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Not at the moment but I have many times in the past.
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I have anubias (several variety) had java fern NL vareity, two unidentified stem plant types, anacharis, hygrophilia sp. tiger, and some Cardamine lyrata. I use to have regular java fern, and a few varieties of mosses (morved/given away). Everything did fine with excel (did 1 ml per 10 gallons every day + other Seachem ferts)
I will say these plants did NOT like excel: ricca & val (jungle val). Had a huge blob of ricca, might have died from bleach dip.. but i think the Excel finished any remaining bits
I will say these plants did NOT like excel: ricca & val (jungle val). Had a huge blob of ricca, might have died from bleach dip.. but i think the Excel finished any remaining bits
It would depend on your light level ... if you have high light you need to use pressurized C02 otherwise you'll probably end up with way too much algae. If you have low light you can get by with just Excel.
Maybe all those people you're talking about have high light. If you want really fast growing plants, reds getting really red & a show tank scape then you might want to go the C02 route. Depends on the look you want to achieve in your tank & how much time you want to devote to it. High light/high tech is going to require a bit more work.
Maybe all those people you're talking about have high light. If you want really fast growing plants, reds getting really red & a show tank scape then you might want to go the C02 route. Depends on the look you want to achieve in your tank & how much time you want to devote to it. High light/high tech is going to require a bit more work.
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I use excel and have had success growing vals. I think it just depends on how much and how often.
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I have a 20 gallon with dual t5ho lights 6500k. My plants do fine with just excel. No co2.
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My low tech has really turned around with excel, some scaping and the help of this forum! Since using excel my low tech plants have never looked better. I do have to keep up on the fertz a lil more. also on a side note, Malaysian driftwood looks 10x better upside down! 
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I have a 55g a well, I started off using excel. I have 2 65w CFLs @ 6500k I had some growth in the tank, but it was really meh and I was going through a lot of excel. I switched to DIY Co2 using 4 2L coke bottles and 1 gatorade bottle as a "sump" and the growth has been 10x what excel gave me. I think excel is great for smaller tanks, but with a 55 it gets to be a bit taxing. Now I just replace my 2liters every 3-4 weeks. Eventually I'll go full on pressurized but I'm content with the growth rate I get now.
I can't believe your getting good growth with only two standard cfl bulbs
ON such a big long tank that's impressive
I'm interested in doing a co2 system but I just don't feel like going through all the work for the proper stuff. I wish there was a kit I could just buy that comes with everything
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I built my diy co2 for 30.00
I have used excel on a 55 gallon when I started because I was intimidated by keeping a pressurized system in my room. It worked okay with my stem plants although they probably would've grown without it anyway. Now I only use it after my water change to get a little boost going. My suggestion for you is invest in a pressurized co2 system with solenoid. Start out with a paintball system if you must but trust me it'll pay for itself in the long run compared to $20 a bottle of excel. Same for the liquid ferts. Invest in dry ferts like pps pro by GLA. It's only $30 and you get two dispensers and your micros and macros whereas with seachem it's $18 for just trace.
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