Seachem Flourish Excel Review: Organic Carbon For Your Planted Aquarium

Planted aquariums are always beneficial because it does not only increase the beauty of the tank but also it provides sufficient dissolved oxygen to the fish.

At times, the ecosystem fails to provide the organic carbon necessary. Later it leads to hindrance in food production for your aquatic life. So, for your convenience, it is always better to decide whether you want ‘low tech’ or ‘high tech’ approach.

There are several differences between the approaches where many people avoid high tech because it requires pressurized CO2. In that case, isn’t it wise to go for something in between complete CO2 and slow growth setup?

In this article, we have come up with the Seachem Flourish Excel review, which is considered the alternative of gaseous carbon dioxide.

Things to consider before buying

One of the major criticisms about this product is that it harms shrimp in the aquarium. However, we conducted research for quite a long time in different aquariums, and till now, we observed healthy and active red cherry shrimps.

The problem occurs when you ignore the instructions before dosing it, and overdosing attacks your plants. So, let us see what you can do to get the best outcome from this product.

• Avoid dosing irregularly

You have to maintain a proper schedule if you want to use this product in your aquarium. It lasts around 12 hours, so every day, it requires dosing twice.

There are two ways to add this carbon in your aquarium. The Seachem suggests dosing one capful (5ml) for 50 US gallons (200L) water regularly, or you can do it every other day.

Secondly, you can use one capful (5ml) of this substance on 10 US gallons (40L) water after a significant water change at least more than 40 percent.

These are the standard measurement of dosing it. To avoid any harm, and it is always better to follow it.

• Not Suitable for particular plants

Even though you maintain the following procedures while dosing, but there are still some plants that are not compatible with this product. If you have fern, Vallisneria, and mosses in your aquarium, then avoid using this bioavailable carbon in your tank.

Furthermore, it is better to use a separate bucket in terms of removing algae from rocks or plants. In such circumstances, you can avoid any harm to your fishes or shrimps.

• Ideal time

According to the product manual, you can dose it whenever you want. However, from our experience, we think the perfect time for dosing it is daytime. It is because the photosynthesis starts in the presence of light.

So, if you add it at night, plants will not absorb the carbon because of respiration. So, eventually, it is going to be a waste.

Presenting The Seachem Flourish Excel

CO2 is one of the significant elements for plants because it is impossible to produce food without the help of it. Seachem Flourish Excel is a source of carbon that promotes the photosynthesis cycle with additional liquid carbon.

Moreover, it comes with an iron-reducing feature that means it can efficiently lessen ferrous iron. It is more convenient for plants because plants can use ferrous iron easily instead of ferric iron.

This product is safe as long as you do not combine any other form of CO2 with it. So, it might decrease the pH level extremely if the conjunction of CO2 and Flourish Excel is not perfect.

Pros:

• Promotes the growth of plants compared to non-excel CO2
• An alternative to injection CO2
• It comes with iron-reducing features that help plants to use the iron efficiently

Cons:

• Overdosing might kill your plants and make the water toxic
• Not suitable for mosses, ferns, and Vallisneria

Seachem Flourish Excel Review: Features & Benefits

• Eliminates algae

This unit is labeled as liquid carbon, whereas it is more than that. Even though it is not an algae eliminator, but you can get enough support from this product to get rid of different types of algae.

It can efficiently remove algae from rocks (Black beard algae) and plants. In that case, you should be a little bit careful while adding it to your tank. It would be wise if you use a separate bucket for this.

• Enhances the plants’ growth:

Plants use sunlight to grow and produce food by photosynthesis, where CO2 is one of the vital elements of that cycle.

Moreover, there are many more extended carbon chain compounds, which cannot produce in the absence of CO2. These five-carbon structures are known as photosynthetic intermediates.

Seachem Flourish Excel will help you to get a similar kind of 5 carbon structure within limited hours, which fastens the photosynthesis cycle.

Therefore, dosing this means accelerating the photosynthesis that eventually enhances the growth of your favorite plants.

• Produces iron:

This product helps to reduce iron in the water so that plants can remain healthy. It eliminates one ion from ferric iron and enhances the state of ferrous iron.

So, it becomes easier for plants to consume ferrous iron rather than going for a complicated procedure to utilize more ions.

• Safe and healthy

This product is safe for your planted aquarium as long as you do not mess up the dosing instructions. It is not harmful to your plants or shrimps, but still, there are restrictions for specific plants.

It is a bioavailable carbon, which means at the initial stage your fishes are secure. However, the problem occurs when there is an imbalance between fertilizer and liquid carbon.

When you do not use adequate nutrients in your tank, it becomes difficult for your plants to absorb CO2.

The lack of nutrients will eventually kill your plants, and it gradually starts producing ammonia in the aquarium and algae over them.

Thus, you can get the best possible result if you maintain the dosing properly. Besides, it is not a magical product that will increase the growth of your plants overnight. However, this works great with the time and patience

Overall Impression

There is one major misconception about this product. Generally, people consider it a fertilizer, but it is not. It is an organic liquid carbon that helps to fulfill the additional CO2 requirements of the plant.

We hope by reading the Seachem Flourish Excel review, you will get adequate information to choose the best product for your planted aquariums.

Finally, if you are using this product, then make sure to dose it from time to time.