Cycling A Filter Using Prime Dechlor.....

mattlee

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ive started to cycle a new batch of media in a spare tank to get it ready for my new tank stocking. but ive just thought that i used seachem prime to dechlorinate the water first and double dosed to be 100% safe. will the prime ruin the cycle or am i just being daft? :unsure:
 
i have always wondered the answer to this question...
 
i wouldnt of thought so , as it doesnt actually remove ammonia , just converts it to a safer non toxic form ( if you believe the blurb that is )
 
Would that be ammonium? Because that'd be no good for cycling.
 
Would that be ammonium? Because that'd be no good for cycling.
this is true, can anyone give a definate answer on this so im not wasting my time trying to cycle this media? :unsure:

the API ammonia test still reads 4ppm the same as it was when first added 2 days ago. would it still give an ammonia reading for ammonium?
 
Unless the prime gases the ammonia straight away along with the dechlor. If we don't get an answer, email seachem. I bet WD would know the answer to this one.
 
this is from the seachem website. it states that its ok for cycling a filter but does it mean in a fish in cycle?

Prime
Product Description
Prime® is the complete and concentrated conditioner for both fresh and salt water. Prime® removes chlorine, chloramine and ammonia. Prime® converts ammonia into a safe, non-toxic form that is readily removed by the tank’s biofilter. Prime® may be used during tank cycling to alleviate ammonia/nitrite toxicity. Prime® detoxifies nitrite and nitrate, allowing the biofilter to more efficiently remove them. It will also detoxify any heavy metals found in the tap water at typical concentration levels. Prime® also promotes the production and regeneration of the natural slime coat. Prime® is non-acidic and will not impact pH. Prime® will not overactivate skimmers. Use at start-up and whenever adding or replacing water.

Sizes: 50 mL, 100 mL, 250 mL, 500 mL, 2 L, 4 L, 20 L

Why It's Different
Nearly all companies manufacture a product that removes chlorine. None of those, however, can compare in quality, concentration, or effectiveness to Seachem’s flagship product: Prime®. Prime® is the second most concentrated dechlorinator on the market after our own aquavitro alpha™. A single 100 mL bottle will treat 1000 US gallons of tap water. Prime® will remove both chlorine and chloramines from municipal water supplies.

Prime® also contains a binder which renders ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate non-toxic. It is very important to understand how those two functions work together. All dechlorinators operate through a chemical process known as reduction. In this process, toxic dissolved chlorine gas (Cl2) is converted into non-toxic chloride ions (Cl-). The reduction process also breaks the bonds between chlorine and nitrogen atoms in the chloramine molecule (NH2Cl), freeing the chlorine atoms and replacing them with hydrogen (H) to create ammonia (NH3).

Typically, dechlorinators stop there, leaving an aquarium full of toxic ammonia! Seachem takes the necessary next step by including an ammonia binder to detoxify the ammonia produced in the reduction process.

Be very careful when purchasing water conditioners. If your municipality includes chloramines in the water supplies, a standard sodium thiosulfate dechlorinator is not enough. Prime® promotes the natural production and restoration of the slime coat rather than relying on artificial or non-native slime compounds. A further bonus for the ref hobbyist—Prime® will not overactivate protein skimmers.
 
ive emailed seachem explaining my thoughts, so i guess we will have to wait for their reply....

can no one help on the forum?

has anyone else cycled using prime as a dechlor?
 
Cycled fishless long ago with Prime, no issues at all.
 
Agreed - ammonium shows up exactly the same on the ammonia test kits as ammonia, and the bacteria use it in the same way, it's just safer for the fish :)
 
Cycled two tanks only using Prime and had them in relatively quick time, one cycle was just under 30 days (from scratch) and my 2nd cycle completed in a week (though I seeded from bacteria). Due to the bacteria's "delicate" state when forming I used a larger than normal dosage of prime to ensure there was no chlorine or chloromines which could be capable of killing the bacteria I spent time forming.

I believe you will find a lot of the higher quality water conditioners "Neutralise" Ammonia into Ammonium there a few that don't, Nutrafin Aquasafe/plus or what ever it is called ( I would not recommend ). On a fish in cycle I was finding the Nutrafin Aquaplus after a 50% water change was producing a highly noticeable test kit reading and pretty much became counter productive to use such a water conditioner.

I assume from the fact that Ammonium is formed when the pH is on the acidic side of things and our bacteria keep consuming enough not to show a reading, that Ammonium is a perfectly fine "food" source for our friendly bacteria.

Like Bananas are to Bifidius Digestivum, Ammonium does them the world of good too... Or so I have had that way, plus my smaller tank is constantly below 7 on the pH scale.
 
excellent thats great news, thanks for the replies guys :good: :good: :good:

heres the reply from seachem......

Hello Matt,
Thank you for your question. It is completely fine to use the Prime to de-chlorinate during a fish-less cycle. Prime binds to ammonia and renders it non-toxic to fish, however, it is still able to be consumed by the bacteria. Actually, the standard dose of Prime will only bind about 1ppm of ammonia anyway and this is assuming there is nothing else present in the water (ie: chlorine, chloramine, etc.). So technically, there really shouldn't be very much of this "detoxified" ammonia present. Your fish-less cycle should not be hindered by the addition of Prime at all. Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.
Tech Support 10201

so all is well :good:
 

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