Spot Dosing - Check list

[LancsRick]

I'm quite enjoying the fact that I'm beginning to understand my tanks as ecosystems, with my Rio showing good health, Ebi currently under a layer of frosted film since yesterday to combat the hair algae, and therefore just one challenge remains...

My Trigon has a fair measure of BBA on some anubias, and although since I've tweaked flow a few weeks ago it hasn't got any bigger, it hasn't receded either. I think spot dosing is called for, so I'm going to order some glut and make up my own mix.

So before I poison my tank, having never ever used liquid carbon before, please could someone just confirm if my points below cover of all bases?

1) It's nasty stuff, handle with care, mix outside, etc.
2) Spot dosing can be done by removing the plant, directly applying LC, leaving for 5 (?) minutes, and then rinsing and putting back in the tank. Results in a few days.
3) Spot dosing can also be done by turning off the pumps, putting a syringe in the tank and squirting some LC directly onto the affected area. Leave for 5 (?) minutes, then turn the filters back on.
4) Do I need to limit how much spot dosing I do at once so as to avoid "confusing" the plants with random increases in available carbon?
5) Anything else I've missed?

Thanks guys!

 

[Iain Sutherland]

dont apply LC directly to the plant outside the tank, the anubia will have a fit. Mix up 100ml into a 1/4 bucket of water and dip for a couple of mins. If you spot dose into the tank dont go too crazy with it, better to do it twice. I spotdose intank before waterchange so most of the strong dose is removed as the fauna dont like it.

 

[LancsRick]

Brilliant, thanks Iain.

I know with CO2 you can get plant melt if you're supplying it for a while and then remove it, do I need to avoid the same thing with LC? Just thinking if I spot dose a few days in a row whether I'm setting myself up for other problems...

 

[ian_m]

I have applied diluted liquid carbon (Flourish Excel) directly to my Anubias (and internal pump housing & power head & rocks) by applying the solution to kitchen towel and wiping/applying to the items in the tank. Not as effective as taking items out and applying with a toothbrush, but then not so much tank disturbance.

 

[LancsRick]

Thanks Ian. Having read up, I'm going to have to remove the plants from the tank since I have Vallis in there, and apparently LC annihilates it pretty effectively, so I'd better not spot dose in the tank!