• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Anyone tried Easy-Life EasyCarbo?

George Farmer said:
The other Easy Life product mentioned earlier in the thread, "liquid filter" is zeolite in a liquid suspension. JBL Clynol is the same.
Click to expand...

So this fluid filter medium will be like a one off dose of a CEC substrate?
As mentioned in this thread: http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=550

- it will exchange H+ ions for cations in the water? It doesn't really absorb anything as such. H+ ions are basically acid which is why pH drops. Also the H+ ions being acid will reduce the KH. Does that reduce TDS then or am I on the wrong track?
Click to expand...

Chemistry never was my subject but I could really use an Aquarists Chemistry textbook these days...
 
Hi ray,
Zeolite is a naturally occurring mineral which has the property of being able to attract and trap ammonia so this is a great property for a filter media. From what I read it can also be recharged with a brine or salt solution (but I'm unsure of what concentration is necessary for this.) Barr also reckons this property would would make it a great candidate for use as a substrate but I'm not sure if ammonia entrapment in zeolite is the same mechanism or effect as cation exchange in substrates. Seems like apples and oranges to me but they may be related.

Cheers,
 
Why is EasyCarbo considered more cost effective?

Themuleous said:
You can get it ultra cheap from here

http://www.aquaristikshop.com/cgi-bin/n ... &mpath2=62

Sam
Click to expand...

How is that 'ultra cheap'?


500ml bottles aquaristik and AquaEssentials
12Euros is £9.40 and Aqua Essentials sells it for £9.99.
Dutch VAT is 19%...UK VAT is 17.5%
P+P from Netherlands is 4.4Euro (£3.50), AquaE to UK is free

Also when you compare dosage rates. You use more EasyCarbo

Excel = 5ml per 200L

EasyCarbo = 20ml per 200L

So am I missing something?
😀
 
Hi Sam,
You got to the post before I could comment. Thanks for that. :lol: :lol: What is astonishing about quartermaster's point is that it never dawned on me that the dosage rates for the two products were so vastly different. I had been dosing Easycarbo at the same rate as Excel, and I threw away my last bottle, however if quartermaster is correct, this means that 1 bottle of Excel does the job of 4 bottles of Easycarbo. :shock: Is this correct? It's astounding. Luckily I haven't needed it seriously, since I just use it to top up my CO2 content but the real question is does Excel really have 4 times the concentration of the active ingredient (complexed gluteraldehyde)? Or are they the same concentration and that Easylife just want you to use more so that you buy more? I'm now wondering whether you can dose Easycarbo at or near the same rate as Excel and get away with it.

Any thoughts on possible ways to test or to obtain the data?

Cheers,
 
ceg4048 said:
Hi Sam,
You got to the post before I could comment. Thanks for that. :lol: :lol: What is astonishing about quartermaster's point is that it never dawned on me that the dosage rates for the two products were so vastly different. I had been dosing Easycarbo at the same rate as Excel, and I threw away my last bottle, however if quartermaster is correct, this means that 1 bottle of Excel does the job of 4 bottles of Easycarbo. :shock: Is this correct? It's astounding. Luckily I haven't needed it seriously, since I just use it to top up my CO2 content but the real question is does Excel really have 4 times the concentration of the active ingredient (complexed gluteraldehyde)? Or are they the same concentration and that Easylife just want you to use more so that you buy more? I'm now wondering whether you can dose Easycarbo at or near the same rate as Excel and get away with it.

Any thoughts on possible ways to test or to obtain the data?

Cheers,
Click to expand...

Who is this 'Quartermaster'? :lol:
 
I'm confused.

I have a bottle of each product in front of me:

Excel = 5ml / 200l (1ml / 40 ltrs) daily or every other day
Easy carbo = 1ml / 50 litres daily

To my eyes the dosage is pretty similar. Am I missing something?
 
DevUK said:
That reads that you need to use almost twice as much (broadly speaking) of easy carbo, as you're dosing a similar amount but daily as opposed to every two days.
Click to expand...

Don't most knowledgeable people dose every day though?
 
Luketendo said:
DevUK said:
That reads that you need to use almost twice as much (broadly speaking) of easy carbo, as you're dosing a similar amount but daily as opposed to every two days.
Click to expand...

Don't most knowledgeable people dose every day though?
Click to expand...

