Flourish excel????

[Kellie]

Someone suggested flourish excel, but my LFS only had flourish. Do I have the right stuff?? And it doesn't say on it if it will hutr my fish or not. I assume it won't, but wanted to make sure.


My tank is a 46 gal tank with about 6 live plants in it and a black algae problem that won't go away unless I manually take out the algae.

Thanks!

 

[bigredspecial]

Flouish excel is a source of carbon... as far as I know, there are no similar products from competitors, just straight fertilizer similar to normal flourish.

So, what I'm saying, is that if you want it to stunt your black algae, you need to find excel.

Edit: I misread the question; no, flourish is not the same as excel. Also, as Salty will say below( ), it will do nothing for bba.

 

[Salty Fishes]

Do you have black beard algae? (BBA) If so, Flourish will do nothing for it. BBA is usually caused when there is too little carbon available for your plants, so the algae outcompetes the plants. Flourish excel helps because it is a liquid carbon supplement, and actually, has also been shown to have some anti-algae effects. Flourish is just a micronutrient supplement, and, may actually cause you more algae problems at this point. Neither Flourish nor Flourish excel will harm your fish.

If you cannot find Flourish excel, your best bet might be to set up a DIY CO2 system. There's a sticky about this in the Aquatic Plant section that should help you out.

 

[Avalon]

You do not have the right product, but you may have something of use.

"Flourish" is a line of products Seachem produces. There are many specific products within that line, such as Excel, Nitrogen, Potassium, Phosphate, Trace, etc.

Flourish alone is considered their primary product, or a comprehensive fertilizer. While they say it's comprehensive, all of their products are designed to be used in tandem with one another. However many folks derive the most benefit of Iron and Excel separately. If you use Flourish (the main fert), you'll also need to use Iron as well if you want it to actually be comprehensive--as a trace fertilizer.

It's kind of tricky to understand if you don't really understand plant fertilizers. Every company has a gimmick. You might be able to get a better idea if you visit their website: www.seachem.com

 

[Big Vine]

So in other words, Avalon, you'd need to use a whole bunch of different "Flourish" products together?

And if I'm using the Flourish "comprehensive" aquarium plant fertilizer (which I am), then I need to add a bunch of other Flourish products to the mix?

Is that necessary? Is using the comprehensive ferts alone a waste? Or should I just add nothing to the tank?

Just when I thought this couldn't get any more confusing.

Big Vine

 

[Avalon]

That's the way Seachem designed it, but we all know that's not the truth. The one thing that is required is that when using Flourish, you should use Flourish Iron, particularly if you are using CO2. This is why I prefer Tropica's Master Grow. However, under very high light and CO2 injection, you'll need additional iron anyway.

When dealing with macros, you only need N, P, & K in any way you can get them. Seachem's Nitrogen is a combination of 2 forms (developed from Diana Walstad's research), but since this product has been released, more truths have been known to be! KNO3 is still the N form of choice. P is P. And K is K.

Trace nutrients are tricky just because there are several different chelators, or binding agents. While all claim to work wonders, there are different ferts for different waters and applications.

Truth about the Flourish is that the comp. fert lacks iron! That's why they make an additional Iron supplement. Why? Iron only lasts so long in the water. With the chelating ingredient Seachem uses and the sheer amount of iron in it (or lack of), additional iron is required. Specifically, Flourish does not have much iron in it, which is not good for faster growing tanks.

 

[Big Vine]

Thanks for your insights Avalon. Unfortunately my total 'ineptitude' when it comes to dealing with live plants means that I hardly comprehend this stuff. (And yes, I've read the stickies in the plant section...maybe I need to read them again another 10 times or so).

Given my 2.25 watts per gallon lighting and my relatively "low-light" plants (anubias barteri, java fern, hornwort, banana plants...and possibly anacharis and green hygro., down the road), I guess I'll just stick to adding the Flourish "comprehensive" ferts once a week, and that's it.

I'm not using CO2, and I don't wanna rush out and buy a bunch of stuff (that I may or may not need ).
Sound reasonable?

Big Vine

P.S. By the way...sorry if I've hijacked your thread, Kellie.

 

[Avalon]

Sounds like a fine plan. As you mentioned, I would get some faster growing plants. Anubias will only become the subject of algae (I noticed in your other thread). Anubias and many crypts are only for established and balanced tanks. Stem plants are there for a reason! Not only do they look good when kept pruned, they grow really quickly, keeping algae at bay!

 

[Big Vine]

Okay, thanks Avalon. I've heard that anacharis can grow pretty quickly...especially when left floating on the surface. Is that true?

If so, getting a bunch or two should help to consume up those nutrients that the algae currently seems to be feeding off of, right?
(plus I could later plant it in the gravel nice and thick, which the DPs would like )

Big Vine

 

[Avalon]

While anacharis is a solid plant, it's not the best in terms of 'scaping quality. I find green hygro a good plant, along with wisteria. Wisteria, aka Hygrophila difformis, is like water sprite but better--not as annoyingly invasive, but good looking and useful.

I've got Egeria najas, another species of Egeria, but not as invasive. Problem is, najas wants to grow all kinds of out of control. Egeria sp. are the type of plant that lacks elegance. But the Hygro. polysperma is a nice plant when kept at bay. It can look really good when used in different ways. Just experiment with plants. It's hard to tell you about them. Just "do it" and find out for yourself!

 

[Big Vine]

Thanks Avalon.

It's hard to tell you about them. Just "do it" and find out for yourself!

Yeah, definitely lots of trial & error involved here.
I still wanna get some anacharis, just because I think I might actually be able to get it to grow. I'll post pics and updates in my "Big Vine's 6.6 Gallon Long" thread in the Rate My Tank section tomorrow, after I get some algae cleaned up and put some anacharis in there.

Big Vine