Should I add some Prime to my tank?

[x3ro]

I think I may have pulled a stupid, and not even thought about it..

I've been cycling my tank by adding ammonia, and been topping off with tap water..

I forgot about adding prime or another dechlorinator to the tap water before topping off the tank..

I last topped off a week or so ago... Should I go ahead and add in some prime? How will this affect my cycle?

Should I add some prime, let it sit for awhile, then add back in 2-3ppm of ammonia?

[rich311k]

It will matter. I never dechlorinate top off water. You can add some Prime if you wish for safety but it is of no importance, add your ammonia and keep going. I only use the dechlor when I do water changes, a few gallons of water with chlorine is not going to hurt anything.

[jpappy789]

Adding a decholrinator will could definitely make a difference as chlorine kills your bacteria colony on contact...I'd rather be safe than sorry personally...

[x3ro]

Adding a decholrinator will could definitely make a difference as chlorine kills your bacteria colony on contact...I'd rather be safe than sorry personally...

So you think I should add some prime, wait a while, and then dose with ammonia or what?

[bazil323]

Yep. I always add a dechlor if there is a chance of adding chlorine to my tanks. Regardless of the amount. I'd add the Prime (make sure it's one that doesn't "eliminate" ammonia, but just makes the chlorine/chloramines safe) and then you should be able to dose immediately after. Personally, I'd wait 5 minutes, but I'm paranoid. It doesn't take long at all for the Prime or whatever you use to work.

[Fla_Larry]

I think I may have pulled a stupid, and not even thought about it..

I've been cycling my tank by adding ammonia, and been topping off with tap water..

I forgot about adding prime or another dechlorinator to the tap water before topping off the tank..

I last topped off a week or so ago... Should I go ahead and add in some prime? How will this affect my cycle?

Should I add some prime, let it sit for awhile, then add back in 2-3ppm of ammonia?


As to adding "Prime" as a few mentioned, YES to avoid killing the benificial bacteria, that said, how much you are topping off will also make a differance, a smal amount in relation to overall volume, you might get away with it. Prime is cheap, just treat the water, leave it sit a bit, then top off the tank, better safe than sorry.

[gmh]

It's a good idea to keep a some bottles of RO water on hand for top off purposes. The water lost to evaporation leaves behind all the minerals it contained. So over time the total dissolved solids in your water will increase if you do frequent top offs with tap water.
And you have no worries about using dechlor with RO water.

[7itanium]

It's a good idea to keep a some bottles of RO water on hand for top off purposes. The water lost to evaporation leaves behind all the minerals it contained. So over time the total dissolved solids in your water will increase if you do frequent top offs with tap water.
And you have no worries about using dechlor with RO water.

Yeah but where does one get RO water without spending hundreds on a filtration system?

[gmh]

A local fish store may sell it. Or those water vending machines you see around many supermarkets. Most of them produce RO water. It should say so on the machine. You could test the first batch for GH/ KH to make sure it is really RO.
Or you can just buy gallon jugs of distilled water at the supermarket. More expensive that way, probably around a buck a gallon.

[jpappy789]

A local fish store may sell it. Or those water vending machines you see around many supermarkets. Most of them produce RO water. It should say so on the machine. You could test the first batch for GH/ KH to make sure it is really RO.
Or you can just buy gallon jugs of distilled water at the supermarket. More expensive that way, probably around a buck a gallon.

Exactly, distilled water may be cheaper per gallon than RO depending on your store. I feel like mine is a huge rip off...

[UpstateNYer]

First, I don't really suggest RO or RO/DI water for any tank other than saltwater tanks. RO/DI water is stripped of it's buffering capacity and can cause pH swings. It's fine for topping off a tank that was originally filled with tap water (if the tap water had sufficient buffer to begin with) because the dissolved minerals won't evaporate although some may deposit as solids on the glass & equipment.

Once a tank is up and running (cycled) I would just use tap water to top off. Don't worry about buffers or minerals becoming concentrated in your tank due to evaporation because you'll be removing part of the water and replacing it with new during scheduled water changes anyway.

If you -are- going to be using RO water in a freshwater tank you should be using a product like "RO Right" or some other buffer to prevent pH swings and restore the necessary mineral content to the water.

As for whether to add prime now or not.. After a week's time it really wouldn't matter. If your municipality is using chlorine it's certainly all outgassed by now. If your municipality is using chloramine then I'm sure most if not all would also be outgassed in a weeks time if you have a filter running in the tank (water agitation).

Many aquarium keepers don't use a dechlorinator such as prime, amquel, stress coat, etc at all; some age water so that chlorine / chloramine is outgassed naturally. The problem with chloramine though is that even once the chlorine/amine bond is broken and the chlorine outgassed it leaves behind ammonia compounds. Call your water board / water authority and ask which they use. If it's chloramine then you should keep on top of using a dechlor product even if aging water before use in your tank as the better dechlorinators out there (like prime) help detoxify the remaining ammonia.

Just my $0.02

Ric

[gaday]

Use Stress Coat and wait 48 hours. Sometimes it takes up to three or four weks to completely cycle a tank. Make sure you have adequate biological filtration ammonia alone won't do it. Add some small fish and be patient.

[Mgamer20o0]

if its chlorine then its already gassed off but if its chloramines it doesnt. it wont hurt anything to add prime. i would add it better safe then sorry.

[tcarswell]

Most chlorine is dissapated within 24 hours. Chloramine is not however .