Reddit Reddit reviews Seachem Flourish Excel Bioavailable Carbon - Organic Carbon Source for Aquatic Plants 500 ml

We found 20 Reddit comments about Seachem Flourish Excel Bioavailable Carbon - Organic Carbon Source for Aquatic Plants 500 ml. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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Seachem Flourish Excel Bioavailable Carbon - Organic Carbon Source for Aquatic Plants 500 ml
CARBON PRODUCTION: All plants require a source of carbon, and Flourish Excel is a great and convenient source of bioavailable organic carbon.IRON PRODUCTION: Flourish Excel also possesses iron reducing properties, thus promoting the ferrous state of iron (Fe+2), which is more easily utilized by plants than ferric iron (Fe+3).PHOTOSYNTHESIS: Plants must produce longer chain carbon compounds (photosynthetic intermediates). By dosing with Flourish Excel you bypass the involvement of chain carbon compounds, and introduce the already finished, structurally similar compounds.TREATMENT: On initial use or after a major (> 40%) water change, use 1 capful of Flourish Excel (5 mL) for every 40 L (10 US gallons). Thereafter, use 1 capful for every 200 L (50 US gallons) daily or every other day. For smaller dosing please note that each cap thread is approximately 1 mL.SAFETY: Flourish Excel is completely safe for fish, however if you have Anacharis in an aquarium in which you are dosing Flourish Excel, then it is recommended to use it every other day rather than daily.
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20 Reddit comments about Seachem Flourish Excel Bioavailable Carbon - Organic Carbon Source for Aquatic Plants 500 ml:

u/Jadis4742 · 3 pointsr/bettafish

Fluval Spec V + ViaAqua heater + gravel + driftwood + Amazon Swords + Java Fern + apple snail + fish = one of these gorgeous tanks, if I do say so myself

The tank on the right, with Captain America and his snail buddy Coulson, has been set up for four months. The tank on the left (EDI and Joker) has only been set up for a month. (I had Cardinal Ferns in there and loved them, but my asshole snail ate them.) I don't do anything special with the plants - stuck 'em in the gravel, lights on, lights off, dose with Flourish Excel once a week with the water change.

Super simple. After all, I manged to do it and not kill anyone off yet.





^...the ^cardinal ^ferns ^don't ^count

u/TheShadyMilkman206 · 3 pointsr/bettafish
  1. As for adding "something" once a week, I would highly suggest using fertilizers with your live plants. They will show an extremely noticable difference in health and vigor. There are thousands of options for fertilizer but the following two options provide a choice between easy/care free and easy/pro level. My preferred method (provides the most control and is astronomically cheaper than pre-made fertilizers) is EI (Estimative Index) dosing. Basically, different plant types have very specific needs in terms of nutrients. EI dosing takes away the pain of trying to dial it in for each plant by providing an abundant amount of nutrients in the water column so the plants are guaranteed to have everything they need. On top of that, when you start noticing deficiencies in your plants later down the line you have the ability to make minute adjustments to your fertilizing plan by adjusting how much dry ("salts") fertilizers you are adding to the tank. If you have the patience and trust your ability to measure out amounts on a scale (It really is SUPER simple eventhough it may seem complicated) then EI dosing is the way to go. Your other option is going with a commercial fertilizing schedule. While WAY WAY WAY more expensive, a premade fertilzer line is extremely easy to use. If you decide to go this route I would highly recommend Seachem Flourish and Seachem Flourish Trace. You will start to see a pattern developing with my suggestions, I fucking love Seachem products ;)

  2. This brings up the next important part of plant ownership, CO2. Basically, plant growth is limited by a 3-prong system. Light, Nutrients, and CO2. If any one of them is lacking it will inhibit the plants ability to use the other two. Think of it like a sliding scale. Pressurized CO2 is what I use in my tanks but the initial setup can be expensive and it takes up a bit of space and upkeep in terms of refilling the CO2 bottle on a regular basis. There are also DIY CO2 systems, but I have never built one and have read that they can be frustrating and difficult to dial in. If you don't want to setup a CO2 system get yourself some Seachem Flourish Excel. It is a fantastic liquid carbon supplement and as an added bonus it really helps with algae control.

  3. Lighting: this can be a delicate balance. Too much light and algae is going to overtake your tank, too little light and algae is probably going to overtake your tank because the plants cant provide enough competition for it. So, here is my light schedule (It makes it so I get to see my fish in the morning and when I get home from work): On from 7am-1pm, Off from 1pm-5pm, back on from 5pm-9pm. There are a few factors at work here. First of all, if photoperiods are not long enough the plants will never really get a chance to utilize the light. The bare minimum I would recommend is 4 hours at a time. Second, the lighting "siesta" in the middle of the day REALLY helps control algae. It allows CO2 to build up in the tank. If you run your lights for 12 hours straight without a very high-tech system, you are going to have a bad time. The fluval spec 5 light, as someone else mentioned on the newer models will be more than enough light to grow the plants you are thinking about. Honestly, most of those can be grown succesfully under a desk lamp.


