Flourish Excel contains copper... safe for inverts?

kimmisc

kimmisc

is in your closet.
Mar 12, 2007
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Florence, SC
Mellovision pointed out in another thread that Flourish Excel contains some copper, making it possibly unsafe for inverts. My web search for articles was unsuccessful.

Ingredients:
Potassium Chloride, Calcium Chloride, Copper Sulfate, Magnesium Chloride, Ferrous Gluconate, Cobalt Sulfate, Magnesium Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Boric Acid, Sodium Molybdate, Zinc Sulfate, Protein Hydrolysates.

Guaranteed Analysis:
In Percentages:
Total Nitrogen 0.07
Available Phosphate ( P2O5) 0.01
Calcium (Ca) 0.14
Magnesium (Mg) 0.11
Sulfur (S) 0.2773
Boron (B) 0.009
Chlorine (Cl) 1.15
Cobalt (Co) 0.0004
Copper (Cu) 0.0001
Iron (Fe) 0.32
Manganese (Mn) 0.0118
Molybdenum (Mo) 0.0009
Sodium (Na) 0.13
Zinc (Zn) 0.0007

I've been using Excel for about 5 months in tanks with shrimp and snails, and noticed no ill effects. However, this isn't to say there would be no long term effects. I'd like to hear from some folks a little more knowledgable about the chemistry than myself. Will the copper in the tank accumulate over time and eventually reach toxic levels for inverts? Is there always some trace amounts of copper in the tank? Is any trace of it potentially lethal?
 
in the list of ingredients it also lists chlorine , i think most dechlorinators remove any copper traces as well as the chlorine . plus the fact that its only a 10000th of a percent of the capful you put in a 50 gallon tank , its nothing to worry about .
 
Wow. .0001

By that token it would probably take like four hundred and fifty million bottles just to coat the zinc an a US penny.

I wouldn't worry about it one thousandth of a bit.
 
Okay, I felt it was pretty safe since I couldn't find any info to the contrary, but wanted to run it by you guys to be on the safer side. :)
 
I think it is more than okay..
 
i have used it in all my tanks, and trust me. my snail population anything BUT died. ;)
 
The plants in the tank are going to use the copper faster then it could ever accumulate. Its such a low amount that it would take years of no water changes and no plants to get to unsafe levels. But if you had no plants you wouldn't be using it would you.
 
IceH2O said:
The plants in the tank are going to use the copper faster then it could ever accumulate. Its such a low amount that it would take years of no water changes and no plants to get to unsafe levels. But if you had no plants you wouldn't be using it would you.
Click to expand...

Probably wouldn't, though it's come up in discussions about beard algae, and I could see some dosing Excel for keeping beard algae under control.... if it works without plants. I'm still unsure if Excel's effect on beard algae is indirect and more of a side effect of thriving live plants using up all the nutrients, hence starving the algae. I personally don't think plants could starve algae as quickly as Excel got rid of my beard algae though. It seemed like the simple presence of carbon killed the beard algae off.
 
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