and when I get done, will add a powerhead for a little more water circulation.

 

[Argblarg]

I double dosed for two weeks and have single dosed for two months, my jungle vals and anacharis don't seem to mind at all. However, my java moss is not doing very well at all and my crypt is melting. It did eliminate my severe BBA problem by apparently making it very tasty to snails.

 

[7Enigma]

Just recieved my 2 500ml bottles of Excel today to suppliment along with my DIY CO2. I dosed in 75% of the recommended dosage (a cap and a 1/2) for my 20 gallon tank and will keep an eye on the every growing BBA that is covering my anubias and java ferns.

Also in that shipment was an AquaClear powerhead to hopefully keep a good (but slow) circulation throughout the tank. I'll be hooking that up tomorrow after work.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Check this thread. You may find it interesting.....

http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquainfo/algae_peroxide.html

 

[Peyton]

Ok, after about a week or so of using excel I've come to the conclusion that it is the greatest stuff to come along since sliced bread. Not only are my plants doing absolutely fantastic, the BBA is almost all gone! My dwarf sagitaria has sent out runners like crazy this week. Didiplis diandra and rotala are growing much more compact. Potamogeton gayi is starting to send out runners also, starting to see what you were talking about with this plant Travis . Now if I can just learn to aquascape .

taken on 8/11 before excel
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b207/peglegburnout/08112006016.jpg

taken today (8/19)
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b207/peglegburnout/08192006002.jpg

I did move 4 leaf clover to the far right of the tank and cut the anubias nana in half. Also added sunset hygro to the left corner.

 

[An t-iasg]

Hmm, I wonder if this is the cause of my crypt problems. I really need to get a DIY CO2 on my little tank.

I did notice that dosing Excel caused my crypts to melt later on in the day, or the next day. You just have to wait for the crypt to grow new leaves, but in the meantime, dosing less frequently and/or in a lesser ml amount helped. I put some tank water in a cup and mixed the Excel in there before pouring it into the tank.