# seachem flourish excel & C02 question



## attackonthebass (Aug 3, 2013)

Just purchased some Seachem Excel and I'm curious what peoples experiences have been with this product?

I know the guy at my LFS said that he doesn't use any Co2, he just uses Seachem's Flourish, and Flourish Excel along with 10 K lights.

I'm currently using a DIY Co2 system, with two 30" 18 watt bulbs one 6700K & one colormax bulb in my Aquaeon T5 light.

I've read some stories on Amazon of people overdosing their fish, I'm guessing if I read the bottle and don't use too much I should be ok I'm just curious if anyone has had any bad experiences with this product in conjunction with Co2

Also, I realize that Flourish and Flourish Excel are two different products but I'm curious if people prefer one more than the other?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

The excell is a "carbon source" and is exceptable to be used with co2.Carbon sources are a little diferent than ferts(flourish) or at least a different fert than most others.I guess fert is a relative term.As with all ferts or supplements I would follow directions unless testing and experimenting over time has given you experience to know otherwise.


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## attackonthebass (Aug 3, 2013)

So if you had to use only ONE, would you prefer the Excel or just the regular Flourish?

After reading the description between the two, it seems like they're totally different items entirely.

Oh well, I'll test it out and see if the plants chance in any way. Some people were raving about it but I guess it depends on what type of plants you have + lighiting and water conditions.

Like you mentioned Excel is a carbon, where as the Flourish is a combo of a bunch of different items 

I really don't like the idea of adding a bunch of ferts or any chemicals into my tank just so my plants can grow faster ( while risking the health of my fish )

I'm just looking for a little boost for my plants, some of the leaves have started to turn brown and look a little ragged. I purchased a T5 lighting system and thought the plants would blow up but I really haven't noticed much change in their growth.

I'm awaiting my testing kit so that I can make sure my water is good to go before I start adding chemicals into the tank.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Excel is not a fert and doesn't contain some of the micro/macro nutrients that Flourish has. You can't just use Excel and think that you are fertilizing your tank - not true.

People dose ferts heavily into their tanks without risking anything with their fish. Most have a pretty healthy water change schedule to go along with it to remedy the build up of nutrients in the tank. All has to be done with some semblance of balance.

New plants in your tank can take weeks to show improvements but much less than that to go the other way. Also it is common for old leaves to turn a little color. The big thing is how are the new leaves coming in, that is the important part.


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## jccaclimber2 (May 6, 2012)

Short answer, use the regular Fluorish (Fluorish Comprehensive).
IME the first thing unfertilized tanks run short on is micronutrients (trace). The next thing you run short on may be carbon (I'm going to say CO2 to keep this simple) or one of the macros.
CO2 shortages can be hard to diagnose outside of high light tanks as they manifest many syptoms.
The Fluorish comp. will give you a bit of a boost for lower lighting systems. The Excel is a (sort of) carbon (CO2) source. However, by the time you have enough light that CO2 is your limiter you should already be adding macro (N-P-K) and micro (trace) ferts. So, there aren't many situations in which Excel as the only additive is beneficial. If you have a particularly rich substrate, heavy stocking and feeding, or something like that you might be able to come across one of these situations, but I'm going to ignore that for now.

I have dosed up to 4x the start dose for Excel into my tank without harming the fish. The cryts and vals nearly died, but everything else was quite happy.

I have NO3 levels in the 40 PPM range, phosphate > 5 PPM when last measured (not this year), and plenty of iron and other trace. The rummy noses look great, the cardinal tetras look great, and the angels spawn whenever I up the food and cut the CO2 back a bit.


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