# High light and Excel



## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

I'm curious to here what the most light people have successfully grown plants (typical stems, etc.) under without using co2 just excel. I'm looking for long-term success without major issues.


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## puttyman70 (Aug 7, 2007)

I was growing bacopa caroliniana, anubias var. nana, and anubias barteri var. barteri, and petite nana in a low light aquarium(less than 1 watt per gallon) while dosing excel, flourish and flourish iron per instructions and everything was fine. Not much growth but no algae.

I changed my light as a first step toward a real planted tank. I ended up with 4 w/gallon (coralife w/2 65w 6500k bulbs on 11 hours a day) and I got black algae and BBA pretty quickly. I have cut the light, flourish and flourish iron back until I can get my co2 hooked up but the algae is still going strong. The bacopa is also growing like crazy. My lighting is now 65w on 10 hours a day with 130w for a 3 hour midday burst.

29 gal. 
gravel substrate w/ flourish tabs
marineland biowheel filter(waiting until I can get a eheim canister filter to add the co2 through an in line reactor)
2 angelfish
3 corys
3 swordtails
1 goldnugget pleco

pH 6.8
dKH 2
dGH 4


BTW what is the scientific name for petite nana?


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## ed seeley (Dec 1, 2006)

_Anubias barteri _var. _nana _'Petite'

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...details.php?id=52&category=genus&spec=Anubias


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## The Bamboozler (May 15, 2007)

I started my 15 gallon tank with 30 watts of normal flourescent and everything was fine. A few months ago I decided I wanted to get a little more technical, so I bought a 55 watt CF light, hooked up a DIY CO2, and started dosing flourish. I quit the DIY CO2 after a week because it was an ugly pain in the butt. Instead, I began dosing Excel. Things have been downhill ever since and I've struggled with Green Hair Algae and Green Water, despite regular water changes, using chemical filtration, and reducing the hours of lighting. I've decided I want a simple low-light tank, so I changed almost all of my water and went back to the lower lighting. The tank is doing much better.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Excel is not as good as pressurized CO2. I would never consider trying a large tank with over 1.5 watts per gallon with just Excel for a carbon source. In my opinion and my limited experience Excel is best as an occasional algaecide when needed or as the only source of carbon for a low light tank.


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## Homer_Simpson (Apr 2, 2007)

I set up two 10 gallon tanks with similiar plants and plant density. Both have 30 watts lighting. One has DIY C02 injection, daily dosing of fluorish excel, 50% weekly water changes, and pps-pro fertilization, a bunch of unwelcomed snails that have overtaken the tank, and one oto. The other tank has no c02 injection, no fluorish excel dosing, and is overstocked with fish. The one with the C02 injection and excel developed a bad case of "brown dust algae," that is only now beginning to subside slowly since I put in some barley straw. However, it continues to have repeated bouts of blue green algae. The other one had one minor break out of blue green algae which was quickly contained and some green spot algae but only on a few plant leaves and not the glass. The glass remains crystal clear.

Overall, algae appears less of a problem and plant growth appears much healthier in the *non co2, non excel tank* - Go Figure


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Thanks for all the shared experiences. I'm not surprised by the response for the most part. I tend to agree with what Hobbycalif said. I mean the excel works nicely in my 5g nano with 18watts of light and grows plants like riccia, rotala nicely, but slowly and without many problems. But in a 12g tank I just throw together a few months ago and stuffed it with plants. The tank has 55watts cf and EI dosing with excel, but there seems to be something lacking in the plants so it appears the lack of co2 is the limiting factor. Although there are no algae issue yet, the plants just don't grow that well.


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

Homer_Simpson said:


> ...
> 
> Overall, algae appears less of a problem and plant growth appears much healthier in the *non co2, non excel tank *- Go Figure


Results possibly tainted by overfeeding? Snail booms are a good indication that too much food is going in - too much food can also encourage algae booms.

I have just started using Excel in my new, improved 5g RCS tank (sponge filter driven w/ air pump, so not much point in trying DIY). I'm hoping that it will keep the clado under control. I've also started supplementing the DIY in my 5g minibow w/ Excel in hopes of controllinig the same algae in there.


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## StevenLeeds (Jul 21, 2007)

I can tell you from experience. If you are just dosing the Flourish Comprehensive without the other Macros you will grow algae in a blackout. I don't know what it is about that stuff but when I tried to use it alone as a "plant food" it really did seem to grow algae at night...

I tried all kinds of lighting and lighting levels this that and the other stuff. I didn't have much luck until I began following a regular dosing schedule using all of the Flourish products. I was skeptical at first but both tanks cleared up and the plants grow like mad.

Excel, Iron, Comprehensive, Nitrogen, Potassium, Phosphorous and Trace.

Someone gave me an excel spreadsheet to adjust for the tank sizes. I started a little on the low side and adjusted from there. The two 2.5 gallon tanks get a bout 3 hours of sunlight a day in addition to 12 hours 13w 6500K CFL and there is no algae to speak of in either of the tanks.

The 5.5 gallon in the garage gets 52 watts of CFL for 12 hours - one 26w 6500K and one 26w 3500K and really no algae to speak of.

I have nothing but good things to say about Seachems flourish products. For small tanks they really are in my opinion the best thing going.

Cheers,
Steven


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