    Continue to next comment!
u/Dantrag · 2 pointsr/Aquariums

You need a car :-D. But back to the topic at hand: Depending on the type of hair algae and the severity, there are several things you can do. The general consensus is that regular overdosing with a product such as SeaChem Flourish Excel, reduction in length of your photo period, and ensuring that you are feeding the proper amount for your live stock will help to combat most algae outbreaks. What are you doing for lighting?

u/velo443 · 2 pointsr/aquarium

Relax, I think you're ok. The "chemical" look on the water surface is probably just bio-film. See this thread for suggestions: https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/film-on-water-surface-help.156602/

Have you tested your water's pH, ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates? If not, get a test kit like this: https://www.amazon.com/API-FRESHWATER-800-Test-Freshwater-Aquarium/dp/B000255NCI. Post your results here for advice. But I'm guessing that two 50% water changes every week is more than you need. You can probably cut that back to once a week or once every two weeks. That's assuming your levels are ok and your filter is working as it should.

Based on your photos, I'm guessing your tank is pretty new? The spots of algae on the rocks look like the beginning algae I've seen in newer aquariums. Same for the brown spots on the anubias. Treating your tank with Flourish Excel might help with the algae: https://www.amazon.com/Seachem-67104530-Flourish-Excel-500ml/dp/B000256962/. Or, if your water chemistry tests come back ok, you can get a small shrimp or two to help clean up the algae. You want to make sure your water chemistry is ok for shrimp. Do a little research before you buy any. You don't say how big your tank is, but it can probably take a small shrimp or two.

u/hatehardon · 2 pointsr/PlantedTank

Lominie LED Aquarium Light,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07236CXBQ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Glosso Factory All in one Planted Aquarium Fertilizer, 16oz, with Balanced Micros and Macros, Easy to use, Treats 4,730 gallons https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0759VRZ6Q/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apap_far7hCLRvszUJ

Seachem Flourish Excel Bioavailable Carbon - Organic Carbon Source for Aquatic Plants 500 ml https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000256962/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_cyP2DbCH8S7VF

I use the Flourish every day (1ml) and glosso Factory twice a week (1 pump).

u/SNAFU01 · 2 pointsr/PlantedTank

It's definitely a pain! The algae on the carpet is diatoms, which will pass eventually on its own but I'm trying to keep things under control in the meantime. If you manage to find a quick fix, let me know (!), but here's what I've been doing in the meantime with some success:

  • Started dosing my all-in-one fert with a half-dose daily, instead of a full-dose every other day. I use Thrive+. This seems like it has made the biggest difference so far.
  • Monitoring my nitrate levels regularly and doing large water changes whenever levels are >40~ ppm.
  • Added 10 amano shrimp and 3 otocinclus catfish.
  • Settled on 8-hours of light. Any more or any less both seemed to lead to more algae.
  • Dosing Seachem Excel after each water change.
  • And as a last resort, I'll physically remove the algae with my hands/a brush or just trim off any particularly bad leaves.

    Still haven't gotten rid of it but things seem to be headed the right direction.
u/ChiefBigGay · 2 pointsr/PlantedTank

Hi! I noticed a lot of people don't seem to be acknowledging you have a very high powered plant light and no co2. This helps form any type of algae in general when you're pushing that much var. Flourish Excel is an organic carbon that you can pour in that should help get rid of the algae and make your plants look a lot better! http://www.amazon.com/Seachem-116045308-Flourish-Excel-500ml/dp/B000256962/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419364071&sr=8-1&keywords=flourish+excel

You could also just go the full co2 setup route.

I work at a fish store and we recommend you feed your fish every other day. This could help with the overfeeding you think you have going on. My neon tetras are huge feeding like this as well.

u/Mocha_Shakea_Khan · 2 pointsr/bettafish

Things you'll need:

Filter

Heater

You'll need this for the filter

Substrate

lamp i bought mine at a supercenter for 7.99; this link is to let you know what it looks like

light

I personally use everything on this list; they're cheap and reliable. To maintain the sponge filter all you have to do is rinse it in a bucket filled with tank water, after a water change for example, every 2 weeks.

