http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/FlourishExcel.html
is a direct competitor to this...
http://brightwellaquatics.com/products/florinaxis.php
in other words; a carbon source.
the difference between excel/glute and many other products, it seems is the excel/glute can also double as stats or cides. biostat, algaecide, etc. when used as a spot or pre-treatment just like h2o2 (hydrogen peroxide).
if you look here, you'll see florin multi is your average "cover your bases" or micro mix containing potassium and iron...
http://brightwellaquatics.com/products/florinmultit.php
typically the recipe for success is N, P, K, micros, iron, sufficient gh, a ph that's under control and probably most importantly enough carbon to get you through your growth.
what you're putting in there with those 2 products is micros, iron, k and carbon.
for N you can just use stump remover (kno3/potassium nitrate). grant's or spectricide stump remover will do the trick. check your local hardware and gardening centers. a little will go a long way because it's in powder form. if you want liquid there's recipes in the stickies at the top of this section.
for P you can just go to any pharmacy and pick up fleet enema. it contains monobasic and dibasic phosphate.
gh can be helped along with epsom salts (magnesium sulphate heptahydrate) or one of many gh boosters if necessary.
then there's the idea of going completely dry goods, and not wanting to be purchasing salt peter and enemas all the time. in that case, there's plenty of places willing to provide the service. i like
www.bobstropicalplants.com and
www.aquariumplants.com. i would suggest an npk+micro package from bob... maybe some root tabs from him too... or make some from the sticky... or fertcicles... dunno if you'll have any heavy root feeders though.
a good schedule often consists of micros and macros 3X's weekly and alternating (with iron on micro days), gh mixed into w/c water on w/c day and carbon daily.
the reason i'm giving you all this is so that you can look at it and decide what's best for you. you don't necessarily have to use one product or the other. that's usually a matter of choice and folks have had good success with many different recipes. some people don't need one or the other... or any special attention at all. however... for a carpet of HC, you're probably going to want your ducks in a row and a "well rounded diet" so to say. also keep in mind that light is as much of the equation, if not your first thing to really nail down... the deciding factor for the uptake of everything else, etc..
with diy co2, i really don't think you'll
need liquid co2, so a excel or glute would probably suit you best as an algaecide to combat the effects of co2 swing and the related algaes, etc..
lastly... check aquabid and fish/plant related sites, try to get to a local fish club and check out their swap meets, make use of the vendors we have hear and ask for recommendations on where to get something if you don't know a good place for sure. "plant on rock" can get expensive fast... and you're probably not doing yourself any good dealing with a lfs if that's where your getting your HC.
