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Dosing Excel after water change

Surya

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14 Aug 2018
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I use pressurised CO2 but have a bit of pesky hair algae/BBA so after trying various other things (including increasing CO2) have started using Excel. Spot dosing has worked well but I wonder how I should use it now to try to keep algae to a minimum. Should I follow the instructions of 5ml per 40l on water change day, then 5ml per 200l daily? Is such a big "overdose" (albeit one recommended by Seachem) safe, and effective in keeping hair algae at bay? Or should I just do 5ml daily and leave off the big water change dose?

Also, have people found Excel to be better than the cheaper alternatives (EasyCarbo, Neutro CO2 etc)?

I have searched the forum but can't come to a consensus view. Thanks in advance.
 
I would have thought most of them are much the same, Dennerle have a bio one, rather than just relying on a product and manual removing ,check flow is getting all around the aquarium delivering nutrients and co2 to the plants, with pressurised CO2 its important,plus of course filter clean and water changes
 
I rarely use Seachem Excel except for occasional BBA - others you mention aren’t available locally - are they same? maybe ... maybe not ... as a company Seachem does very thorough R&D and patents their formulas; even relatively minor changes in product formulation can have significant biological effects

Both Filipe Oliveira and Green Aqua (& Jurijs mit JS) suggest intermittent, short term use (at the increased dosage) for more effective algae response.
Various sources suggest that daily use lessens the algaecide (algaestat?) effect - implication being that algae becomes tolerant or resistant ... I’ve not looked for research discussions
 
I have/do use EasyCarbo, Neutro daily with it being dosed when the lights come on.

Have you done a pH profile to check your pH/[CO2] is stable ? better to get to the root cause of the pesky hair algae/BBA than treat it, in CO2 injected tanks the main cause of issues is fluctuating CO2 levels during the main photo period
 
Thanks all. I haven't done a pH profile but have done everything else recommended including increasing CO2, improving flow, reducing light period, keeping tank clean, cleaning filter, big weekly water changes - these have helped significantly and the hair algae and BBA is much reduced. What's left is a bit of BBA collecting on wood and around the very edges of leaves, which is not the end of the world but a bit annoying. I was hoping the Excel might give it the final push it needs to go away altogether.

That's interesting with the advice for intermittent, short-term use. I've Googled and can't find much about it - any chance of links to what they said? :) As I'm only using it to help with algae control, there's no point with continuous dosing if that's not going to be as good as intermittent so would really like to know.
 
any chance of links to what they said?
Green Aqua, Filipe Oliveira, Jurijs mit JS - their comments come from several videos, Aquascaping workshop video
I maybe noticed some remarks when I was using Google Scholar to skim glutaraldehyde (usage/stability in aqueous environs) articles ... so no direct links, though reasonably certain of my recollection ;)


It can be effective as a (dissolved gas) CO2 source (via breakdown mechanisms in aquatic environs but expect contributing factors) though obviously nothing like what pressurized CO2 gas delivers
It likely also continues to have some algaecide effect

Karen Randal wrote an article about Seachem Excel vs generic glutaraldehyde
 
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bit of BBA collecting on wood
this is precisely what I used it for, close examination also revealed a few v small patches on older trident fern leaves

I decided I’d only use the higher Excel dosage with large water changes, so ended up treating 3 times over the course of several days (3-4 days between each dose) ...BBA became non-visible thereafter so I didn’t dose again
When I broke down the scape, I scrubbed the wood to remove soft (rotting - likely supports the BBA to some degree) outer surface
 
Thanks, that's really helpful. Sounds like you were in the same position as me. I've pulled out the wood to scrub a few times and it does have some soft patches that might be releasing organics though it's been in my tank 18 months... And the BBA on older leaf edges. I will try the same pattern as you. Did you use the 5ml per 40l dose they advise and change water before each dose every 3-4 days?
 
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