Planted 5g algae growth & Flourish Excel

aspiringangel · 04-20-2004, 06:08 PM

So I used to have DIY CO2 using a bell as the method of diffusion in a 5g with about 4wpg. The plants did absolutely fabulously - I had some dwarf hygro, a lobelia cardinalis, some unnamed plant, and some rotala indica. They all grew huge under the influence of the CO2 (and no other fertilization) and there was almost no algae - some hair algae, initially, but I pulled it off and it never grew back.

Then I decided that the bell was taking up waaay too much room in the that little tiny tank and tried using Flourish Excel. Well, dontcha know, the algae came back with a vengeance! I've got some brown algae, a ton of hair algae, and something that is attacking the edges of the leaves and eventually covers the entire leaf, and it's a sort of dark browny-green, not slimey. So I let the tank lapse, unsure of what to do. I decided to clean it up a little this weekend, cut a lot of affected stuff out and planted a new plant. New plant has been in there 2 days and already showing signs of getting that browny-green stuff on the edges of the leaves!!!

Questions:
For those of you who use Excel in your nano tanks, do you follow directions? Or do you add more / less? Why isn't it as good as the DIY?! Should I just forget about the Excel and put the (big) bell back in there?

What kind of algae is this greeny-brown stuff?

Do you dose other nutrients regularly? I never added any other nutrients when I had the DIY going, and everything was going swimmingly!

NFish · 04-21-2004, 01:18 AM

can't you make a smaller bell or diffuse the co2 into the filter?

fedge · 04-28-2004, 01:27 AM

Id figure out a better bell or some other system.. (something im trying to figure out next.. after I get my first planted tank started)

Reagan88 · 04-28-2004, 03:42 AM

Dwarf hygro? Do you have a latin name for it?
Hygrophila polysperma?

trenac · 04-29-2004, 01:29 AM

I have a 12G that I use Excel in and have just a small amount of algae growth. I only dose a 1/2cc every other day or less. If the old way was working better for you than I would go back to it. It may not be the excel but another inbalance causing the algae growth.

To help ID the algae try this link: http://www.plantedtank.net/algae.html

04-21-2004, 01:18 AM	#2
NFish Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Colorado, USA, North America, Planet Earth, Milky Way Galaxy Posts: 235	can't you make a smaller bell or diffuse the co2 into the filter? __________________ LIFE IS GOOD, ETERNAL LIFE IS BETTER John 3:16 Romans 10:9

04-28-2004, 01:27 AM	#3
fedge Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Iowa, USA Posts: 460	Id figure out a better bell or some other system.. (something im trying to figure out next.. after I get my first planted tank started) __________________ Help control the pet population...spay or neuter people won't spay or neuter their dogs or cats!

04-29-2004, 01:29 AM	#5
trenac Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: North Carolina, Traid area Posts: 1,044	I have a 12G that I use Excel in and have just a small amount of algae growth. I only dose a 1/2cc every other day or less. If the old way was working better for you than I would go back to it. It may not be the excel but another inbalance causing the algae growth. To help ID the algae try this link: http://www.plantedtank.net/algae.html __________________ He who angers you, controls you!

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04-20-2004, 06:08 PM	#1
aspiringangel Newbie (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Ontario Posts: 1	So I used to have DIY CO2 using a bell as the method of diffusion in a 5g with about 4wpg. The plants did absolutely fabulously - I had some dwarf hygro, a lobelia cardinalis, some unnamed plant, and some rotala indica. They all grew huge under the influence of the CO2 (and no other fertilization) and there was almost no algae - some hair algae, initially, but I pulled it off and it never grew back. Then I decided that the bell was taking up waaay too much room in the that little tiny tank and tried using Flourish Excel. Well, dontcha know, the algae came back with a vengeance! I've got some brown algae, a ton of hair algae, and something that is attacking the edges of the leaves and eventually covers the entire leaf, and it's a sort of dark browny-green, not slimey. So I let the tank lapse, unsure of what to do. I decided to clean it up a little this weekend, cut a lot of affected stuff out and planted a new plant. New plant has been in there 2 days and already showing signs of getting that browny-green stuff on the edges of the leaves!!! Questions: For those of you who use Excel in your nano tanks, do you follow directions? Or do you add more / less? Why isn't it as good as the DIY?! Should I just forget about the Excel and put the (big) bell back in there? What kind of algae is this greeny-brown stuff? Do you dose other nutrients regularly? I never added any other nutrients when I had the DIY going, and everything was going swimmingly!

04-28-2004, 03:42 AM	#4
Reagan88 Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 7	Dwarf hygro? Do you have a latin name for it? Hygrophila polysperma?