For some reason TTA I thought you were an Excel hater...I add it after most water changes to a couple tanks, it seems to help with chronic algae issues in 1 of them anyway.
New to planted tanks — substrate suggestions/opinions?
- Thread starter apenhow
- Start date
I have an online friend from Canada with whom I have been disagreeing with on Excel for years. He calls it poison and refuses to use it. He is an experienced fish keeper and does plants as well. I mostly respect his opinions, except re Excel. I did a lot of investigating before I began using it. I never over dose it, in fact I am closer to being an under doser. I do not use it to kill algae either.
I have never seen an adverse reaction from any fish, inverts or the plants I keep. However, I am aware of for what gluteraldahide is primarily used and how toxic it can be in stronger concentrations than in Excel. I believe Excel is a form of gluteraldahide and is not quite identical to what is used to sterilize surgical instruments or to kill spores etc. etc.
Each individual in the hobby with plants has to decide for themselves whether or not to use this product. I would make one observation. As far as I can determine Excel has been available at least since 2001. It is certainly used by a large number of hobbyists who jeep plants. I have to assume that if Excelwas a dangerous product, if it harmed fish, inverts or a number of plants this would have been [lastered all over fish sites and over the past 10 years, on social media. Yes, we can find afew negative articles or opinions, but you can find these about even the most benign things. For my part, about 18 years of using this product have convinced me it is safe. I have a few clown loaches who have lived with Excel in their water for the whole 18 years I have used it.
I have never seen an adverse reaction from any fish, inverts or the plants I keep. However, I am aware of for what gluteraldahide is primarily used and how toxic it can be in stronger concentrations than in Excel. I believe Excel is a form of gluteraldahide and is not quite identical to what is used to sterilize surgical instruments or to kill spores etc. etc.
Each individual in the hobby with plants has to decide for themselves whether or not to use this product. I would make one observation. As far as I can determine Excel has been available at least since 2001. It is certainly used by a large number of hobbyists who jeep plants. I have to assume that if Excelwas a dangerous product, if it harmed fish, inverts or a number of plants this would have been [lastered all over fish sites and over the past 10 years, on social media. Yes, we can find afew negative articles or opinions, but you can find these about even the most benign things. For my part, about 18 years of using this product have convinced me it is safe. I have a few clown loaches who have lived with Excel in their water for the whole 18 years I have used it.
Sorry, TTA I wasn't casting aspersions on your Excel use. I think I complained about my BBA issue & high window's light in 1 tank for a long while now. I use our plant club's generic version of gluteraldahide but just at the lower dosing level & maybe not as often as I should. It has helped a lot but not cured the problem...I'm still working on it...
Whoops, it took me so long to respond to this! Do you have any recommendations for websites? I was checking out Buce Plants, but I don’t know how many crypt options they have. Hopefully I’ll be able to find something that works because I would love to incorporate one! If I find one it’ll be in honor of you, fishorama. ?
I definitely do want to keep things simple. Wow there is so much stuff to keep track of! I haven't made much progress with my decisions recently (as you can probably tell from my week long absence... whoops) but I'm hoping I'll be able to get all my options together soon. You'll have to keep a lookout for my final decision because I'm definitely going to want to confirm all of my options!
Well, I'm beyond honored, apenhow 
...You don't need to rush into any of this stuff. Take your time, winter is not the best time to get plants by mail in most places, even where I live. Try to decide what plants you'd like to try & find a site that has all or most of them...in the spring.
When you get your plant list narrowed down, let us know & we'll help some more, we love to help (or is it to confuse you even more?, lol). Most of us have opinions based on our experiences, yours will be different, in, hopefully, small ways...You'll get to a pretty tank but maybe not right away, be patient!
...You don't need to rush into any of this stuff. Take your time, winter is not the best time to get plants by mail in most places, even where I live. Try to decide what plants you'd like to try & find a site that has all or most of them...in the spring.When you get your plant list narrowed down, let us know & we'll help some more, we love to help (or is it to confuse you even more?, lol). Most of us have opinions based on our experiences, yours will be different, in, hopefully, small ways...You'll get to a pretty tank but maybe not right away, be patient!
Well, I'm beyond honored, apenhow
When you get your plant list narrowed down, let us know & we'll help some more, we love to help (or is it to confuse you even more?, lol). Most of us have opinions based on our experiences, yours will be different, in, hopefully, small ways...You'll get to a pretty tank but maybe not right away, be patient!
