Seachem Flourish Excel questions

[mattcham]

Can Excel really kill fish even when used as directed by Seachem? Some say start with half dose, but if you add new fish they get exposed to full dose after your 1-2 hour drip acclimation.

Can Excel be used to completely replace CO2 infusion (DIY or hi tech CO2)?

I calculated the monthly cost of using Excel (4 liter jugs) versus high tech CO2 for a 125 gallon tank, and the cost is about the same but less monitoring gear/labor is needed for Excel. Is this an accurate statement?

If all my plants reach ideal size and I do NOT want them to grow anymore, what maintenance dose of Excel should be used? Do I half or quarter the dose? Or do I simply double or quadruple the duration between doses?

Thanks in advance!

 

[mattcham]

OK so I should probably use Metricide 14. Even cheaper than Excel...

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[Brookster123]

Yah, met is a much more economical choice.. i dose it 75% strength at 1 ml/2 gal.. no issues there. I think the key is to gradually up the dose. I remember the first time excel hit my 20 tall the dwarf corys all went ballistic for a minute but never any other signs of discomfort after that.. co2 will be a better option for a high light tank though..

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[schoeplein]

Regulator and a decent size co2 tank will keep you from having to dose daily, manually. Most do both if they have co2.

I can't say it replaces co2, but is an OK substitute.

Plants don't stop growing. When they do, they die. They're constantly regenerating and producing new growth. For the best looking, healthiest plants, they should be growing, and trimmed when they get larger than you'd like.

Do not overdose your tank on gluteraldehyde. 0.5mL/ga/day.

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[aqua_chem]

Excel shouldn't kill fish at recommended dosage. Glut alternatives won't either at the same dosage. Most shrimp won't even have a problem at 1x regular dose, and most fish won't have a problem at 3x recommended dosage under limited circumstance.



Glut is not a replacement for CO2. CO2, DIY or pressurized, is better in every way for plants; the real drawbacks are its effects on our wallets (pressurized) or sanity (DIY). That being said, glut is best for tanks that are borderline in need of CO2 and below.