why is flourish excel dosed how it is? - Page 2

Tech Support AN · #11 09-28-2009, 16:42

Unfortunately, testing for Gluteraldehyde will not suffice and giving you our testing methods would be giving proprietary information. As for a moderately planted tank, I can not give you exact numbers of plants that were in the tank, however, moderately planted generally means approximately 50-75% of the substrate is covered.

sostoudt · #12 09-29-2009, 17:28

how come seachem is so secret about excel? i thought the company patented the chemical? or is the patent not sufficent to protect you product overseas?

sostoudt · #13 09-29-2009, 17:58

i have one more question in addition to the last one.
Why cant you tell us how excel kills algae exactly? i know you said its because the government wont let you or that is not marketed as a algaecide but surely by telling use its possible method of action it wont be implying the product is for algaecidel purposes(i believe i got those reasons from threads so correct me if im wrong).
Clearly you already acknowledge that property based on the FAQ, how is telling us how it happens breaking the law?
its similar to a antifreeze maker telling me it causes kidney failure if ingested, that doesnt imply a recommendation to use it as a poison.

i have never been part of a company or marketed a product, so answering these questions would help satisfy some curiosity of mine. thanks

LabTest57 · #14 09-29-2009, 18:43

Actually if you google your question you can find answers relevant to this topic. I know its something...hydroxide that is in excel that kills the algae. Excel has a combination of chemicals or maybe just two.

LabTest57 · #15 09-29-2009, 18:58

Some sites that I found:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/seachem/64847-excel-experience.html

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=104658

http://www.barrreport.com/co2-aquatic-plant-fertilization/4196-glutaraldehyde.html

After reading most of the posts in these sites I found out that it's actually glutaraldehyde that is the key component of carbon source for the plants and for killing algae (it sterilizes and is toxic at different concentrations,etc.). There's also something about Polycycloglutaracetal...

sostoudt · #16 09-30-2009, 12:50

thanks, i can kinda guess how it works, but i think its weird seachem cant post on the topic.

sostoudt · #17 09-30-2009, 12:59

http://www.aquabotanic.com/carbon.html
interview with Dr Gregory Morin. the part im interested is the last part, about algae not being able to use it.

rather then assume seachem and the government has some secret deal with the usage of excel, i would assume this is a legal technicality, i curious as what that is.

LabTest57 · #18 09-30-2009, 13:31

I don't really care if it's legal or not. If it's true that excel works like an algaecide by using it's intial dosage (for water changes or on 1st time applications,etc.), and also acts as carbon source for most plants, I would use it. However, it seems that the concentration of this chemical per bottle is too low. I would expend in about a week or two.

Tech Support LK · #19 09-30-2009, 14:16

Flourish Excel is not patented. When you patent a product, it costs a significant amount of money to do so. In effect, once you patent it, you, as the patent-holder, are then responsible for making sure it does not get copied. This means that anytime some company or individual tries to mimic the product, you must not only be the one to discover this, but you also must spend enormous amounts of money going around and suing everyone. Sure, Flourish Excel is a popular product and all, but it does not generate near enough capital for us to reasonably justify patenting it. Additionally, as you touched on, even if you put a US patent on something, it does not prevent its replication overseas.

sostoudt · #20 09-30-2009, 14:55

[QUOTE=Tech Support LK;7167]Flourish Excel is not patented. When you patent a product, it costs a significant amount of money to do so. In effect, once you patent it, you, as the patent-holder, are then responsible for making sure it does not get copied. This means that anytime some company or individual tries to mimic the product, you must not only be the one to discover this, but you also must spend enormous amounts of money going around and suing everyone. Sure, Flourish Excel is a popular product and all, but it does not generate near enough capital for us to reasonably justify patenting it. Additionally, as you touched on, even if you put a US patent on something, it does not prevent its replication overseas.[/QUOTE]

thats understandable if you dont have a patent, i thought i remember reading a post some years ago that made it seem like you would be applying for one, and once obtained more info would be given. perhaps i misread, or the poster was misinformed. also didnt know a patent holder was responsible for enforcement of the patent.