Seachem Flourish Excel

[danchisum]

Can Seachem Flourish Excel be used instead of CO2 in a planted tank? I'm reading conflicting reports. My tank is going to be 50 gallons.

 

[Brookster123]

If you're going for a low tech, med light tank than liquid carbon will do.just fine. What's your intended set up?

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[danchisum]

I'm not sure what plants I want to use yet, but I'm going to do a planted tank with soil and I haven't tried a true planted tank before. I would do a CO2 setup, but those can get expensive real fast. I was going to do a DIY CO2 until I read about the Seachem and if that will work then I may go that way.

For fish, I'm thinking of some rams, red tailed sharks and gouramis

 

[Brookster123]

50 gallons is probably too big for diy co2 anyways. you can get a gallon if metricide 14 off Amazon for $30, it's twice as strong as excel.. it's def the way to go in a big tank..

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[danchisum]

Is this the stuff?

Amazon.com: Metrex Metricide Gallon 14 Day - Model 182337 - Each: Health & Personal Care

It's described as sterilization liquid.

 

[BBradbury]

Your Tank

Can Seachem Flourish Excel be used instead of CO2 in a planted tank? I'm reading conflicting reports. My tank is going to be 50 gallons.

Hello dan...

If you're going low tech, then you can use fish to supply the fertilizer. Just stock the tank well and feed the fish a good diet. No special fertilizers are needed.

If you need help with cycling the new tank using fish. I have a safe and simple system that will have your tank up and running in a couple of days.

B

 

[bud29]

Can Seachem Flourish Excel be used instead of CO2 in a planted tank? I'm reading conflicting reports. My tank is going to be 50 gallons.

It can work well, it's great for medium light to low-end high light tanks. Depending on the lighting/plant type, any extra fertilization may not even be necessary. I think it would be best to get an idea of the lighting and plants you want and then go from there.

 

[Brookster123]

Here's my med light, liquid carbon tank.. I dose seachem ferts and metricide daily, finnex planted plus lighting

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[danchisum]

Hello dan...

If you're going low tech, then you can use fish to supply the fertilizer. Just stock the tank well and feed the fish a good diet. No special fertilizers are needed.

If you need help with cycling the new tank using fish. I have a safe and simple system that will have your tank up and running in a couple of days.

B

If you have a system I'd love to hear about it.

 

[BBradbury]

Fish In Tank Cycling

Hello again dan...

No problem. This shouldn't be anything new.

If the tank is set up with water, bottom material, heater, a decoration or two, lights and filter, we're ready. Add a teaspoon of standard aquarium salt to every 5 gallons of tank water. You'll need a couple of floating plants. I used Hornwort and Common water weed (Anacharis). Drop as many individual stems as possible into the water. Get all this in and turn on the tank gear. Run everything for a couple of days. If you have any questions along the way, shoot. No fish yet, though.

Let me know when you're ready to move forward.

B

 

[bud29]

Hello again dan...

No problem. This shouldn't be anything new.

If the tank is set up with water, bottom material, heater, a decoration or two, lights and filter, we're ready. Add a teaspoon of standard aquarium salt to every 5 gallons of tank water. You'll need a couple of floating plants. I used Hornwort and Common water weed (Anacharis). Drop as many individual stems as possible into the water. Get all this in and turn on the tank gear. Run everything for a couple of days. If you have any questions along the way, shoot. No fish yet, though.

Let me know when you're ready to move forward.

B

Anacharis and hornwort definitely are good ammonia and nitrate sucking plants, so they can help the cycle a bit. There is still a need to do a regular fish-in or fishless cycle though, because the plants probably won't take care of everything. Also, the salt isn't necessary.

 

[Brookster123]

Certain plants will melt with the use if excel, while b's tanks are extremely nice they are limited to certain plants being low light/low maintenance. There is nothing wrong with that, I just figured I'd throw it out there as you were inquiring about excel..

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[bud29]

Certain plants will melt with the use if excel, while b's tanks are extremely nice they are limited to certain plants being low light/low maintenance. There is nothing wrong with that, I just figured I'd throw it out there as you were inquiring about excel..

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Yup. Anacharis and excel don't get along, and some people have had bad experiences mixing excel with vals and ferns.

 

[BBradbury]

Hello bud...

We'll get to the fish soon. There are certain hardy species that have no trouble dealing with the stress of less than pure water conditions that are normal during a "fish-in" cycle. As for the salt, I used it because it calms the fish by easing the stress on sensitive gill tissues from the traces of ammonia and it has chemical properties that help detoxify nitrogen. It's a natural immune system booster. Anything I can do to make it easier on the fish needs to be done.

Are we moving away from the original post, possibly?

B

 

[jetajockey]

Hello bud...

We'll get to the fish soon. There are certain hardy species that have no trouble dealing with the stress of less than pure water conditions that are normal during a "fish-in" cycle. As for the salt, I used it because it calms the fish by easing the stress on sensitive gill tissues from the traces of ammonia and it has chemical properties that help detoxify nitrogen. It's a natural immune system booster. Anything I can do to make it easier on the fish needs to be done.

Are we moving away from the original post, possibly?

