Excel Questions

[theotheragentm]

If I want to make an ordered list and multiply two cells together... Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

Is this Excel? Are there any side effects on other things living in the tank with Excel?

 

[dapellegrini]

Yes, that is it.

Excel will kill some plants - Vals, Pearlweed, Anacharis, HC

In aquariums with low plant mass it can also kill shrimp

It is also a GREAT product for spot treating algae or doing algae dips. It is marginal-to-OK for adding CO2 to a tank. DIY CO2 would be much better though if we are talking a small tank. Excel is too $$$ to be using for CO2 in a large tank, where pressurized CO2 would be the way to go.

 

[Alshain]

Yes that is Flourish Excel, no it will not kill plants, but its cousin Flourish will kill some types plants mentioned above.

 

[dapellegrini]

Alshain - I think you have it backwards - I know from personal experience that Flourish Excel will kill plants. Flourish comprehensive will not.

 

[Jchillin]

Yep, Excel is a fine program...I have a spreadsheet that is...

It is in fact EXCEL that is the known plant killer. Flourish Comprehensive is the plant FEEDER.

 

[theotheragentm]

Yes, that is it.

Excel will kill some plants - Vals, Pearlweed, Anacharis, HC

In aquariums with low plant mass it can also kill shrimp

It is also a GREAT product for spot treating algae or doing algae dips. It is marginal-to-OK for adding CO2 to a tank. DIY CO2 would be much better though if we are talking a small tank. Excel is too $$$ to be using for CO2 in a large tank, where pressurized CO2 would be the way to go.

I have Swords and Java Fern in my tank only. It's very lightly planted in a 55-gallon tank. What does spot treating algae entail?

 

[dapellegrini]

Use a plastic dropper (like the kind that comes with one of your test kits), fill it with Excel, insert your arm into the tank with the Excel dropper, and squirt directly on algae. I have had great success spot treating BBA and hair/fuzz algae.

Swords and Ferns should be fine. Dosing a 55-gallon with Excel as a CO2 supplement would get very $$$

 

[theotheragentm]

Thanks for the tips. I don't actually do anything for my plants currently and they are growing very nicely. I'm thinking about Excel as a just in case if I added a few more plants. I am kind of thinking about Excel for a dip for my Java Moss in my other tank too. Can you dip other plants as well? I want to put some plants into my goldfish barrel in the backyard. I think I remember that they won't eat Amazon Swords, but I also wanted to give the plants a good boost in growth for the barrel.

 

[dapellegrini]

If you are going to use Excel as a dip solution to get rid of algae, make sure you dilute it 1-part Excel to 10-parts water. Don't soak the plants for more than a few seconds, and make sure that you rinse them or put them back in the tank right after. Soaking a plant in excel for too long will kill it.

 

[majolo]

Dosing a 55-gallon with Excel as a CO2 supplement would get very $$$

Not really... at the recommended dose it works out to a little over $30 a year.

 

[dapellegrini]

Majolo - Maybe you are right. I guess if you do the math, it isn't that bad. I typically think if Excel like the other Flourish Macro ferts...

Assuming you follow recommended dosing for a 55gallon tank:

27.5ml on PWC day
5.5ml the other 6-days
---------------------------
60.5ml per week

At that you would run through a 2 liter bottle in 33 weeks, which is pretty good.

IME, if you have a good amount of plants, you will dose at least double the daily amount. Probably more like 100-150ml a week. At that rate you will be through 2-liters in 13-20 weeks.

 

[Purrbox]

Excel will kill some plants - Vals, Pearlweed, Anacharis, HC

While Excel has been confirmed to cause problens for both Vals and Anacharis, I've never heard of Pearlweed (Hemianthus micranthemoides) or HC (Hemianthus Callitrichoides) having problems with it at recommended dosing levels. In fact I'm dosing it in my Pico with both of these plants and they are extremely happy.

If you go over the recommended dosing (for algae treatments, etc) then there is an increased possibility that it will cause problems for more plants.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Blyxa aubertii has also been reported as having side effects..

http://www.plantgeek.net/plant-37.htm

 

[plecoperson]

Bolbitis heudelotti and Najas guadalupensis really do not like Excel, either. At least in my tanks.

 

[dapellegrini]

HM has melted on me with Excel. HC melting was reported by another member of our local aquatic plant group. I do dose more than what is written on the bottle, except that it says right on there that you can increase the dosing for more plant mass...

 

[omgfish]

I've been dosing flourish excel for a week and a half now. I have anacharis and corkscrew vals and they both seem to be doing fine. Anacharis has grown quite a bit. It seems like the initial dose of flourish that the bottle calls for is kind of aggressive. I skipped it. Hopefully my plants will continue to do well and not melt.

 

[Argblarg]

I double dosed Excel for several months and my jungle vals and HM were great. My anacharis melted away though, that's the only plant that I have found to have problems.

 

[fish 'n' fries]

Another plug for Excel with corkscrew vals at least--I've been dosing (standard--not increased) for a month or two and the vals seem happy.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

YMMV, According to seachems website, it's not safe for use with anacharis (this is from the manufacturer) (other plants can also suffer from this)

http://seachem.com/support/FAQs/FlourishExcel_faq.html

"Q: I've been using Flourish Excel for the 4 days, and I've noticed that my Anacharis seems to be dying, while my other plants are doing fine. Why is this?
A: Anacharis is a particularly sensitive species (known to be sensitive to high temperature, trace copper, formaldehyde etc.). It is also sensitive to Flourish Excel. If you have Anacharis in an aquarium in which you are dosing Flourish Excel we recommend using Flourish Excel every other day rathter than daily."