Flourish Excel ?

[Kov]

So I wanted to aid my plants in their growth, and lfs recommended Flourish Excel from Seachem. What I'm reading about it is that it's a liquid CO2 additive. Does it contain the good stuff found in regular Flourish, or is that a whole separate product that I would also need to dose the tank with?

Thx

 

[1998golfer]

Flourish Excel is only liquid carbon, a CO2 supplement. You also need to add Flourish, which has the fertilizers (marco&micro nutrients).

 

[Kov]

So I need to buy the Flourish, too? What would the dosing pattern look like? The Excel says on the bottle to dose every other day...

 

[1998golfer]

Yeah definitely need both. And probably root tabs too.. I'm not sure on the dosing, I'd just go by what it says on each package. What plants will you have, how big is the.tank? What lighting do you have? Those things will help determine how much to dose

 

[Kov]

Have a mature java fern (and two of its baby plants transplanted and in middle stage of growth), two bunches of anarchis (one of which has grown almost to the surface), a new red wentii, and four saggitaria grasses that have about four or five more plant offshoots on runners (but neither the mature or runner plants are growing to full height).

Tank is 36g bowfront. Light is the original in the 20W hood (almost a year old) but being replaced tomorrow.

 

[Mebbid]

So I wanted to aid my plants in their growth, and lfs recommended Flourish Excel from Seachem. What I'm reading about it is that it's a liquid CO2 additive. Does it contain the good stuff found in regular Flourish, or is that a whole separate product that I would also need to dose the tank with?

Thx

Flourish Excel is only liquid carbon, a CO2 supplement. You also need to add Flourish, which has the fertilizers (marco&micro nutrients).

Have a mature java fern (and two of its baby plants transplanted and in middle stage of growth), two bunches of anarchis (one of which has grown almost to the surface), a new red wentii, and four saggitaria grasses that have about four or five more plant offshoots on runners (but neither the mature or runner plants are growing to full height).

Tank is 36g bowfront. Light is the original in the 20W hood (almost a year old) but being replaced tomorrow.

Without knowing what light you are going to get suggesting a fertilizer is a useless endeavor. If you get a strong light then the flourish will be insufficient for good growth while if you stick with a low light level then it should be fine. What light fixture are you planning on getting?

 

[Kov]

The fixture is what came with the Aqueon bow front tank (says 20W on the back). Planning on replacing the original bulb (I'm assuming it's low light) with one from the lfs that would be more of a medium plant light. I was told by the lfs that none of the plants I have require a really strong light.

Thoughts? Thx!

 

[Mebbid]

Both the red wendtii and the sag are medium light plants. If the bulb you are buying is a t8 then it's a low light bulb. They might do okay but as you've already noticed the sag doesn't grow to the correct height.

 

[Kov]

Does T8 refer to the fixture or the bulb? Can I get a medium strength light for the fixture I have?

 

[Mebbid]

Does T8 refer to the fixture or the bulb? Can I get a medium strength light for the fixture I have?

Both. The bulb size has to match the fixture. For a medium strength light I would try a dual t5ho fixture.

 

[Rivercats]

Since you have anacharis you don't want to use any liquid carbon as it will melt this plant.

The crypt will do fine in the low light but you will need to use root tabs to fertilize it since it is a heavy root feeder. Adding a couple root tabs around the dwarf sag will help also.

 

[Mebbid]

Since you have anacharis you don't want to use any liquid carbon as it will melt this plant.

The crypt will do fine in the low light but you will need to use root tabs to fertilize it since it is a heavy root feeder. Adding a couple root tabs around the dwarf sag will help also.

That actually differs quite a bit with my experience with anacharis. I have it in both of my planted tanks and never acclimated it to the excel dose that I use and its never done anything but grow like crazy.

 

[Kov]

Since you have anacharis you don't want to use any liquid carbon as it will melt this plant.

Argh! So no Flourish Excel, then? Just buy Flourish and use it?

The crypt will do fine in the low light but you will need to use root tabs to fertilize it since it is a heavy root feeder. Adding a couple root tabs around the dwarf sag will help also.

Sorry, which is the crypt - the wentii?

Both the red wendtii and the sag are medium light plants. If the bulb you are buying is a t8 then it's a low light bulb. They might do okay but as you've already noticed the sag doesn't grow to the correct height.

So a t8 Colormax 17W bulb is nothing but low light... So basically, I need to stick with low light plants. Will plants that have a "medium light" requirement just be a bad investment, then?

 

[Kov]

That actually differs quite a bit with my experience with anacharis. I have it in both of my planted tanks and never acclimated it to the excel dose that I use and its never done anything but grow like crazy.

Whoops, crossed-over this post with my last... So we are up in the air on the Liquid Carbon. Thoughts?

 

[Rivercats]

Anacharis and Val's along with certain mosses are both known for their sensitivity to liquid carbon but not everyone has that problem. I grew Corkscrew Val with heavy liquid carbon dosing whereas most complain they melt. Some people complain liquid carbon killed of their Java Moss and while I've never had that I've seen the growth of Java Moss in my tanks slow down considerably the higher the dosing of liquid carbon.

Personally I think it boils down to the individual chemistry of a person's tank. It's always best to warn liquid carbon can melt certain plants even if we have had other experiences with it.

So that being said OP what you can do try is using Excel at 1/4 the recommended dose everyday and watch the Anacharis closely. If you see any signs of it melting stop using the Excel. If the plant does fine for about 3 weeks, then up the dose to 1/2 the recommended strength. Watch the plants and if they do fine after about 3 weeks up the dose to 3/4 the dose and continue this until you reach full dosage. If at any time the Anacharis appears to start having problems stop dosing and go back to a lower dose.

Yes it is Crypt Wendtii.

IMO it's a waste to buy plants that need higher light when many won't flourish. Yes some might survive and even grow but never reach their true potential.

 

[Kov]

So does melting anacharis look like:

• darkening stems
• transparent leaves
• leaves shedding to bare stem
• etc etc?

I had done the first dose before reading Rivercat's post unfortunately. Seems like the anacharis was doing fine, and now it's borked...

 

[Rivercats]

Yes they sound to be melting.

 

[Kov]

Salvageable? Don't guess lfs will take back opened bottle of Excel...

How long before I introduce some new anarachis? After a wc or two?

 

[Mebbid]

Salvageable? Don't guess lfs will take back opened bottle of Excel...

How long before I introduce some new anarachis? After a wc or two?

Don't remove it just yet. Try to give it a chance to recover. The excel will only stay in solution for about 12 hours so its likely Gina already.

 

[Rivercats]

I agree to leave it alone. I would snip off any transparent melting areas so only green growth is left. That is if it's even possible.