Go to r/plantedtank for info on plants, but i will give you some quick tips

  1. Plants are living organisms; they need nutrients just as we humans need nutrients. They definitely get malnurish and it shows. To prevent malnourishment aka nutrient deficiency you need to dose nutrients. I reccomend seachem flousrish, seachem excel, and seachem potassium. If you only want like 1 or 2 plants then you might be able to get away with only dosing flourish, but if you want a good amount of plants you will eventually need every nutrient including nitrogen(depending on how many fish you have), iron, and phosphorus. If you don't dose nutrients your plants may die and you may also get an algae farm; once algae gets established it can be hard to remove so it's better to prevent it. You could also dose co2, but that's later on; you'll need experience with plants first.

  2. In the planted tank community fish tanks are distinguished by low tech setups and high tech setups. I'm not gonna explain the difference, look it up yourself, but you will start out with a low tech setup. Since you'll have a low tech setup look up low tech plants on google or whatever search engine you use. The most common are moss, wisteria, anubias and so on.

    This is everything i can think of on the fly, but do a lot of research on your own. Having a planted tank isn't as easy as just plopping in some plants and watch as they flourish.
u/Ductapemaster · 1 pointr/PlantedTank

They're probably going to give you some sort of nutrient for the plants, which you may or may not want at first. Initially, consider the substrate you will be using in the tank. If you plan on having plants, gravel is not recommended. It's possible, but you'll see much better growth with something meant for plants. There's a lot of substrates out there designed for just that. Talk to your LFS about it, I'm sure they can give you some suggestions.

As for fertilizer, you may want to wait and see how things do with the proper substrate alone. Your fish and other fauna will provide macro nutrients for the plants (Nitrogen, Phospohorus, and Potassium), which may be enough for you at first. Do some research on your plants and pick ones that are easy maintenance and have low light requirements. Check out the forum I mention below for some help. They have a section just on plants that will give you some good ideas. Also browse around the low-tech setup sections and see what other people use!

If and when you are ready for the next step, there is stuff called Seachem Flourish (http://amzn.to/1cT6LeT) that provides a lot of the micro nutrients your plants will need. I use it in my tanks and it works great. As I said before, your fauna provide macro nutrients, and the Flourish adds the rest.

If you want to get a little more complicated, there is a product called Seachem Flourish Excel (http://amzn.to/13FM5yD) that provides carbon for your plants in a liquid form. Be careful with this stuff as it is toxic in large concentrations. Just follow the directions and you'll be fine. This stuff works great in combination with the Flourish mentioned previously.

The LFS may try and sell you on both of those products (or their other-brand equivalents) initially. As I said, start with a good substrate as that is something that is difficult (although not impossible) to change once the tank is established. Once you get things up and running (you know about the nitrogen cycle, right??), then start adding complexity. I didn't do that when I got into the hobby and was quickly in over my head and my budget.

If you want to read further, I suggest you check out this forum: http://www.plantedtank.net/ Either the low-tech or planted nano tank sub-forums will be of interest!

u/tenement · 1 pointr/PlantedTank

Is this the liquid CO2 you mention?

Sounds like my set up isnt too bad then, just need the light.

I'm excited to really focus on the plants in this tank.

Does it matter what kind of filter I get in terms of the plants? I was thinking a Fluval C3 hang on.

u/Nc1107 · 1 pointr/PlantedTank

that's quite odd, I would assume it's the lights and just not enough nutrients for the plants to grow quickly , also depends on the plants you have but if you wanna speed up growth i would recommend getting this stuff I use it all the time and it noticeably helps

Seachem Flourish Excel Bioavailable Carbon - Organic Carbon Source for Aquatic Plants 500 ml https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000256962/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_iNJSDbG2ZY14D

u/FlyingPinkMonkey · 1 pointr/Aquariums

The conditioner is good for treating tap water. I have never used the stress zyme, but it seems alright for establishing some good bacteria. For fertilizers you can just buy some seachem flourish :https://www.amazon.com/Seachem-116051309-Flourish-500ml/dp/B00025696M/ref=sr_1_7?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1504143906&sr=1-7&keywords=seachem and excel https://www.amazon.com/Seachem-67104530-Flourish-Excel-500ml/dp/B000256962/ref=pd_bxgy_199_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3PGHZXBQPXTZWQEWQY7G . Also be prepared to buy some root tabs if you are getting heavy root feeding plants like amazon swords and jungle val, they will appreciate the extra nutrients https://www.amazon.com/Seachem-Flourish-Tabs-40-Count/dp/B001NTE30A/ref=pd_sim_199_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3PGHZXBQPXTZWQEWQY7G . Another option for fertilizers is to make your own with dry fertilizers. This method is much cheaper than buying the expensive commercial ones, so you can look that up and try it out if you want.