No, it depends on how much of a cheapskate you are and how well you manage your garden. If your CO2 injection methods are sub-par for example, such as in the case of yeast based systems the liquid carbon products will help to stabilize and to raise the CO2 level if dosed daily. If you have fish that are sensitive to CO2, even when using pressurized injection, daily dosing will help maintain a higher effective CO2 level without the risk of asphyxiation. If your CO2 is already high but not quite as high as you would want without tripping over the toxic barrier, dosing will help, but you need not do it daily. You can monitor plant health and dose when necessary, or dose every other day.

Cheers,
 
I use EasyCarbo in my tank (with 30ppm CO2) at double dose rates as a safety factor when things are unstable, or potentially unstable, in my tank.
So after a water change, trim, replanting and uprooting or if I'm having the lights on early (at the weekends or holidays when I don't want to sit and look at a dark tank!) I dose it with the ferilisers, hoping it will knock back any algae that may be lurking unseen and give the plants a boost.

I also thought the dosages were pretty similar as per Maximumbob's post.
 
Maximumbob said:
I'm confused.

I have a bottle of each product in front of me:

Excel = 5ml / 200l (1ml / 40 ltrs) daily or every other day
Easy carbo = 1ml / 50 litres daily

To my eyes the dosage is pretty similar. Am I missing something?
Click to expand...

Interesting. I don't own a bottle of EasyCarbo. But I quoted from their web site.

Ah..I see what I've done. I've quoted from their wrong product. 😳

Sorry about that. Just shoot me now as I'm a stupid Ass! :twisted:

Ok copy and pasted from the right page this time:

  • aquarium with only a few plants : 1 ml per 100 litres daily
  • aquarium moderately planted : 1 ml per 50 litres daily
  • aquarium heavily planted : 1 ml per 25 litres daily

So Excel is 5ml per 200L or 1ml per 40L if you prefer.
So EasyCarbo is perhaps a touch more concentrated.

Which is odd as its only competitor is Excel, so you'd expect them to make it much more obvious that it was better value for money as it's the newer product and not as well established in the market place. (Maybe they need to go to a business class? 😉 )

Let the price war begin...?
 
Do plants take up the carbon in Excel/EasyCarb in the same way as CO2, or do they have to adjust to the different form? Just wondering if it's possible to chop and change between them if actual carbon levels could be kept much the same.
 
beeky said:
Do plants take up the carbon in Excel/EasyCarb in the same way as CO2, or do they have to adjust to the different form? Just wondering if it's possible to chop and change between them if actual carbon levels could be kept much the same.
Click to expand...

I believe the Glutaraldehyde seeps through the leaves directly into the plant and thus is not as effective as CO2. But better than none.

If you visit http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Excel you find some excellent links to discussions on Excel and how it works.
 
Hi,
Higher plants convert the gluteraldehyde to CO2 and then use the CO2. In the chloroplast reaction chambers of the plant only CO2 can be used in the carbon fixing sequence during photosynthesis because the Rubisco enzyme is specifically tuned to attract and transport this molecule plus the Ribulose biphosphste (RuBP) enzyme to the chambers. CO2 + RuBP are engaged in a sequence of reactions (known as the Calvin-Benson Cycle) that ultimately results in a special type of sugar being produced as the end product of photosynthesis. This product is called glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, commonly known as G3P. [Phosphate haters please take note by the way]

I believe algae (at least the ones in our tanks) lack the chemical acrobatics to do the conversion of gluteraldehyde => CO2 so it is actually toxic to them. I haven't confirmed it but I reckon there must be similar incompetence in liverworts and bladderworts. This is why Excel/Easycarbo is such a cool silver bullet. It's carbon content is not available to algae and it is toxic to them. How much Excel is required to achieve the same effect of 30ppm CO2 injection? I have no idea but I'll bet it's a lot. :shock: Much better to supplement your injection, I figure.

Cheers,
 
ceg4048 said:
Hi,
How much Excel is required to achieve the same effect of 30ppm CO2 injection? I have no idea but I'll bet it's a lot. :shock: Much better to supplement your injection, I figure.
Cheers,
Click to expand...

It was more of a theorectical question really. I don't even think a second mortgage would cover it!

That aquariumwiki sounds interesting. never heard of it before, could be lots of good stuff on there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top