so if i do it like this bottle says that will be a bottle every 3-4 weeks. do i really need to dose 5ml per 10 gallons after every 50% water change? im using it on a 55 gallon.
do i need to dose it how flourish excel says?
- Thread starter allaboutfish
- Start date
The short answer, only if you want it to work.
The somewhat longer answer, it's dependent on what kind of plants you're growing and their individual Co2 needs. Really, this has more to do with how much you dose in the first place, not how frequently. You will always need to replace it after water changes.
Remember that over time, the excel wears off and needs to be replenished. Also, when you change 50% of the water, you're also removing 50% of the Excel that's still in the water. The goal is to keep the excel as close to a stable constant level at all times.
Advice:
If you're dosing a 55g, save yourself a ton of money and get your Excel online in 2 liter bottles.
Or better yet, get a Co2 canister, and pay even less than the price of Excel for each refill, and less often!
The somewhat longer answer, it's dependent on what kind of plants you're growing and their individual Co2 needs. Really, this has more to do with how much you dose in the first place, not how frequently. You will always need to replace it after water changes.
Remember that over time, the excel wears off and needs to be replenished. Also, when you change 50% of the water, you're also removing 50% of the Excel that's still in the water. The goal is to keep the excel as close to a stable constant level at all times.
Advice:
If you're dosing a 55g, save yourself a ton of money and get your Excel online in 2 liter bottles.
Or better yet, get a Co2 canister, and pay even less than the price of Excel for each refill, and less often!
Excel is gone in 24 hours, so if you wish to keep using a liquid carbon source you'll want to purchase in larger quantities or switch to a more generic glutaraldehyde source. There are two medical supply house sanitizing solutions that are essentially the same base chemical as Excel. Metracide and Cidex. I currently pay under $15.00 for 4.7 L of Cidex. Here is a calculator for diluting the cleaning products properly. http://glut.petalphile.com/
For a 55g tank, presurized CO2 is THE way to go, though.
For a 55g tank, presurized CO2 is THE way to go, though.
i just bought 3 more bottles of the excel to get me to 50 dollars and free shipping on dr foster and smith.
I have had good results using it every day, but I do not do the large dose after a WC. I don't see the point in that. If it is gone in 24h, then you should be dosing the huge dose every 24h, so I've never followed the logic on their bottles about the need/timing for what seems like a superdose. I dose in the morning when I turn my lights on, so the highest concentrations are available to the plants right when they begin photosynthesizing that day. If I do a wc later that day, I don't sweat it, because I just add it back in the next morning.
Second reason I don't want to do the megadose...You probably saw my other post on this but I do worry that too much of this chemical could be rough on the fish, not life threatening but definitely irritating. I am serious, if you pick up any bottle of OTC chemical wart remover you will recognize the excel smell instantly - this aldehyde, like most, is corrosive and burns skin so well that is one of its medical uses. Obviously I still use it in my tank and am happy with what it does, but I'm cognizant that I am essentially pouring a strong chemical directly into the nice clean water my fish breathe. And therefore am not excited about pouring 5X the normal amount in on a semi-regular basis when it doesn't make clear sense to me why you would anyway, given that what you want is to keep a stable amount in the water column.
If I was dosing to kill algae, I probably would go up to the megadose amount pipetted directly onto the algae I was trying to kill.
Second reason I don't want to do the megadose...You probably saw my other post on this but I do worry that too much of this chemical could be rough on the fish, not life threatening but definitely irritating. I am serious, if you pick up any bottle of OTC chemical wart remover you will recognize the excel smell instantly - this aldehyde, like most, is corrosive and burns skin so well that is one of its medical uses. Obviously I still use it in my tank and am happy with what it does, but I'm cognizant that I am essentially pouring a strong chemical directly into the nice clean water my fish breathe. And therefore am not excited about pouring 5X the normal amount in on a semi-regular basis when it doesn't make clear sense to me why you would anyway, given that what you want is to keep a stable amount in the water column.
If I was dosing to kill algae, I probably would go up to the megadose amount pipetted directly onto the algae I was trying to kill.
Why would you do 50% water changes? That's a huge waste of water unless you're only doing it once a month.
Clean fresh water is the best additive you can use for the health of your fish.
Biological filters remove a lot, but hormones and minerals can build over time.
