Hi Folks,
I have a low tech 10g heavily planted tank details as follows:
25% weekly water changes using combination of RO and well water (our water is extremely hard)
2 x 13W CFL's (lights on 4 hours in morning with 4 hrs off, 4 hours on in afternoon, 12 hrs off)
Penn Plax 300 internal canister filter
Small air stone which I run when lights are off
Once weekly dose of Flourish Excel
One to two times weekly dose of Flourish Comprehensive
Seachems root tabs in Flourite Black substrate
mostly low light plants with two medium light plants: (heavily planted)
3 x Anubias
Bacopa
Ludwigia Palustris
Nymphoides hydrophylla
Hydrocotyle tripartita
Pogostemon Erectus
Dwarf chain sword
Vallisneria
Staurogyne Repens
Cryptocoryne Lutea
Stocked with:
2 Otto's
10 Neon tetras
5 RCS
PH 7.6
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 5ppm
KH 5
GH 8
I started dosing Excel (along with Flourish comprehensive) a little over a month ago starting at a super low dose of 1mL/week but have recently increased it to 1mL EOD since the introduction of some faster growing plants. I dose Flourish comp 1.2mL twice weekly. I know Excel as being an effective algaecide at higher doses but question it's effectiveness when used as a C02 replacement (The jury is still out on running C02: that's another post). I've not had any success so far breeding my RCS and notice that since starting the dosing regime that my RCS have gone in to hiding only really making appearances when it's feeding time or after water changes. I did also introduce my neon tetras at the same time as starting to dose so could that be a factor? (although my tetras are hardly menacing). One shrimp died yesterday but she was one of the larger ones that I have had for a while and I wondered if that was just old age. SO i guess my question is am I doing more harm than good? Is it even worth dosing Excel with the set up I have? I'm not really even comfortable putting my own hand in the water after dosing with Excel so I wonder what my poor fish and shrimp are thinking.
I have a low tech 10g heavily planted tank details as follows:
25% weekly water changes using combination of RO and well water (our water is extremely hard)
2 x 13W CFL's (lights on 4 hours in morning with 4 hrs off, 4 hours on in afternoon, 12 hrs off)
Penn Plax 300 internal canister filter
Small air stone which I run when lights are off
Once weekly dose of Flourish Excel
One to two times weekly dose of Flourish Comprehensive
Seachems root tabs in Flourite Black substrate
mostly low light plants with two medium light plants: (heavily planted)
3 x Anubias
Bacopa
Ludwigia Palustris
Nymphoides hydrophylla
Hydrocotyle tripartita
Pogostemon Erectus
Dwarf chain sword
Vallisneria
Staurogyne Repens
Cryptocoryne Lutea
Stocked with:
2 Otto's
10 Neon tetras
5 RCS
PH 7.6
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 5ppm
KH 5
GH 8
I started dosing Excel (along with Flourish comprehensive) a little over a month ago starting at a super low dose of 1mL/week but have recently increased it to 1mL EOD since the introduction of some faster growing plants. I dose Flourish comp 1.2mL twice weekly. I know Excel as being an effective algaecide at higher doses but question it's effectiveness when used as a C02 replacement (The jury is still out on running C02: that's another post). I've not had any success so far breeding my RCS and notice that since starting the dosing regime that my RCS have gone in to hiding only really making appearances when it's feeding time or after water changes. I did also introduce my neon tetras at the same time as starting to dose so could that be a factor? (although my tetras are hardly menacing). One shrimp died yesterday but she was one of the larger ones that I have had for a while and I wondered if that was just old age. SO i guess my question is am I doing more harm than good? Is it even worth dosing Excel with the set up I have? I'm not really even comfortable putting my own hand in the water after dosing with Excel so I wonder what my poor fish and shrimp are thinking.