Sounds good. I'll try to narrow things down and report back. Thank you so much for all your help so far, I really appreciate it!!Hey all! I’ve been narrowing down and revising my plant list and here is what I’m thinking:
- Cryptocoryne Wendtii green
- Narrow leaf Java fern or Philippine Mini Java Fern?? (questionable ph for both)
- Lemon Bacopa
- Anubias Nana Petite
- Moss ball
- Java Fern moss?? (not sure if I want a moss)
How does that list sound so far? I don’t know if that is too few or too many plants. Nothing is set in stone yet, so if you have any more suggestions let me know!! I was trying to find a small sword plant to add to that mix but I’m worried about the ph conditions and size of most of them. I am thinking I’ll get the Fluval Plant and Shrimp Stratum and NilocG root tabs. Also, does anyone know if temperatures around 80 are okay for moss balls? I saw some sources that said no more than mid 70s and other sources that said 80s are fine.
Here are just some quick reminders about my tank conditions:
Nitrate: 0 (hard to tell for sure), Nitrite: 0 (hard to tell for sure), pH: 7.5-8, KH: 240, GH: 180. I have a 5 gallon Fluval Spec V tank with an LED light. I am hoping to get a betta fish when the time comes. My aquarium usually is usually around 78-80 degrees F (25-27 C) in the winter, but during the summer months it can get humid and hot so it’s more around 80-84 degrees F (27-29 C). I try my best to keep it at 78F most of the time.
I hope everyone had fantastic Christmas or holiday celebrations!
- Cryptocoryne Wendtii green
- Narrow leaf Java fern or Philippine Mini Java Fern?? (questionable ph for both)
- Lemon Bacopa
- Anubias Nana Petite
- Moss ball
- Java Fern moss?? (not sure if I want a moss)
How does that list sound so far? I don’t know if that is too few or too many plants. Nothing is set in stone yet, so if you have any more suggestions let me know!! I was trying to find a small sword plant to add to that mix but I’m worried about the ph conditions and size of most of them. I am thinking I’ll get the Fluval Plant and Shrimp Stratum and NilocG root tabs. Also, does anyone know if temperatures around 80 are okay for moss balls? I saw some sources that said no more than mid 70s and other sources that said 80s are fine.
Here are just some quick reminders about my tank conditions:
Nitrate: 0 (hard to tell for sure), Nitrite: 0 (hard to tell for sure), pH: 7.5-8, KH: 240, GH: 180. I have a 5 gallon Fluval Spec V tank with an LED light. I am hoping to get a betta fish when the time comes. My aquarium usually is usually around 78-80 degrees F (25-27 C) in the winter, but during the summer months it can get humid and hot so it’s more around 80-84 degrees F (27-29 C). I try my best to keep it at 78F most of the time.
I hope everyone had fantastic Christmas or holiday celebrations!
When I hard water & higher pH my java ferns grew very well. So much that I could give away half grocery bagful often. I think java narrow may be too tall for your tank, Philippine is nice.
I think I mentioned I don't like moss these days, especially the basic java moss. It grows everywhere & traps "stuff". If you want to try moss, Xmas moss or fissidens might be better.
I haven't had good luck with bacopa for long, I'm not sure why. I never tried moss balls. I think they can trap stuff (but not like java moss!), need to be rinsed in tank water, squeezed gently & turned to keep their shape & color even. Be careful not to buy a java moss ball!! I've seen them a lot the last few years, sometimes floating. The kind you want is really a type of cladophora algae, like green velvet, not stringy tangles.
Bettas actually like fairly warm water, yours should be fine.
Happy holidays to you too!
I think I mentioned I don't like moss these days, especially the basic java moss. It grows everywhere & traps "stuff". If you want to try moss, Xmas moss or fissidens might be better.
I haven't had good luck with bacopa for long, I'm not sure why. I never tried moss balls. I think they can trap stuff (but not like java moss!), need to be rinsed in tank water, squeezed gently & turned to keep their shape & color even. Be careful not to buy a java moss ball!! I've seen them a lot the last few years, sometimes floating. The kind you want is really a type of cladophora algae, like green velvet, not stringy tangles.
Bettas actually like fairly warm water, yours should be fine.
Happy holidays to you too!
moss balls are fine, just kind of uninteresting... and you need to remember that they are made of algae, not a plant. if you don't squeeze the air out of them, they can explode and cover a decent part of your aquarium with the algae.
I would avoid echinodorus swords in such a small tank, and use chain swords or something else.
Vals will like your hard water I expect, there are some that stay less than 6"
For Java fern, I would maybe think about needle leaf,
Crypt wendtii grern shold work fine, as will most crypts. I'd maybe look for more color though, flamingo or pink panther should work fine.
I would avoid echinodorus swords in such a small tank, and use chain swords or something else.
Vals will like your hard water I expect, there are some that stay less than 6"
For Java fern, I would maybe think about needle leaf,
Crypt wendtii grern shold work fine, as will most crypts. I'd maybe look for more color though, flamingo or pink panther should work fine.
