Is CO2 necessary if you use Flourish Excel?

[Zodiac007]

Is CO2 still necessary I use Flourish Excel. 1 cap and 1/2 of Flourish Excel every two days in a 75 gallon freshwater planted tank.

- java ferns
- java moss
- orchid lily
- pennywort
- crystalwort
- wisteria
- water sprite
- amazon frogbits

Its pretty well planted. But the Seachem site says that Flourish Excel will help your plants do photosynthesis like CO2. So can I use it as an replacement

Oh, and I'm using about 125 watt light for this tank for about 9-10 hours per day.

And anyways, my plants are low-medium light plants. So do I still need CO2 injections or is Flourish Excel enough?

Thank you.

[Algenco]

The Excel should be enough, CO2 is cheaper

[doug z]

CO2 is cheaper in the long run.. LOL

It's the sticker shock that puts most people off pressurized systems..

But once you have them set up, they are very cheap to run..

[geowashlaw]

in the long run.. LOL

It's the sticker shock that puts most people off pressurized systems..

But once you have them set up, they are very cheap to run..

It's the understanding of how to actually use such a system, all that pH, KH, etc. mess, that put me off ... my brain isn't wired for science and as much as I've read that stuff, I'm still not getting it ... and I have to understand it before I do it ...

[Zodiac007]

yea that's pretty much the reason why I don't want to use CO2 injections. It seems complicated and expensive.

I'd rather just buy a bottle of Flourish Excel every few weeks.

[Miltonic]

yeah, same here with the CO2 injections, it seems to complicated even though I know, I can learn but if there's an easier way i'll just skip the harder way.

[Zodiac007]

So does this mean that Flourish Excel can be used as a substitute for CO2 injections?

[Alfcea]

Yes. Excel is not as effective as CO2 promoting plant growth, though.

[doug z]

Excel is not as effective as CO2 promoting plant growth, though.

Especially in tanks bigger than 55g..

[Lady Hobbs]

Works well at keeping algaes at bay, however.

[NickFish]

Yep, Excel will never ever replace CO2. Plants have grown and evolved over millions of years to use dissolved CO2, not a liquid supplement.

Not saying Excel isn't beneficial. I still use Excel on my DIY CO2 tanks, and I occasionally put in a capful or two after a water change in my presurrized tanks. Like has been said, it does a great job of killing off algae.

[Eddie]

CO2 injectors are cheaper in the long run and in anything over 40 gallons I would recommend that as opposed to flourish excel.

[Shadowisper]

First of all make sure you've read the stickies in the plant section of this forum! Secondly, how are your plants doing? Are they growing and healthy? If they are don't change a thing! If your system works don't mess with it. By introducing the CO2 you change the balance of the system. I am a fan of the CO2 personally, however enless you're prepared to really understand whats going on the tank, it could get messy!