# How long does it take for HC to start filling in



## yingxuebailang (May 22, 2005)

I just planted HC in my nano tank. I always find some floating around in the morning and need to be replanted. But majority stays down. But I am just wondering how long does it take to start filling in? I have 28 watts light over 6 gal and I am using DIY CO2. Should I be dosing ferts and excel also?


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## Finch_man (Mar 21, 2006)

whats is the size of your tank? Seachem excel works great with HC and will also slow down some stem plant growth.


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## yingxuebailang (May 22, 2005)

6 gallon, how much excel should I dose everyday? I do have a DIY CO2 set up. Should I dose excel in addition to that or take it out? I don't want to dose too much excel because I do intend to make it into a shrimp tank eventually. So far it only have 5 amanos.


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## Finch_man (Mar 21, 2006)

Size as in measurements. 6 gallon can come in all sizes, I dose excel every day in my 10 gallon with cherry shrimp. I can't tell the dose for a 6 gallon but I dose 1ml of excel in my 10 gallon.


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## briandmiles (Feb 23, 2005)

Excel does seem to make HC grow faster. So even if you have DIY CO2 the Excel seems to help. Every time I've planted HC it usually sits there for a week or two and does nothing. Then all of a sudden it starts to grow and spread. 

Brian


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## T-Bird (Jun 19, 2007)

If I just push small clumps of HC into some Aquasoil and dose with CO2, Excel, Potassium and have around 4.5WPG it will surely start filling in within the week right?

And once it's all grown in you won't be able to see it was planted correctly in the first place.


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Finch_man said:


> Seachem excel works great with HC *and will also slow down some stem plant growth.*


Huh? Such as? Basis for this statement?


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## yingxuebailang (May 22, 2005)

Thanks for the input I will start dosing around 0.5ml excel everyday and see what happens. I was worried because the HC doesn't seem to have any difference but its only been a week since its planted. So I guess I will just have to be patient. Any advice on when should I start dosing ferts other than excel?


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## fish_lover0591 (Nov 11, 2006)

this should help you with dosing http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/41981-nano-fert-dosing-101-a.html


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## yingxuebailang (May 22, 2005)

Sigh bad news. I think I overdosed excel yesterday. I am pretty sure I dosed less than 1ml of excel but maybe more than 0.5ml yesterday. This morning I found 3 dead amanos in my tank. I guess I can't really approximate for tank this size like I use to for my 29gal. So now I only have a swordtail and 2 amanos left in my tank. =( Should I continue to dose excel but around 0.25ml? or should I stop all dosing. The Moss Balls in my tank is turning a bit white on the edges and that's not really a good sign is it?


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

get a syringe! They're a must for nano tanks and dosing! Were you just taking your cap and using the thread lines to estimate? It's a terribly rough estimate.


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## Speshall*K (Jun 24, 2007)

Finch_man said:


> Seachem excel works great with HC and will also slow down some stem plant growth.





macclellan said:


> Huh? Such as? Basis for this statement?


I agree w/ macclellan... What type of stem plants are you talking about... Explain your theory please...


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## mrbelvedere (Nov 15, 2005)

I dose my Excel quite highly in all my invert tanks and there have been no repercussions. The ten gallon gets 4mL, the 60-P #2 gets 5-6mL. All have inverts in them, who are breeding quite happily.


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## tropicalfish (Mar 29, 2007)

Depends on how much plants you have, lighting, and fish load. 
Excel is a form of CO2. Without high light and enough plants, the CO2 won't be used quickly, resulting in too much for the fish and death. 
For small tanks, there is always a lighting "threshold". Smaller tanks need higher WPG.


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## yingxuebailang (May 22, 2005)

I think my lighting is high enough 28watt over a 6 gal. I think the problem maybe that I don't have alot of plants in the tank yet. Because I am just trying to grow a HC carpet and a few anubias and downoi and two moss ball who apparently rejects excel. I think I will stop dosing excel for a while and see how the HC does. Hopefully DIY CO2 will suffice.


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## yingxuebailang (May 22, 2005)

Oh yeah, one more question, does flourish smell like soy sauce to any of you? I've never dose flourish before I've always dosed dry ferts for my bigger tank. I just bought one for the nano tank and somehow it smells like soy sauce to me.. So salty ughm..?? not that I actually tasted it... just smells salty


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## erijnal (Jun 19, 2006)

> Seachem excel works great with HC and will also slow down some stem plant growth.


For those who think this is a false statement, think Elodeas, which I consider as stem plants. Also, although not stems, Vals and riccia will suffer from Excel dosing.


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

erijnal said:


> For those who think this is a false statement, think Elodeas, which I consider as stem plants. Also, although not stems, Vals and riccia will suffer from Excel dosing.


No they won't. Not when Excel it's dosed in appropriate levels. This is pure conjecture. I've grown tons of plants including vals, riccia, pellia, etc. and dose Excel in EVERY one of my planted tanks. Now, if you overdose Excel or dose it in high levels directly onto the plant for algae control purposes, that's another story...


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## anthonysquire (Jul 18, 2006)

tropicalfish said:


> Depends on how much plants you have, lighting, and fish load.
> Excel is a form of CO2. Without high light and enough plants, the CO2 won't be used quickly, resulting in too much for the fish and death.
> For small tanks, there is always a lighting "threshold". Smaller tanks need higher WPG.


Sorry, I'm not meaning to nit pick, but excel is not a form of CO2. It is an alternative carbon source. Plants use it just like the C in CO2.

I've been dosing 5 ml of excel in my 10 gal daily and 8-10 ml upon water changes and had to give away ricia bc it was blocking so much light from my other plants. I did accidentally get some excel directly on the ricia once and it almost wiped it all out though.


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