# Excel Shipping Problem



## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I have been trying to buy a bottle of Excel to experiment with, but it appears that it is now illegal to ship it to California. Even the fish stores here can't deliver it when I order from their websites, nor can Amazon or Ebay. So, I sent a question to a website that sells Metricide 14 to see if it could be shipped to California. Their answer was yes, it can be shipped here. Does anyone know what this is about???


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

After 65 people have read this, still no answer. Last night I sent a question to Seachem on their website, asking why this is happening, and why stores can get a supply of Excel to sell in their stores, if it can't be shipped here. They acknowledged receiving the question. If I get an answer I will post it here.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

I did some looking into glutaraldehyde excels main chemical. Both calosha and calepa have listings for it, but nothing about an inport or use ban. The department of agricultural may have some restrictions, but i can not see them being able to stop importation when you can get it by the truck load from dow chemical.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

The situation is so ridiculous that I can go to a pet store and buy it there, but if I try to use their "free delivery" advertised on their website, they say they cannot deliver it to my address. This was repeated with Amazon and Ebay. But, those stores have to have had it delivered to them, so something isn't working right. I know there are an increasing number of hobbyists who are convinced that Excel is extremely bad, but that should not make it hard to get.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

You probably need a some vendor license to receive the stuff via mail.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

Maybe it needs to ship to a business.


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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

You think it's a CA only issue, I guess. I just ordered some for TX, will see what happens.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I have no idea why the shipping isn't allowed, let alone what areas the problem exists in. Let us know how your order worked out.


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## lang510 (Sep 18, 2016)

So strange that you are having so much trouble ordering Excel. In Illinois, we have no problems in ordering from anywhere.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Today I visited a couple of local pet stores which advertised Excel in various size bottles, and neither one had Excel, nor much of any Seachem products. I asked a clerk why no Excel was there and he had no idea what it was. Since then I found a year old question to Amazon about why they wouldn't ship it to California - no answer. Some more googling just made the point that discarding glutaraldehyde products is very difficult, since it must be neutralized before discarding - and that includes metricide 14 day too. It looks like those products may be discontinued soon.


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## ukamikazu (Jun 4, 2010)

Hoppy, have you thought about ordering gluteraldehyde from a medical or nursing supply store? It's way cheaper than paying Seachem's prices and maybe the restrictions aren't so onerous. This is true for me in Texas though.

I've ordered Cidex brand (made by Johnson & Johnson) from Vitality Medical without a problem. 1 gallon for $36.55 plus tax & shipping ain't bad. See https://www.vitalitymedical.com/cidex.html

Aquarium Co-Op also sells it as Easy Carbon for $10 for a half liter. Plus, they aren't in California and have a sterling reputation. See https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/easy-carbon.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I'm at the age when chunks of knowledge fly away every week or so! Today while researching Excel I rediscovered API CO2 Booster, virtually the same as Excel. I didn't find any sign of restrictions on delivering it to California, so I ordered a bottle from Amazon. So far they haven't cancelled the order. I used to use Metricide 14, but the problem with a gallon of that stuff is that you have to keep it in a safe place forever - it is hard to use up that much in less than years. And, disposing the remaining stuff is a real problem. That's why I only want 250-500 ml bottles.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

Oh! I have a used bottle I'm not using. I won't use glut again. I would give it to you for free but shipping an opened bottle would be a nightmare though.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

mistergreen said:


> Oh! I have a used bottle I'm not using. I won't use glut again. I would give it to you for free but shipping an opened bottle would be a nightmare though.


Thank you for the thought! Amazon promises that I will have it sometime on Monday. It still seems weird that this can be shipped but Excel cannot be shipped.


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## tiger15 (Apr 9, 2017)

I have been using the Metricide 14, which I can use up a gallon a year as I have big tanks. It comes with a activator that should be discarded for aquarium use. The activator is sodium nitrite and adding it will kill fish.

I am wondering why the activator is needed for its original intent use as adding it will shorten the shelf life to 14 days whereas the original content without additive has 2 year shelf life.


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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

My Excel order arrived from Amazon, to TX. No issue there...


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## DonkeyFish (Nov 25, 2008)

I didn’t see this sooner, but know the answer 🙂

There were changes to regulations in CA and as a result Seachem had to re-register Excel to be compliant, which takes time. Basically they need to re-label bottles sold in CA, once the paperwork goes through and the new labels approved they’ll be able to ship to CA again. That’s why some stores may still have it on their shelves (they *shouldn’t*), but haven’t been seeing them in shipments. I imagine the other “liquid CO2” products may be also caught up in this shortly, it all depends on how the labels read. Good ol’ CA legislation for ya!


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## tiger15 (Apr 9, 2017)

Is it re register as a herbicide Seachem has been trying to avoid. There is a lot more compliance and warnings requirements if it is registered as so, including the cap that is not in compliance.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

DonkeyFish said:


> I didn't see this sooner, but know the answer &#128578;
> 
> There were changes to regulations in CA and as a result Seachem had to re-register Excel to be compliant, which takes time. Basically they need to re-label bottles sold in CA, once the paperwork goes through and the new labels approved they'll be able to ship to CA again. That's why some stores may still have it on their shelves (they *shouldn't*), but haven't been seeing them in shipments. I imagine the other "liquid CO2" products may be also caught up in this shortly, it all depends on how the labels read. Good ol' CA legislation for ya!


This makes the most sense of anything I have thought about. I'm supposed to get my API CO2 Booster on Monday, from Amazon. I will be studying it's label, etc. for things not on the Excel label. Incidentally, the local store shelves have very few Seachem products now, so it could be a labeling problem on all of their products.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Interesting! I have purchased some Seachem products from various sources that had new labels pasted over portions of the original labels. Makes sense now.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

DonkeyFish said:


> I didn't see this sooner, but know the answer &#128578;
> 
> There were changes to regulations in CA and as a result Seachem had to re-register Excel to be compliant, which takes time. Basically they need to re-label bottles sold in CA, once the paperwork goes through and the new labels approved they'll be able to ship to CA again. That's why some stores may still have it on their shelves (they *shouldn't*), but haven't been seeing them in shipments. I imagine the other "liquid CO2" products may be also caught up in this shortly, it all depends on how the labels read. Good ol' CA legislation for ya!


this would make sense since both ca epa and calosha have it listed. ca department of ag website is so bad its hard to find any info.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

The API CO2 Booster arrived from Amazon today. I read the label and compared it to the label on Excel: The API label has a longer, more detailed warning paragraph, and the warning seems more serious. I suspect this is why Excel isn't delivered in this state now. But, the API product is virtually the same as Excel, so I'm happy.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Thanks, Hoppy. Was there a cost difference between Excel and CO2 Booster?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Michael said:


> Thanks, Hoppy. Was there a cost difference between Excel and CO2 Booster?


The price is about the same for both - both are expensive compared to Metrocide 14. But, Metricide 14 isn't sold in less than gallon jugs.


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