Tap Conditioner

[sjolliff]

Just found this about prime
SEACHEM PRIME 500ML

FRESHWATER & SALTWATER

REMOVES CHLORINE, CHLORAMINE, AMMONIA

DETOXIFIES NITRITE & NITRATE

PROVIDES SLIME COAT

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 / NITRATE TOXICITY.

PRIME DETOXIFIES NITRITE AND NITRATE, ALLOWING THE BIOFILTER TO MORE EFFICIENTLY REMOVE THEM.

PRIME ALSO PROMOTES THE PRODUCTION AND REGENERATION OF THE NATURAL SLIME COAT.

USE AT START-UP AND WHENEVER ADDING OR REPLACING WATER.

So when your doing a fishless cycle you want the ammonia and nitrites and nitrates to spike untill levels drop in 12 hours,

so if you add this or any other de-chlorinater does it not defeat the object?

i hope this makes sense or do i sound crazy to people?

 

[Rediahs]

Just found this about prime
SEACHEM PRIME 500ML

FRESHWATER & SALTWATER

REMOVES CHLORINE, CHLORAMINE, AMMONIA

DETOXIFIES NITRITE & NITRATE

PROVIDES SLIME COAT

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 / NITRATE TOXICITY.

PRIME DETOXIFIES NITRITE AND NITRATE, ALLOWING THE BIOFILTER TO MORE EFFICIENTLY REMOVE THEM.

PRIME ALSO PROMOTES THE PRODUCTION AND REGENERATION OF THE NATURAL SLIME COAT.

USE AT START-UP AND WHENEVER ADDING OR REPLACING WATER.

So when your doing a fishless cycle you want the ammonia and nitrites and nitrates to spike untill levels drop in 12 hours,

so if you add this or any other de-chlorinater does it not defeat the object?

i hope this makes sense or do i sound crazy to people?

Hehe.. nope, despite how it sounds, it's fine, many people use it while cycling and there's no problem.

Let me explain.... when it says it "removes" ammonia, it says it converts it to a non-toxic version that is readily removed by the biofilter, correct? I forget what exactly that's called, perhaps it's "ammonium", I am really not sure, but anyway, the bacteria you are trying to grow will also eat the different "forms" of ammonia and nitrite. They don't mind the switchup. It's just fish that mind it - they feel better with the converted forms.

At least that is my understanding! If I'm wrong, someone might come along and correct me, but I am pretty sure it's fine.

 

[OldMan47]

I sure won't correct you when you are right Chrissi. The safer form of ammonia is indeed ammonium.

 

[rabbut]

Stress Coat in a Discus tank leads to issues IME. If you've had a pH crash, it due to our water being very soft. Add some Baking Powder/Soda. Dissolve about 1 tsp per 5gl in a liter of water, and add to the tank, it will up the KH and hence pH

What a lot of people overlook, is that the bacteria in a tank are more than capable of becoming resistant to Chlorine and Chloramine, heck, "filter bacteria" in water pipes actually cause an issue for water companies, pushing Nitrate and/or Nitrite above the legal limits at a consumers taps if traces of Ammonia or Nitrite are present at the source... Also, unless you filter clone, the bacteria to start you cycle probably came from the tap anyway... While I don't recommend water changes without conditioner, I've found from experience that un-conditioned water is NOT dangerous to fish or filters in most instances...

If you are not going to fix the pH drop with the baking powder/soda, I'd water change without conditioner myself if you are just cycling. When I used dechlorinator, I used API Tap Water Conditioner (made by the same people that make Stress Coat, only without the irritants, o, sorry, I mean "natural slime coat enhancers" in it)

All the best
Rabbut

 

[sjolliff]

I did use baking soda to sort my PH out and works a treat thanks Rabbut,

as for the de-chlorinators i dont want to use them just because of what iv found out, but i dont want the chlorine to kill the bacs in my filter,

like you say the bacs in the filter etc can cope and overide the chlorine in the tap water

API stress coat took all nitrites and nitrates away, where as the tetra aqua safe just took a little nitrites and ntrates, im goin to order some seachem prime,
but this does state it de-toxifies nitrite and nitrate

iv heard of no one else having problems like this

 

[alchemist]

I would be interested to know what chemical process is occurring with the API stress coat and Seachem Prime to de-tox the nitrite and nitrate. It is quite possible that these products are just interfering with your test kit result and not your cycle.

Going out on a limb here based on the anecdotal evidence from other posts - if people are successfully cycling using these products - it is quite possible that even though your test kit is reading 0 for toxic nitrite - there is still some form of bacteria growth occurring.

I certainly saw strange ammonia readings when using ammo-lock for ammonia - and eventually I did fish-in cycle successfully.

What I am getting at - is that your test kit now reads 0 for toxic nitrite - but it is not reading this non-toxic version created by the product. Without more insight on the science and chemical process going on - it is hard to answer that conclusively.

 

[sjolliff]

I would be interested to know what chemical process is occurring with the API stress coat and Seachem Prime to de-tox the nitrite and nitrate. It is quite possible that these products are just interfering with your test kit result and not your cycle.

Going out on a limb here based on the anecdotal evidence from other posts - if people are successfully cycling using these products - it is quite possible that even though your test kit is reading 0 for toxic nitrite - there is still some form of bacteria growth occurring.

I certainly saw strange ammonia readings when using ammo-lock for ammonia - and eventually I did fish-in cycle successfully.

What I am getting at - is that your test kit now reads 0 for toxic nitrite - but it is not reading this non-toxic version created by the product. Without more insight on the science and chemical process going on - it is hard to answer that conclusively.

Thats a good point