Excel as a treatment for BBA? Experiences?

[axl]

On my bottle is says 1 capful per 250ltr of water, what does your label say

[BSS]

I'll try to remember to check when I get home tonight. I thought the 'maintenance' dose was one capful (5ml) per 50gallons, which I believe is < 200 l.

[pipefish]

I tried the seachem excel on my 20g along with diy co2 and the first time i dosed at 4x and i did notice the BBA dying off but my ladder messed up again and i tried dosing at 4x again along with 25ppm of co2 but nothing happened. I've also heard that it works for some people but not others, i myself have seen it work and not work. What i would do is just pump up the co2 and try the usual way and if you want throw in some excel also. (sorry if this didn't help you but i just wanted to tell you my experience with the treatment)

[BSS]

I've had my CO2 elevated to ~50ppm for more than a couple of months now, and my algae wasn't really affected. Tonight, it seems like it's getting marginally better...and that's with nearly 3 weeks of elevated Excel treatments.

Oh, and my bottle of Excel states 5 ml per 200l (or 50g*) of tank volume. FWIW.

Brian.

[Quincymom]

Okay, I am confused,(what' new?). The bottle says initial use or > 40% water change to dose 5 ml/10 gallons. After that, dose 5 ml/50 gallons. Which doseage are you basing your 2X and 3X to control your algae?

[malkore]

Are the rest of your macronutrients good and balanced? (10:1 ~ 15:1 ratio of nitrate to phosphate)

If that's outta whack, no amount of Excel is going to magically fix your algae blooms. Its merely a piece of the puzzle.

[axl]

Hi,
yep my macrros are balanced my nitrate level is about 15 and my phosphate level is 1, the algea isnt to bad in the tank its just over the anubius and java moss and a few crypts, so i have trimmed all the affected leaves and have ordered some algea eater fish, so hopefully there hungry
cheers axl

[djlen]

Are you dosing it consistently. Just dosing at water change time is not going to do it.
I have found that if you are consistent and have patience the BBA will recede and eventually disappear. I use it in conjunction with CO2 injection and it's worked in a 10 gal. and in a 55 gal. at lower levels than recommended on the bottle.

Len

[axl]

Yeah im dosing everyday with 5 cap per day now

[platypus]

Greetings everyone!

There's no doubt in my mind that Flourish Excel works to control Beard Algae. I was at my wit's end until I tried the Excel treatment, and it's worked wonders. I still have some Beard Algae which refuses to die gracefully, but it's under control and actually seems to add to the beauty of the tank (since it's on the driftwood). Truth be told, I wish I could get rid of it all, but I'll take what I can get!

Now, my question is... I've been continuing to add a couple capfuls of Excel into my thirty gallon everyday, as a preventative measure. This has been going on for three or four months. I've got a couple of DIY CO2 bottles going at all times, and I do about 25% weekly water change. My plants are thriving.

Even with the water changes, I get this nagging feeling that certain chemicals are building up in my tank. Recently, my flagfish died for no apparent reason, and although his death could be for a million reasons, I wonder if it had something to do with my own liberal use of Excel. I've also lost three or four small tetras over the past few months, into that great void where small fish seem to disappear to. All of my tetras had been in my tanks for nearly a year without problems, so the timing was a little suspicious. Other fish are doing fine.

So... Is Flourish Excel "safe" to use for extended periods? Am I just asking for trouble? Do any of you continue to use it even after your algae problems have disappeared? I think it's a great product, regardless.

Thanks for your input!

[Rizos]

This is just the info I've been looking for! I was about to start to rip plants

One question: during the 10-12 day treatment period, do you continue with the "normal" water change schedule?

Thanks

[EricSilver]

Excel works great but, as has been said, once you stop using it the algae returns. I think the real cause of persistent algae is a too-heavy fish load.

In another thread I posted about how my water quality improved remarkably after the loss of two full-grown angels. When they were in the tank I was cleaning algae from the glass every two or three days, even with weekly 20% water changes. The angels have been gone for about two weeks, and I have not removed any algae since.

The only other fish I have are 4 cories, 2 otos, 6 rummy nose, and 3 black phantom tetras. Even with the angels, this seems like a light load for a 29-gal, but it was evidently excessive. The algae prospered, and my plants suffered.

I will almost certainly add a few (3 or 4) more tetras -- or 2 or 3 cories (the angels were the greatest bottom feeders and I need to make up for the loss ) but that is it. No more heavy waste producers for me.

[istellas]

I am going to make a very stupid question but this subject is really in my interest.
What is Flourish Excel? I tried to translate it in Greek in order to explain it to my local pet shop but unfortunately no luck!
Can you please be more specific?
Can you name this products' name (i.e. Sera vipachips)
(The best would be that I could have it translationed in Greek , but I don't expect miracles!!!)

Thank you very much for your patience...

[bgssamson]

Here's a link for the pics.! if you want to check the main site just type in seachem.com.

http://www.seachem.com/products/prod...rishExcel.html

-brian

Originally Posted by istellas

I am going to make a very stupid question but this subject is really in my interest.
What is Flourish Excel? I tried to translate it in Greek in order to explain it to my local pet shop but unfortunately no luck!
Can you please be more specific?
Can you name this products' name (i.e. Sera vipachips)
(The best would be that I could have it translationed in Greek , but I don't expect miracles!!!)

Thank you very much for your patience...

[Barbels]

Updates?
m.lemay, wantplantsnotwork, anybody, for that matter: Have you guys had many fish losses yet?
Can anyone tell me if they've used Excel at 6.6ml/gal safely with Cardinals, Otos or Dwarf Loaches?
Thank you.