Something You Should Know About Seachem Prime

[Cossie1111]

we all love prime, it dechlorinates, removes ammonia, AND stimulates slime coat. however this is something taken off seachems website about prime. i suggest you read it.

A Nessler based kit will not read ammonia properly if you are using Prime®... it will look "off scale", sort of a muddy brown (incidentally a Nessler kit will not work with any other products similar to Prime®). A salicylate based kit can be used, but with caution. Under the conditions of a salicylate kit the ammonia-Prime complex will be broken down eventually giving a false reading of ammonia (same as with other products like Prime®), so the key with a salicylate kit is to take the reading right away. However, the best solution ;-) is to use our MultiTest: Ammonia™ kit... it uses a gas exchange sensor system which is not affected by the presence of Prime® or other similar products. It also has the added advantage that it can detect the more dangerous free ammonia and distinguish it from total ammonia (which is both the free and ionized forms of ammonia (the ionized form is not toxic)).

most of us use API test kits, which are salicylate based, so ammonia readings need to be taken right away when using prime. if you are not using API kits and using prime, i suggest you check if your kit is nessler based, and if it is, buy a salicylate based kit.

maybe some people know this but just to help those that dont.

 

[nikkifro8994]

What do you mean by right away? don't let the test tube sit for 5 minutes? or check the levels right after use?

 

[XeroTolerance]

So if you use the API Master Test Kit should you take the reading right after adding Prime? I read the quote, but what would happen if you didn't? False Readings? If so would it turn greener or stay yellow? Thanks for posting this, it will help a lot of people!

 

[Cossie1111]

What the quote means is:

if there is prime in your water, and you want to do an ammonia test, you add the drops and shake the test tube, but instead of waiting 5 minutes for the color to develop, you take the reading immediately, if you wait 5 mins it will result in a false reading.

 

[coldcazzie]

Fairly sure this is true for all good dechlorinators as they bind chloramine as well as chlorine: by binding the chloramine you get a positive reading on a test kit because the kits don't differentiate between ammonia and ammonium ions. No need to worry. But good to pass on that they think you can get around this by doing your ammonia test immediately

 

[minnnt]

This is nothing new and has been discussed on many threads before.

 

[Cossie1111]

This is nothing new and has been discussed on many threads before.

Sorry, I thought I was helping. A mod can delete this thread if they like.

 

[minnnt]

I never said you weren't... Chill...

 

[MBOU]

Nice one Cossie!! Was good information and explained a lot clearer than has been elsewhere and will help a lot of people. Ignore the misers, not veryone knows this information and it is usefull to bring it up.

 

[minnnt]

Nice one Cossie!! Was good information and explained a lot clearer than has been elsewhere and will help a lot of people. Ignore the misers, not veryone knows this information and it is usefull to bring it up.

LOL! I'm not a miser, i was just pointing out that it had been discussed before... Not my fault some members are touchy. Just a simple observation.

 

[moochy13]

This is nothing new and has been discussed on many threads before.

ive never read it in the time ive been here.

 

[minnnt]

Lol... well i joined after you and i have read it several times.

Sorry to the OP for any offence caused by me pointing this out. I never said it wasn't useful or that you shouldn't have posted it. Alot of people do use Seachem Prime so i guess it is helpful to know.

 

[XeroTolerance]

What the quote means is:

if there is prime in your water, and you want to do an ammonia test, you add the drops and shake the test tube, but instead of waiting 5 minutes for the color to develop, you take the reading immediately, if you wait 5 mins it will result in a false reading.

Thank you! I have tested and waited 5 minutes after using Prime for the past week and I always get the same .25 ammonia reading. When it starts out though it is yellow so thats good to know.

Does this quote apply to all the other tests or just the ammonia one?

 

[coldcazzie]

Does this quote apply to all the other tests or just the ammonia one?

Only ammonia. Because Prime breaks down the bond between chlorine and nitrogen you leave the nitrogen free to react with hydrogen creating ammonia. Prime then converts the ammonia into ammonium which is less toxic for fish, but equally as accessable for the bacteria in your filter. However, because:

the kits don't differentiate between ammonia and ammonium ions

you still get a positive reading. However, any reading that is produced by dechlorination is usually taken care of by your filter within a couple of hours, therefore nothing to worry about.

 

[XeroTolerance]

Does this quote apply to all the other tests or just the ammonia one?

Only ammonia. Because Prime breaks down the bond between chlorine and nitrogen you leave the nitrogen free to react with hydrogen creating ammonia. Prime then converts the ammonia into ammonium which is less toxic for fish, but equally as accessable for the bacteria in your filter. However, because:

the kits don't differentiate between ammonia and ammonium ions

you still get a positive reading. However, any reading that is produced by dechlorination is usually taken care of by your filter within a couple of hours, therefore nothing to worry about.

Thanks for your help!