Ammonia in new tank with seeded filter media

[Essjay]

From here https://seachem.com/prime.php in the FAQ section

Q: If Prime® is removing ammonia from the system, won’t that starve the beneficial bacteria?

A: Prime® does not remove ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate from the system. It simply binds with those compounds making them harmless to the inhabitants and still bioavailable to the beneficial bacteria.

Prime does not prevent the bacteria growing, but it does interfere with the ammonia tester - there are a couple of FAQ's dealing with this on the same page.

 

[mrsjoannh13]

From here https://seachem.com/prime.php in the FAQ section



Prime does not prevent the bacteria growing, but it does interfere with the ammonia tester - there are a couple of FAQ's dealing with this on the same page.

So @Essjay - would Prime cause the ammonia reading in the API liquid test kit to show as 0? After 2 water changes on Sunday, the results yesterday were consistently 0 ammonia (I tested 4 times). Is this a false reading and there may be ammonia in the tank? I'm hoping not following 2 big water changes and no feedings Sunday or yesterday. Just want to be sure I'm doing right by my little fishie friend. Thank you!

 

[Essjay]

No, if the reading is zero, that's the correct reading.


The type of reaction our testers use (the salicylate reaction) detects both ammonia and ammonium so even if all the ammonia is in the detoxified state, the ammonia tester will still show a reading. I think the only reason Seachem make a fuss about it is they don't want people seeing an ammonia reading and think Prime hasn't worked.
The same applies to all water conditioners which detoxify ammonia.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Seachem prime will halt the natural nitrogen cycle so dont use that; just rely on water changes to remove ammonia. Seeded filter media needs time to adapt to the new water conditions; I once started a fish less cycle in a tank with long established pond filtration media and what I observed was a 1 week pause in ammonia to nitrite conversion and a low oxygen environment.

The best way to start a new tank is to plant it up, under stock it with fish and if you want to add established filter media, only add a very small piece to avoid the tank going hypoxic.

Incorrect; Prime does not "halt" a cycle, of any kind. It converts ammonia to ammonium, which feeds the beneficial bacteria as well as pure ammonia will.

 

[mark4785]

Incorrect; Prime does not "halt" a cycle, of any kind. It converts ammonia to ammonium, which feeds the beneficial bacteria as well as pure ammonia will.

There is a lot of evidence out there that Prime actually converts toxic ammonia into a different compound other than ammonium since temperature and pH are determinants of the ratio of toxic NH3 and non-toxic NH4. The effect of this is a stall since the beneficial filter bacteria will have no food after using Prime.

Source: https://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/threads/how-does-prime-work.120683/ .

 

[Slaphppy7]

There is a lot of evidence out there that Prime actually converts toxic ammonia into a different compound other than ammonium since temperature and pH are determinants of the ratio of toxic NH3 and non-toxic NH4. The effect of this is a stall since the beneficial filter bacteria will have no food after using Prime.

Source: https://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/threads/how-does-prime-work.120683/ .

Thank you for the link, I will check it out....