Why is that we do not have a competing product for Seachem Flourish Excel?

Is Excel a patented product or is this due to market dynamics?

Regards
Muthu K

There is easy carbo (by easy life) it is the same but cheaper.

Another fair approximation is found in 14 day hospital cleaners such as Metricide 14, it is about 2.5% Glutaraldehyde. It is easy to find <$30/gallon, shipped. I've seen a 4x1g case of it start for not much over $30(shipped) on ebay.

I've yet to find a definitive lab result posted as to the precise glutaraldehyde content in Excel, probably because Seachem is in the habit of being a sponsor of many sites where interest in that information would be high... There may be other stuff in there too, but I think that the glutaraldehyde is the main ingredient of interest.

Here is a listing: 4 1 Gallon MetriCide 14-Day Sterilizing & Disinfecting - eBay (item 220295252398 end time Oct-21-08 13:49:10 PDT), that would be a cost of $6.20 per liter shipped, if it goes for the minimum bid. Much, much cheaper than Excel. But, what is the dosage appropriate for a 100 gallon tank, for example?

Vaughn the ship cost is frigging 47+$ + 9.99. Nearly 60$.
Excel from Big Als is 37.99, but shipping is much less.
If you buy a few, then you get deals or buy other fish related stuff etc, then it's nearly free.

Excel is not 2.5% BTW either.


Regards,
Tom Barr

It's likely more due to regional distributors. In Europe, Seachem has some presence, but not that large like in the USA. Overall, it would be hard to beat and eat into their established market they created. There's not much $ in this product overall and there's not a simple way to get around the local pricing for it.

You should be able to get a similar product in India for cheaper, but in the USA, once you pay for the ship cost etc, it' becomes a similar priced item.

In India however, or say Taiwan, then perhaps not.

Regards,
Tom Barr

Big Al's price is for a 4 liter jug. That ebay price is for 4-3.8 liter jugs, and I included the shipping cost in it. Big Al would charge 4 x $38 = $152 just for the Excel, with shipping cost to be added, while that ebay cost is about $60 including the shipping for 4-3.8 liter jugs. No question that the ebay cost is less, but if you have to dose 10X as much the Excel would be a better buy. That's why I asked if anyone knew how much of the ebay stuff you would dose per 100 gallons of water.

is this a comparable product?
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Well, if it's 4x 1 gallon, then yes, it's 2.5x cheaper or so.
They kill you on shipping though.

As far as dose, instead of 5mls of Excel add 3mls.
I know how to use a test kit

Regards,
Tom Barr

there is lab reagent level purity at 25% or 50%. you can dilute it with pure water. that will save a lot for the shipping. Glutaraldehyde shall be available at chemical stores.