For the water testing kit, it is purely optional IMO but highly recommended. They are useful during cycling to check water parameters so you can confirm your tank is indeed 100% cycled. They are also useful for weekly/monthly tank check ups to see if anything is fouling your water (which can potentially kill your plants and fish!). You can either buy the testing strips or the liquid test kit. Both are pretty expensive, but you'll get the most bang for your buck with the liquid test kit- https://www.amazon.com/API-FRESHWATER-800-Test-Freshwater-Aquarium/dp/B000255NCI/ref=sr_1_4?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1504144626&sr=1-4&keywords=test+kit

u/slidewithme · 1 pointr/PlantedTank

Both hygrophila and anarchis are stem plants, and as such would benefit from fertilizers to grow properly. Due to the nature of a stem plant, you can simply use liquid fertilizer as opposed to dry (like root tabs). The best in my opinion is Seachem Flourish. The bottle is $10-15 depending on where you buy it, and will last you almost literally forever in a 5 gallon tank. I think your dose would be about .5ml, which you'd do about once a week. There's 500 ml in a bottle, so it's not expensive at all. Side note: I highly recommend something like this to dose fertilizers with. It's easy to do too much/little when using just the cap.

Another thing stem plants really love is carbon. This is optional, really, but if you experience issues like yellowing leaves or the plant growing too slowly for your taste (both anarchis and hygro should grow like weeds, normally), liquid carbon will help. For that I use Seachem Flourish Excel in tanks where I don't have injected CO2. I generally overdose my tank on purpose when I want my plants to grow like wild fire (generally when I want to sell stems or propagate other parts of the tank). Note that Excel is harmful to invertebrates, so if you happen to add shrimp or snails in the future, use with caution.

Stems are great because when you trim them, you can replant the trimmings and make your aquatic garden as dense or as sparse as you want it to be quite easily. I always recommend stem plants or swords for beginners, since they're easy and pretty.

Both hygro and anarchis will grow just fine in low light with a little fertilizer. They will grow like kudzu on a barn with high light and lots of ferts and CO2, so they're versatile in terms of the environment you keep them in.

Also, my Betta loves his hygro. It's what he sleeps in. :)

u/AndroidGingerbread · 1 pointr/Aquariums

Here are some things that may or may not help you grow Wysteria:

  • I feed Seachem Flourish liquid ferts once per week (after the weekly water change).

  • I use Seachem Prime to condition new water.

  • I use Fluval Aqualife & Plant LEDs to light my tank. I have them on a 7 hours/day light timer.

    Other than that, I don't do anything particularly special. I don't aerate or CO^2 inject. I used Excel once for algae, and it totally melted most of my plants, so I don't recommend it to anyone.

    I should note that my tank is a 29 gal.
u/HelloHurricane · 1 pointr/Aquariums

Fishsauce_Mcgees method is definitely the most thorough way of getting rid of it. I've never been comfortable using bleach with anything that goes in my tanks though.

What I've found that seems to work is Seachem Flourish Excel (http://www.amazon.com/Seachem-453-Flourish-Excel-500ml/dp/B000256962)

I just use a dropper to put a little bit over the problem areas (you can treat it directly in the tank). After a day, those spots turn from black to bright red, and the dead BBA falls off, and eaten up by fish.

My tank was pretty bad, almost as covered as yours, but I treated it over a period of an entire month, little by little, and now it's pretty much fully recovered. For BBA on the glass, you can just scrape it off and not treat it. Excel just works really well for those places where it's hard to scrape off the algae.

Siamese Algae Eaters, if you can find the real deal, are known to work but they tend to outgrow eating BBA and go to eating flakes if you overfeed.

u/BeaglesBooksBaseball · 1 pointr/Aquariums

Hmm. You may want to try Flourish Excel then. It mimics CO2. I was using this with root tabs before adding in the other supplements with great results.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000256962/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_cCkJAb4HASN35

u/Kipplur · 1 pointr/PlantedTank

What are your thoughts on this

u/McJaeger · 1 pointr/PlantedTank

Look into buying some Seachem fluorish, it's got just about everything you need to fertilize your tank, except for the potassium. I would start with that to see if that fixes the issue. If new leaves start coming in damaged, or old leaves continue to brown, Seachem also makes a potassium supplement that you can dose in addition to the fluorish. I'd also recommend adding some source of bioavailable carbon to your tank, fluorish excel would be good for your needs. As long as you follow the dosing directions your fish will be fine.

You also say that your sister does changes every two weeks then cleans the glass by wiping the algae away. What percentage of the water would you say she changes? Also, got any pictures of the tank?

u/[deleted] · 0 pointsr/PlantedTank

When you all say Excel, are you referring to this?

I just got a 20G-long at Petco sale as well and I want to do the same :3 I'm still deciding whether I want another dirt tank (I already have 1 dirted 5.5G) or if I should use another substrate. Does anyone who has grown a DHG carpet have any input on what the best substrate is?