Tropical Fish Forums

[Cinder]

Is there a time limit on keeping Flourish excel? Can it go bad?
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135 gln. freshwater tank
29 gln. freshwater tank

[unissuh]

As far as I know Seachem doesn't list an expiration date because the products last for a reasonable amount of time...last estimate I heard was in the 5-10 year + range.
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Fishing in the Rivers of Light

[deborah_claro]

True, but a good way to tell the age of your Excel is to note how brown it is. A newly opened bottle shows a clear liquid, but after only about a year under refigeration the liquid turns a light brown. The older it gets, the browner it gets. This has been my experience with Excel over the years.

At some point, it's so dark it's opaque, but not too old to use, as far as I know. If you prefer really fresh Excel, get a new bottle when you see the liquid has become really dark brown.
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[unissuh]

Hm, thats interesting, have never seen any of my Excel go brown and I've had some bottles for a couple of years. I don't refridgerate mine, Seachem says it should be OK at room temp. I'd toss it if it does go very brown too, gluteraldehyde turns things brown when it fixes them or decomposes so it is probably losing activity then.
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Fishing in the Rivers of Light