Overdosing Exel.......How much is too much?

[thebigshh]

Just reading some posts recently with people using 2 to 3 times the amount reccomended. How does everyone feel about this idea? My lfs once told me to double dose my tank to rid me of my bba. I've used it as recommended ( maybe a little more ) and seen my algae start dieing off. Since then I've got my Pressurized Co2 up and running and haven't used it since. So what do you all think?

[jmhart]

So what do you all think?

The word you're looking for is y'all.


<-----From Alabama :silly:

[NeonFlux]

whassup ya'll

[Mgamer20o0]

you can use more just have to be careful. you could always take the plants out and dip them.

[NeonFlux]

u can actually do that?

[jones57742]

tb:

IMHO double or triple dosing with Excel is a waste of $.

Each ecosystem is different and finding the correct dosage requires some experimentation.

I have employed double dosing with Flourish for algae eradication, then decreased the dosing rate until algae was observed again, and then slightly increased the dosing for long term algae control.


Jeff and NF

In West Texas the written word is sans apostrophe.

The word as spoken with a West Texas drawl is more like ya...al.

TR

[thebigshh]

Does anyone know the active ingredient in Exel? I feel a little bit like we are all using some " secret mystery juice " in a bottle. The bottle also doesn't say anything about algae control at all. Maybe that is why I have a hard time dumping it in my tank at twice the recommended dose.

[jmhart]

The "secret" ingredient is glutaraldehyde, a known algaecide. Excel is an aqueous solution of it. I don't know what the concentration is. I know a few people that do dose straight glutaraldehyde instead of buying Excel. However, cheap glutaraldehyde is hard to find in individual consumer quantities, and what you could find would be a similar price to purchasing excel online in a 2L bottle.

Jones:

My mother was raised by an English teacher in Maryland, so if we were going to use y'all, it had to be as grammatically correct as possible. Hence the "y'all". I do see it spelled "ya'll" more often than not which I think is funny.

[livingword26]

Actually, Excel is made of polycycloglutaracetal, which is a polymerized isomer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isomer

of Glutaraldehyde. Here is a quote from a Seachem web site:

http://www.seachem.com/support/forums/archive/index.php/t-80.html

Polycycloglutaracetal is an isomeric form of glutaraldehyde... however it is less reactive and more easily utilized by plants as a carbon source. Once we have patented the product we would then be in a position to release detailed scientific studies (for trade secret reasons until then of course).

To me, it looks like the Seachem product is safer than regular glutaraldehyde

[FishBliss]

I'm glad you asked this question because I was wondering much the same thing. I have BBA and the most common piece of advice seems to be large doses of Excel. So I ordered it.

I read the label when it came and it says in capital letters DO NOT OVERDOSE. Now I am concerned. At what point does a very large dose become an overdose? My primary concern would be for my fish (I have sensitive cories among other things).

[livingword26]

I have double dosed with Otto's and Cherry shrimp without any loss.

[thebigshh]

thanks for the responses and the links.

[doreenjoy]

I've been double dosing, hoping to get my BBA to die back.

And I'm from hillbilly country, where we say "you-uns".

[plantbrain]

As with anything that has the potential to kill shrimp and fish, I do not suggest you overdose or not follow the label.

It will do the same thing without harm to any critters etc, it just will take longer is all.

So be patient and stop rushing to kill things asap:idea:

Give it time to work and also, why don't you start figuring out why you have BBA in the 1st place?

Poor CO2.......

Then you do not need algicides.
Excel adds a source of carbon for plants, so it's like adding CO2 in a sense, but if you had been adding enough CO2 to start with, then Excel as an algicide is not needed.........

Follow the label, it's there for good reason.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[thebigshh]

I'm really kind of ashamed, how long I went without any kind of Co2 or ferts in my tank. Had a ton of light though !!! And I am fairly sure if I had all three things in a bit more balance I'd have my bba in check.

Thanks for chiming in everyone. Tom , much respect.

[livingword26]

I tore down my tank last December after almost a year long battle with BBA. I had pressurized co2, ran it at over 2 bubbles a second and had over 30 ppm of co2 in my tank. I dosed dry ferts per Rex Griggs instructions and used flourish excel. I did weekly 50% water changes, and did not have an overstocked tank, not did I over feed. I followed all the advice, and was not able to destroy the algae. I removed all visible signs of it monthly, and it always grew back. It even got to the point that when you squirted Excel directly on it, it did not do anything to it. In my uneducated opinion, it is no always co2 problems.

[CBWMN]

"Jeff and NF

In West Texas the written word is sans apostrophe.

The word as spoken with a West Texas drawl is more like ya...al.

TR"

TR

Austin in West Texas? WOW your compass needs adjusting.

Charles in El Paso

[doreenjoy]

I tore down my tank last December after almost a year long battle with BBA.

I've done that TWICE and I still have BBA that I scrape off weekly. Excel is helping a bit but not eradicating it.

I don't overfeed, I don't overstock, I don't add strange chemicals to my tank, I don't have excessive nutrients. If someone wants to come over and fix the problem, I'd be happy to see 'em.