which is the best liquid carbon brand?

[jessonthenet]

Which is the best liquid carbon brand? Price versus results. Is there any plants that hate liquid carbon? How safe is it, does it make your water ph unstable like gas form? How effective is it against BBA, what amount would you have to use to kill it. Is it even doable to use it as an algaecide with fish in the tank?

Should I even use it?

 

[D-MAC]

Which is the best liquid carbon brand? Price versus results. Is there any plants that hate liquid carbon? How safe is it, does it make your water ph unstable like gas form? How effective is it against BBA, what amount would you have to use to kill it. Is it even doable to use it as an algaecide with fish in the tank?

Should I even use it?

My preference is Flourish excel.
Yes it works v BBA, I use double dose, but more may be needed.
I have not found a problem with PH.
I have not found a problem using it with fish in the tank.

 

[Tener ds]

ive found that flourish excel melts some plants.it killed my valis,and my Cryptocoryne Beckettii dont like it.ive changed to easycarbo,much better for my tanks.

 

[mikebren12]

Easy Carbo all the way for me!!!

Mike

 

[dbosman]

Excel, or any other source of glutaraldehyde can melt vals unless you start at a lower dosage and work up. Bought as Cidex or Metracide in the USA, it is very inexpensive. About $3.00 US a liter.

I'm not sure what easycarbo is, as I can't quickly find a Material Safety Data Sheet for it. I know glutaraldehyde as a sanitizer was banned in Great Brittan as a health hazard about a decade back.

 

[Sambo]

Easy carbo ten pounds for the 2nd size up- bargain noticed the difference in small tanks within two days

 

[D-MAC]

ive found that flourish excel melts some plants.it killed my valis,and my Cryptocoryne Beckettii dont like it.ive changed to easycarbo,much better for my tanks.

I have not found that at all...I spoke to a few of my customers and they say their vallis is growing well with flourish...I have found Crypto to melt without the use of liquid carbon, infact every new batch I take in does this then grows back again until the next batch of plants are added, it then melts again :dk: what the answer is.

 

[Mooo]

Seachem Excel or Dave Green's www.aquagreen.com.au 's Dino Spit (oz only)

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
It is difficult to say really, the exact mechanism by which they work isn't really known, but they definitely work as a carbon source for plants. As "dbosman" says they are based upon glutaraldehyde and companies have tried to disguise this by talking about "different isomers" "polycycloglutaracetal" etc.

Glutaraldehyde is quite toxic at higher doses to humans, and I definitely would try to avoid getting the undiluted liquid on your skin, or sniffing the bottle for too long, but I don't think it is much of a risk diluted.

This is the COSHH sheet, but this is very much a "worse case scenario".
<http://msds.chem.ox.ac.uk/GL/glutaric_dialdehyde.html>

I think the reason none of the companies push the algaecide side of these compounds is that they would have to go through a whole new licensing process, which is both expensive and rigorous for pesticides.

I think you've got less chance of killing your fish using Excel (or DIY CO2) than you have with pressurised CO2.

cheers Darrel

 

[Mooo]

Agreed Darrel

Don't go squirting it directly onto plants, directly on BBA on a rock or wood, yes, NOT on the plant's leaves, try to put it in the current..Some of these liquids will melt plants, depending on the plant, I have melted one myself, It was a fissidens moss..& almost killed a java, I never squirt the plants themselves..