So...who uses Excel? (Gluteraldehyde)

@shihr - I think you misunderstood what I said. I meant that because you have soft water (eg Cape Town) you don't need CO2 as there is already plenty in the water. I have similar soft water in PE and I grow plants just fine without CO2 addition. Only thing you need to watch out for is to get the balance of light correct. If you want stronger lights to enjoy faster growth, then you will end up having to inject pressurised CO2.

 

What @Laure said just made sense.
I read on the cape town/gov site that CO2 is added to our cape towns water.
I quote, "Sometimes lime is added for ph control, and carbon-dioxide to stabilise the water and ensure that the transport pipes are not damaged."

So that means Excell is not necessary for even medium tank setups, in CapeTown. Its just a matter of matching your light and CO2 balance

 

are u sure abt that? sorry im just bit confused because i thought soft water was soft water and co2 in water was co2 in water? if u get what i mean? also most of these plants grow better (if not only grow) in softer water so that logic would make more sense?

(dont get me wrong, not fighting.. i really dont know.. if im wrong, then i have learnt something new today )

 

oh i see.. didn know that.. but i think that one would still add co2 if u want nice accelerated growth as co2 doesnt last the whole week till your water change? also wont this cause algae problems as theres always inconsistent co2 in the water?

 

Hi guys

I think you are both still misunderstanding. Please read the link I posted. I know much of it is complicated chemistry, but please go and read it over and over until you understand. My statement has nothing to do with the municipality adding CO2. That is irrelevant as by the time you've done your water change that CO2 is gone. CO2 levels need to be consistent for decent growth and to avoid algae problems. The point made in the link I posted was that because of soft water, there is more CO2 in the water.

 

And the moral of the story is?its bad but it works or its bad it dont work?

 

Guys have a look here:

http://www.microbelift.com/products/home-aquarium/planted-aqaurium-products/bio-carbon/

It is new on the market and we haven't imported it to SA yet. I am getting a few samples with a shipment i have arriving over the weekend. I will test it out and if it works i wll be ordering it for the SA market.

 

great news henk

 

Yea i think it will give us a viable alternative to Excel

 

Ja cause now i was gonna go with excel until i read how dangerous it is and that it doesnt agree with some plants,so keep us updated please i would like to try it out as well.

 

Am I the only idiot that can't open the Excel bottle? I know its kiddy proof and has to be puished down while you turn but it still won't open?

 

You have to push it down firmly with the palm of your hand. Put the bottle on a table first.

 

Hi Henk,
So whats the verdict on the microbe-lift?

 

Well i love it on my 2.5m planted tank and my partners multiple planted tanks looks amazing! It's been on the market for 2 months or so now and its doing really well - ask you LFS to contact me if they want to order.

 

@Moolis,@Altum etc

 

I'm busy running a little experiment (more on that later) and doing some research. Found a VERY interesting link...

http://www.oscarfish.com/article-home/equipment/114-buyer-beaware-seachem-excel.html

 

Very interesting .. I've only ever used happycarbo (got it from prof many moons ago) wonder if happy life happycarbo , easy life easycarbo, microbe-lift bio-carbon ( think this is new on the market) and excel - have the same active ingredients - I think I did some digging on the carbo's way back before I ordered it so the answer might be NO .. let me go check again.

 

And the first bit of digging - here on TASA http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/s...-Food-and-Ferts.&p=17968&viewfull=1#post17968

Excel seems to be all on its own, bio-carbon seems to be more microbe love.

 

So whats the final story here? you read and read and everyone recommends Excel and you excitedly go buy it and start adding it to your tank and then you come across this thread that says its poisness and dangerous etc etc etc! I wont lie its pretty damn frustrating!!!!

 

i add it to my tanks with no ill effects. moderation is the key word here