# What dose well and what dies with Excel?



## snickle (Apr 8, 2007)

Thought I would start a list,maybe when done, it can be compiled into a sticky.

So what does well, what dies and what does not show a change with prescribed dosing of Flourish Excel?

This list is just a beginning based on my personal observations. No scientific logic applied, no real testing either.

Does Well:

Bacopa
Hygrophylia
Ludwigia
Rotala

Dies:

Riccia
Black Beard Algae (Yeah)

Does not seem to care one way or another:

Java Fern
Java Moss

Any additions?


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## orlando (Feb 14, 2007)

Dies: Valls


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## crispo069 (Mar 13, 2007)

I have riccia and I also have vals (nana and jungle)......dosing Excel as recommended on the bottle and everything is growing just fine.


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## evercl92 (Aug 14, 2006)

Doesn't do well initially:

anacharis
vals
crypts


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

Anacharis, vals, crypts, riccia, fissidens (sometimes pulls through though).


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Does well: HC, B. japonica, C. wendtii, Saggitaria, Anubias - had all these in a 10 once upon a time, which had daily Excel as a carbon source. 

I've also heard (never tried this myself) that if you dose Excel on a tank with L. aromatica, it will bring out the reds on the aromatica.


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## Sushi Monster (Jun 10, 2007)

> Anacharis, vals, crypts, riccia, fissidens


What happens to these plants with Excel?


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## crispo069 (Mar 13, 2007)

They melt away...not like a candle but they kinda dissapear. The leaves will turn "clear" and they will begin to deteriorate and crumble to a mucky mess....ummmm, this happened once to a friend of mine......:lie: 8-[


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## Homer_Simpson (Apr 2, 2007)

My Experience and Observations Only!

Does Well:
Hygrophilia Corymbosa Compacta
Ambulia
Banana Plant
aponogenton(sorry don't know what types as these sprouted from Wal-Mart bulbs)

Dies:
Anacharis(Elodea Densa)
was doing excellent until I started dosing with excel. Then the leaves practically melted and it never recovered. But it could also be temperature related. As the Elodea also did the same thing in my 20 gallon tank where I don't dose with excel at all. I heard these to better in cold water tanks with goldfish. 

Java Moss: 
it was also doing well but as soon as I started dosing excel, many java moss strings turned brown. It has not totally died but no longer seems to grow as well(no longer producing new lush green strings) as it did before I started dosing excel. 

Ones that don't seem to care one way or another:
Java fern(difficult to say as it produces leaves so slowly) but I have not noticed a dramatic upshoot of growth since dosing with excel. It seems to be growing at the same slow rate.
Anubias(same as java fern)


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## crispo069 (Mar 13, 2007)

I can vouch for the Anachris...they were totally taking over a nice sized corner of my tank in the beginning. I was dosing Excel every four or five days (due to bad advice from LFS). When I started on a more consistent routine, they totally melted away within a week of daily dosing. I agree with the "does well" listing above: Anubias, Java Fern, and I can add Flame moss, Rotala & Ludwigia (but I dont know the sp. as I bought them from someone that wasnt sure). I can also add Lobelia Cardinalis.


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

I have similar experiences to those listed.

really, really tough on Valisneria. Elodea died off as well, but it took longer.

My sagittaria subulata doesn't do all that well in tanks with this either.


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

I have dosed Excel according to the label, including the larger dose on a water change, with anacharis, valis, and crypts, and never noticed even the slightest bit of distress.

It seems to be a common practice for people to vastly overdose it for some reason. Usually when there's a thread and someone's having a problem, when asked how much they dose, it turns out they are WAY overdosing it.

Follow the label and you'll be fine.

*- 1 mL per 10 gallons
- 5 mL per 10 gallons only on a 40% or greater water change*


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## crispo069 (Mar 13, 2007)

I used the dosing calculator to figure out my amounts and use a syringe to measure...I'm sure that I wasnt overdosing....my anachris still melted to mud. And it only happened once I went to daily Excel.


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

I wouldn't rely on a calculator, I'd rely on the label! 

If you have a 55 gallon tank for example, 1 mL per 10 gallons is 5.5 mL. Easy!


