Advertisements
Aquatic Avenue Banner Tropica Shop Banner Fishy Business Banner
Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: FYI - Flourish Excel

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    N/A
    Posts
    38
    Feedback Score
    0
    Images
    4
    Country
    Singapore

    Post FYI - Flourish Excel

    Advertisements
    Fresh n Marine aQuarium Banner

    Advertise here

    Advertise here
    came across this webpage:
    http://www.aquabotanic.com/carbon.html


    >. How does Excel add carbon to the water?
    As a simple, low molecular weight organic compound.

    > Can you please define photosynthetic intermediates and explain the process?
    Photosynthetic intermediates includes compounds such as ribulose
    1,5-bisphosphate, 3-phosphogylcerate, 2-carboxy-3-keto-D-arabinitol
    1,5 bisphosphate. Although the names are complicated, the structures
    are quite simple (3, 5, & 6 carbon chains). Flourish Excel does not
    contain these specific compounds per se, but one that is quite
    similar. It is in its structural similarity that Flourish Excel is
    able to be utilized in the carbon chain building process of
    photosynthesis. Simple chemical or enzymatic steps can easily convert
    it to any one of the above named compounds (or a variety of others).

    > Does this affect the pH as CO2 gas does?
    No, it does not affect pH.

    >Does Excel's added carbon work enough to provide plants what they
    need without the need of CO2 injection?
    That depends on your definition of need We have been using the
    product here for several years (during the testing phase) and all of
    our planted tanks have been doing extraordinarily well. We do not use
    any CO2 injection. We usually have to cut and trim every few weeks or
    so. However, if your goal is to have the kind of growth where you
    would need to cut and trim weekly (because the plants grow out of the
    tank every week) then you're not going to see that with Flourish
    Excel as the sole carbon source. But using Flourish Excel as the sole
    source of carbon is certainly not going to leave the plants lacking
    for carbon by any stretch.

    > Does Excel offer additional benefits to a planted tank?
    It helps to maintain iron in the ferrous (Fe+2) state which is more
    easily utilized by the plants.

    >. Are there any enviornmental factors in the tank that either
    impede or increase Excel's effectivness?
    The use of a skimmer will tend to remove it, especially if the tank
    is somewhat "dirty" (i.e. hazy looking, lots of detritus floating
    around etc).

    > Can algae feed on Excel?
    No. I'm sure this may raise a few eyebrows since at face value
    this would be a reasonable expectation. But, for reasons Uncle Sam
    won't let us discuss, all I can say is that algae can't feed on Excel
    and I will leave it as an exercise to the reader to deduce why this
    is the case (big picture folks, no chemistry involved .

    Gregory Morin, Ph.D. ~~~~~~~Research Director~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Seachem Laboratories, Inc. www.seachem.com 888-SEACHEM
    Last edited by benny; 3rd Feb 2006 at 19:23.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    136
    Feedback Score
    0
    Country
    Singapore
    Any reviews on this product by local users?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Sherbrooke Quebec
    Posts
    23
    Feedback Score
    0
    Country
    Canada
    A good product. Not quite as good as co2, but defenately visibly improved growth. Great for smaller tanks as it can get rather pricey in large tanks. Some plants and shrimp do poorly with it.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    136
    Feedback Score
    0
    Country
    Singapore
    Hi Brad! Is there any side effects using it to your fauna?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Sherbrooke Quebec
    Posts
    23
    Feedback Score
    0
    Country
    Canada
    Dosed as it says on the bottle, no. I tried doubling the dose to see what effect it had on algae and ended up losing an angel fish. Shrimp are also rather sensitive to it. I'd suggest using it like any other fertilizer. Start with the reccomended dose, and increase or decrease as you see plant health change.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    136
    Feedback Score
    0
    Country
    Singapore
    Ok! Thanks very much!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Jurong
    Posts
    4,020
    Feedback Score
    0
    Images
    552
    Country
    Singapore
    Don't overdose. Moss can be affected badly by an Excel OD... And shrimps and some fish are also a tad sensitive to Excel OD...
    Read me! :bigsmile: http://justikanz.blogspot.com/

    I'm crypt collecting... Starting cheap, now have Cryptocoryne beckettii, C.beckettii var petchii, C.crispatula var.balansae, C.griffithii(Melted! ), C.nurii, C.parva, C.pygmaea(Melted! ), C.tonkinensis(Melted! ), C.walkeri, C.wendtii 'Brown', C.wendtii 'Green', C.wendtii 'Green Gecko', C.wendtii 'Tropica' and Cryptocoryne x willisii

    Oh, juggling is hard work, man!...

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    136
    Feedback Score
    0
    Country
    Singapore
    I think I'll play safe and not use it. Don't want my shrimps to die!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Jurong
    Posts
    4,020
    Feedback Score
    0
    Images
    552
    Country
    Singapore
    Well, as long as you do not overdose, Excel is good for supplementing CO2 for non CO2 tanks... Keep within dosage recommended.
    Read me! :bigsmile: http://justikanz.blogspot.com/

    I'm crypt collecting... Starting cheap, now have Cryptocoryne beckettii, C.beckettii var petchii, C.crispatula var.balansae, C.griffithii(Melted! ), C.nurii, C.parva, C.pygmaea(Melted! ), C.tonkinensis(Melted! ), C.walkeri, C.wendtii 'Brown', C.wendtii 'Green', C.wendtii 'Green Gecko', C.wendtii 'Tropica' and Cryptocoryne x willisii

    Oh, juggling is hard work, man!...

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    Bedok
    Posts
    2,600
    Feedback Score
    0
    Images
    5
    Country
    Singapore
    Quote Originally Posted by nostalgia
    I think I'll play safe and not use it. Don't want my shrimps to die!
    IME... you can use them quite safely with shrimps. No problem with that using Excel.

    BC

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •