# Seachem flourish & excel dosing



## SJL (29 Jan 2012)

Hi my question is what would be the best dosing program for both these in my 60ltr tank and would the water chemistry be ok with a 25% weekly water change?
How well would these work in general for planted aquariums ?
 cheers stuart


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## CeeJay (29 Jan 2012)

Hi Stuart
The product(s) you refer to are one and the same. It is called Flourish Excel.
There is another one called Easycarbo which is similar stuff.

Lifted this from one of our sponsors sites.
For Easycarbo
Tanks with minimal plants - 1ml per 100 litres
Tanks with fair amount of plants - 1ml per 50 litres
Tanks with large amount of plants - 1ml per 25 litres

For Flourish Excel (reading this off the bottle   )
After water change use 5ml per 40l. Then 5ml per 200l daily or every other day. This will depend on your planting density.

Most of us opt for at least a 50% water change on the CO2 injected tanks. However, if you do not bombard the tank with too much light you can get away with 25%  per week.



			
				SJL said:
			
		

> How well would these work in general for planted aquariums ?


Both Flourish Excel and Easycarbo work well. I've used both. Although it does work out dearer than gas   
You will only need one or the other, but not both, as they both do the same thing.
Another bonus with both of these products is that they both have good anti algae properties


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## Tom (30 Jan 2012)

CeeJay said:
			
		

> Hi Stuart
> The product(s) you refer to are one and the same. It is called Flourish Excel.



No, Flourish is a Fert like TPN etc. and Flourish Excel is liquid carbon. As CeeJay says there is EasyCarbo which is similar to Excel, and you might find it cheaper (more concentrated too) 



Yes it will be fine with a 25% water change. Split the weekly dosage recommendation into daily doses, and increase the dose if you feel you need to. I'm running my low tech puffer Mini M on these ferts at the moment, alongside FloraBase substrate.

Tom


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## SJL (30 Jan 2012)

cheers chris & tom for you reply's i should have been more specific the one is a comprehensive supplement  so with the supplement i would only be dosing 1ml per week and the excel 1ml a day ? is that correct? 

cheers stuart


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## Antipofish (30 Jan 2012)

Tom said:
			
		

> CeeJay said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



+1 to confirm the difference.  Flourish is a nutrient and Flourish Excel is liquid carbon.


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## SJL (30 Jan 2012)

cheers all , also when is best to dose before the lights are on or in the evening ? plus i am running the lights on 5hrs off 4hrs and bk on for 5hrs so there is a siesta is this right or wrong?
cheers 
stuart


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## CeeJay (30 Jan 2012)

Hi all


			
				Antipofish said:
			
		

> +1 to confirm the difference. Flourish is a nutrient and Flourish Excel is liquid carbon.


Sorry for my misunderstanding   Apologies to Stuart. I've only ever used the Flourish Excel   



			
				SJL said:
			
		

> also when is best to dose before the lights are on or in the evening ?


Dose whenever it suits you. It won't make any difference. I chuck mine in before I go to work at 6am and my lights don't come on till 5pm. Been running like this for the last 3 years   .



			
				SJL said:
			
		

> plus i am running the lights on 5hrs off 4hrs and bk on for 5hrs so there is a siesta is this right or wrong?


It is better to have a continuous lighting period. This is because when the plants wake up (at lights on) they use a lot of their energy cranking up their production and absorbing CO2 and ferts. You turn the lights off half way through the day and the plant thinks its bedtime. When you turn the lights back on it all starts again. Much more stressful for the plant. I'm not saying your way is 'wrong', it's just better for the plants, that's all. If you do this for evening viewing, just make the lights come on later in the day. Mine are on at 5pm and off at 
Midnight   . 7 hours is all they get off me. It keeps the trimming down   
It's another reason we can turn our gas off two hours before lights out. The plants are cruising by this stage with less demand for CO2 and ferts and they are usually pearling like crazy by this time.


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## SJL (31 Jan 2012)

cheers chris dont worry about any apologies at all . any advise is welcomed gladly this is my first tank and i can see many learning curves !! im going to alter the timer for the lights then and see if this makes any difference .
cheers stuart


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