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## crispo069 (Mar 13, 2007)

the calculator takes the size of your tank and figures the proper dosage as per bottle instructions. So the calculator would have figured out the same number you gave, only it does this for all the ferts at once...all I had to do was plug in my tank size....EASIER!


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## Minsc (May 7, 2006)

The only time I've seen Excel negatively affect a plant was with a spot treatment. Pouring Excel directly on moss will kill back some areas... and absolutely destroy algae!

Dosing a tank at 1-2 ml per 10 gallon has never affected so called sensitive plants for me. Vals, crypts, mosses are all fine. I never go beyond the 2ml per 10 though, not even after a water change.

All in all, adding a consistent amount of Excel daily seems to help plants much more than inconsistent CO2, a la DIY soda bottle style.


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## Sushi Monster (Jun 10, 2007)

crispo069 said:


> They melt away...not like a candle but they kinda dissapear. The leaves will turn "clear" and they will begin to deteriorate and crumble to a mucky mess....ummmm, this happened once to a friend of mine......:lie: 8-[


:rofl: A friend huh?

Im thinking that Excel is not the way to go. $9 for a bottle OR $15 for a DIY CO2


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## dapellegrini (Jan 18, 2007)

I recently OD'd Excel in my 3-gallon nano (3-5ml per day for 1 week) to eradicate an algae break-out. -- And it worked wonders!!! -- Hair Algae, Staghorn and BBA all dead.

My HC and HM both suffered considerably, while my Riccia, Dwarf Riccia, Hair Grass, Java Fern, Java Moss, Blyxa J., Ranunculus and Fissden show no signs of distress.


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## jeff5614 (Feb 15, 2006)

Well, I'm toss in cabomba as one that doesn't do well. It has always done well for me up until the last month or so. Then it just started turning mushy and falling apart. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out why. Do I need to replace my bulbs? Is my CO2 off? Today it hit me. I had started adding excel at twice the normal amount a few weeks ago to see if it would help get rid of some GSA. So I'm going to stop the excel and see if the cabomba inproves.


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## dapellegrini (Jan 18, 2007)

Excel won't help with GSA. Works wonders with BBA and Staghorn though....


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## jeff5614 (Feb 15, 2006)

dapellegrini said:


> Excel won't help with GSA. Works wonders with BBA and Staghorn though....


lol, yeah I've figured that out.


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## dapellegrini (Jan 18, 2007)

IME you often have to live with some amount of GSA in a high-tech tank. You can minimize it by keeping your Phosphate up and your lighting cycle to a minimum...


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## Homer_Simpson (Apr 2, 2007)

Salt said:


> I wouldn't rely on a calculator, I'd rely on the label!
> 
> If you have a 55 gallon tank for example, 1 mL per 10 gallons is 5.5 mL. Easy!


I was dosing approximately 5.7 ml using a syringe to measure in my 59 gallon tank. As per Seachem's onsite Frequently asked questions about how to dose in a tank with Elodea, I followed their recommendation of dosing every 2nd day. The Elodea still went from a thriving lush green to a pathetic dull colored light brown a week after dosing Excel. Then the plant literally fell apart at the seams. The plant stop forming new roots, sections of the stem began turning brown, and the plant would break apart at those sections and the leaves literally melted and I could see bits and pieces of leaves floating throughout the tank.


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## crispo069 (Mar 13, 2007)

Its kinda like russian roulette.....But I still say that I'd rather dose than not and replace what ever does not do well with plants that will. I'm not at that Co2 level yet so Excel is my only option right now.

Sushi: Excel is more controllable....where DIY Co2, unless closely monitored, is not consistent and can lead to more problems. On top of that, if you have a larger tank, DIY just would not provide enough to begin with. I'd opt for the 2 liter bottle. Its a better deal. Drsfostersmith has it reasonably priced..but buy some other stuff too to offset the shipping.


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

Sushi Monster said:


> :rofl: A friend huh?
> 
> Im thinking that Excel is not the way to go. $9 for a bottle OR $15 for a DIY CO2


Excel is cheaper by the liter!

Also long term, CO2 is cheaper by the tank. (Very long term that is  )


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