B

Yes, this is moving away from the OP, but personally I think it needs addressed as well. Freshwater fish don't need salt in their water. Salt is not going to ease the 'stress' related to ammonia poisoning. The statement about it 'detoxifying nitrogen' is a very vague one, and in one sense it is correct since salt can be used to inhibit nitrite poisoning. Calling it an 'immune system booster' is also super vague. It's not some kind of vitamin supplement.

Salt has it's uses as a medication, i.e. for temporary use to deal with nitrite toxicity, ich, to help with fin rot or healing a fishes wounds. It's not something that is meant to be used indefinitely though, at least not in pure freshwater fish. If it were helping them so much, then why wouldn't these fish just go a little further downstream near the estuary to live their lives?

Here's a snippet from a good article on PFK
Frequently asked questions on using salt | Features | Practical Fishkeeping

Leading fish vet Chris Walster says: "Freshwater fish should be kept in freshwater, not any other.

"We have no idea of what effect placing freshwater fish in salted water has from a welfare perspective. We know that if we place freshwater fish in seawater that they will die sooner or later. We simply do not know, even at a low level of salt, whether it irritates the eyes or gills, etc.

"When we swim in the sea, the salt irritates our eyes. Is it the same for freshwater fish? Are there any other unknown effects which occur weeks, months or years later?"

Fish health expert Dr Peter Burgess says he certainly doesn't advocate salt for permanent use: "Unless the species has a natural requirement for salt, then we should not add salt to an aquarium (or pond).

"Tonic salt for freshwater fish is a bit like aspirin for humans: both medicines have many beneficial uses, but neither should be administered routinely just for the sake of it. Bear in mind that most tropical community tanks will contain salt-sensitive species, such as catfishes.

"Salt can be used as a supportive for salt-tolerant species, for example if the fish have severe ulcers or other major skin breaches that can place a burden on the osmoregulatory system. But healthy, unstressed fish do not need this support. Never use salt to compensate for bad fishkeeping!"

Now back to the OP. Excel (glutaraldehyde) is a great alternative when co2 injection isn't available. As mentioned, though be sure you use compatible plant species.

 

[bud29]

Hello bud...

We'll get to the fish soon. There are certain hardy species that have no trouble dealing with the stress of less than pure water conditions that are normal during a "fish-in" cycle. As for the salt, I used it because it calms the fish by easing the stress on sensitive gill tissues from the traces of ammonia and it has chemical properties that help detoxify nitrogen. It's a natural immune system booster. Anything I can do to make it easier on the fish needs to be done.

Are we moving away from the original post, possibly?

B

Perhaps - although since the OP asked for your method, and we are discussing details from your method, it may be more on topic than it seems.

There doesn't seem to be any scientific evidence linking stress reduction and consistent salt use. The idea is that salt use will increase osmoregularity, reducing osmotic pressure and thus reducing stress. However, as some pressures don't result in stress for humans, osmotic pressure doesn't result in stress for fish. By reducing osmotic pressure, people think that the energy saved for the fish can be re-purposed to bolstering the immune system. These conclusions are not based on the real nature of our fish.

The chloride ion can, indeed, help block nitrite uptake in the gills - however the amount needed is extraordinarily small - so much so that it is most likely already present in your tap water.

 

[BBradbury]

Using Aquarium Salt

Hello jet, bud & dan too...

Using aquarium salt has benefits for instance disease treatment. I was taught that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so by using a little supposedly increases mucus production in fish to resist infections and since fish adapt easily to small differences in salt concentration where parasites lacking organs to adapt, aren't so tolerant, it makes pretty good sense to use a little. There are other benefits, but my aim was to use salt during the cycling process, to benefit the 8 female Guppies I used to cycle my 30 gallon tank.

Dan, are we ready to proceed?

B

 

[Brookster123]

B... you do this alllll theee timeee man, op is inquiring about the use of excel or glut, which leads us to believe a med light planted tank is what is intended to be kept? No?? Why salt.. all the time with the salt, take a pole, who uses salt in there med light planted aquarium? Anyone?? So far of topic.. do you personally have any first hand experience with excel you can share? It's always these algorithmic responses..

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[BBradbury]

Seachems Flouish Excel

B... you do this alllll theee timeee man, op is inquiring about the use of excel or glut, which leads us to believe a med light planted tank is what is intended to be kept? No?? Why salt.. all the time with the salt, take a pole, who uses salt in there med light planted aquarium? Anyone?? So far of topic.. do you personally have any first hand experience with excel you can share? It's always these algorithmic responses..

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Easy on Brook. A couple of posts back we covered the fact that we might be getting away from the topic. The powers that be didn't have a problem with getting a little off-track to get some information to the poster.

Not sure I agree with "all the time". That takes in a lot of posts. But, you may be the expert. Just trying to help out.

B

 

[Brookster123]

Easy on Brook. A couple of posts back we covered the fact that we might be getting away from the topic. The powers that be didn't have a problem with getting a little off-track to get some information to the poster.

Not sure I agree with "all the time". That takes in a lot of posts. But, you may be the expert. Just trying to help out.

B

I'm not saying I'm an expert I'm just posting on a thread about the experience I've had with the topic of the thread is all.. apologies if I came off harsher than needed.. I guess it just gets old seeing the same post about salt in multiple threads having nothing to do with salt or salt use in freshwater aquariums.. sorry for the rant OP

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