[Bad-Daddio]

ok, so i know this has been brought up before. i've seen a few older threads but i didn't see any definitive answer. i'm hoping there's some updated info.

i have a 20 gallon long tank. sand only substrate. 40 watts of CFL.

i dose 1 cap of excel every day. i started this a month or so ago to counteract some green algae on the glass. it worked wonderfully.

plants - taiwan moss, e. tenellus, e. tenellus 'micro', r. rotundifolia, water sprite, fissidens fontanus.

fish - there are 4 F0 Apistogramma cf. eunotus 'orangeschwanz'

everything in this tank grows like crazy except my fissidens. it was doing really well but over the last couple months it stopped growing. there's still some green but most of the fronds are noticibly more bare and have a brownish/gray color to them. i'm thinking the excel might have something to do with it.

any ideas?

 

[Wasserpest]

You are probably right...

If everything else grows well, I'd say don't sweat it and skip the Fissidens. It's a nice plant, but if you have other mosses growing well it's not too much of a loss.

 

[SearunSimpson]

Have you tried pressurized/DIY Co2 instead of the Excel? It'll be cheaper on your wallet too.

 

[Bad-Daddio]

thanks for the replies guys! i stopped dosing the excel two days ago and this morning i can already see quite a few bright green little shoots coming up through the gray/brown nasty ones. maybe it's a coincidence, but i think the excel was the cause.

i guess we'll just see if the algae comes back and go from there.

yes, i've thought about going pressurized c02 but i really want to do this low-tech.

yes,

 

[btan]

Yep, Excel in high doses can cause certain plants to "melt."