JoshC

I have a 38g tank with 2wpg of t5-ho. I noticed some of the plants aren't doing so well so I was looking into EI dosing with dry ferts. I will also possibly be adding another light to the tank to get about 4wpg. My question is, can I run JUST excel to provide the necessary carbon levels to my plants? Or will i need to run diy co2 along with the excel?

(At this time i cannot afford a pressurized system.)

freshyleif

How long have you had this tank running? How old are the light bulbs? What do you mean by plants not doing well?

JoshC

tank has been up about a year now and the bulbs are only a few months old. As for the plants im seeing pin holes in the leaves and some plants such as my crypt wendtii have yellow looking leaves.

nilocg

Definitely sounds like a nutrient deficiency, dry ferts should help with that. I wouldnt add the second light, 4wpg is asking for problems even if you have co2. I would add the co2 and dry ferts first and see how everything looks.

BTW, if you are looking for dry ferts I have some for sale, PM me if you are interested.

JoshC

The question here is, would excel be enough carbon on its own? or do i need to have a gas form along with it?

nilocg

I don't think excel would be enough with that much light.

aquaman555

I would definitely do a DIY C02 before doing just Excel. You could also use them together of course.

JoshC

Is there anything i need to know about doing both DIY and excell together?

aquaman555

I just run DIY on my tank, I've used Excel. I find it best for algae control just my opinion. There shouldn't be any problems with using both together.

Big_Fish

To answer your original question, YES, excel by itself should provide enough carbon for your plants.
obviously you won't need as much excel if you also DIY C02, but excel by itself works fine.