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Liquid carbon

lurcher

Member
Joined
6 Apr 2018
Messages
147
Location
Lincolnshire
Please advise me liquid carbon enthusiasts,when buying liquid carbon what is your preferred brand,what do you think is the safest and most efficient brand for fish and plants (and humans) ,and which brand gives the best results re algae elimination?I am confused by the various brands own hype and would prefer advice from you aquarists.thank you.
 
Although liquid carbon (LC) does have some anti algae properties, it is not the way to fight algae IMO, Provide and clean tank with regular Water Changes (WC), nutrients in abundance, not too much light and tank turnover/flow to match the tanks needs.
LC is a nutrient for the plants and helps them grow in the correct dose, using it turns a low tech tank into a high tech so to gain the max from it ( if your tank is low tech) you may need to addresses some extra flow as well.
Quite a few folk use it on new setups then once tank is establish they wean the plants off it.
So if its algae your dosing it for I would suggest posting all you tank details and a full tank pic- there may be other areas you have overlooked that might need correcting also ;)
 
I use EasyCarbo and am happy with it used neat as an algae spot-treatment on hardscape during water changes whilst the hardscape is out of the water (Liquid carbon | Fireplace aquarium). I tried using Neutro CO2, but I like EasyCarbo better because it is less runny (so it clings better to hardscape), and because I suspect it has longer shelf life since after a while the spot treatment with Neutro CO2 stopped working altogether. Even though I have injected CO2 gas and dose Estimative Index ferts, I add EasyCarbo daily to the water column at 1 ml / 40 L. I'm not convinced that does anything useful but the cost is low and it has no apparent adverse effects and I haven't done the experiment of stopping daily use. 'Algae elimination' is not a goal I think it is useful to strive for, but 'reasonable algae control' is certainly achievable. For me the biggest factor in successful algae control was limiting the amount of light.
 
Zeus,andy pierce thank you both very much for your invaluable help,i am going to give LC a miss. Please could you advise me on providing suitable nutrients ,i may be missing something.the tank is L39”xH26” x W17”.58gallons WC25%weekly, cool/warm daylight lighting 6 hours per day. (2tubes t5),EFX 400 external filter+internal power filter. Low tech plants. Fish =cory cats 12,cardinal tetras 12 ,3yoyo loaches,1SAE,.would like plants to do better thank you.
 

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What fertiliser are you using and how much do you add weekly, if not adding any ferts thats best place to start and with you tank being well over 100litres DIY ferts is the way to go. A starter DIY kit can be purchased from APFUK Starter Kit
 
Liquid Carbon is good to have on hand for algae, if something goes awry it's good to help fight it until things are stable again, I use TNC.

I try to avoid using liquid carbon though unless in dire need, the safety element concerns me, even at diluted dosages 🤷‍♂️
 
Thanks Aqua360, that. Is my worry ,the safety issue ,both for me and my fish,i have had some great advice, but gluteraldehyde just doesnt rest easy with me. I have just been given a bottle of TNC LITE,WILL try that but like the El idea also.thank you.
 
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