Seachem Prime?

[jmhart]

sorry still didnt help the lil guy?

and i know jeffrey is the MAN!

Sorry, to stay more on topic:

It is the best.

After adding Prime, it will diffuse(both my Brownian motion and the current of your water) and mix with your water. You don't want to worry about whether it will mix. As long as you are adding enough(i.e. 1 capful for 50g), it'll do it's job.

Next, our discussion has turned to whether Prime removes anything out of the water that the plants need. For starters, most of what Prime removes your plants do not need. The number one thing Prime is concerned with is Chlorine and Chlorine derivatives. Your plants really don't want these. Prime also removes heavy metals, for the most part, the heavy metals in your tap water, your plants don't want. And finally, we are discussing what effect Prime has on Nitrates, which your plants want.

It is possible that Prime will throw off your water test. However, any effect Prime has on your water test is far less than the effect that a water change has. Meaning, when you do a water change, your levels are going to drop way low anyway, so you won't even notice what Prime does. No worries there.

I think I hit everything you originally asked.

 

[FtwayneFish]

thats what i didnt know. if it was the water dilluting or the prime erasing?

so i guess another couple of ?'s

what does prime affect- test wise

can i test right away?

when do the experts (you) test your water? b4 a WC to see how bad it got? or after a WC to see how good it is?

man im lost?

 

[jmhart]

thats what i didnt know. if it was the water dilluting or the prime erasing?

so i guess another couple of ?'s

what does prime affect- test wise

can i test right away?

when do the experts (you) test your water? b4 a WC to see how bad it got? or after a WC to see how good it is?

man im lost?

Prime could effect your NO3, NO2, and NH4 tests. However, you will see a large drop in these following a water change anyway, so the effect of Prime doesn't really matter.

You can test before a water change to see how bad it got, that's good information to have. Let's you know if you need to do your water change more often. I would say test the day after a water change, just to let things settle out. That's just me. This can also be good information, let you know if your water change needs to be more or less volume.

I also wanted to mention, technically, Prime works instantly. But, by "instantly" they mean after it has diffused throughout the water, which can take a long minute. This is why I wouldn't test immediately following a water change. At least give it an hour.

 

[FtwayneFish]

JEFFREY IS THE MOST HELPFULL GUY ON HERE!

 

[H3D]

Next, our discussion has turned to whether Prime removes anything out of the water that the plants need...we are discussing what effect Prime has on Nitrates, which your plants want.

It is possible that Prime will throw off your water test.

Prime could effect your NO3, NO2, and NH4 tests.

http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Prime_faq.html

"[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Q: How does Prime make a difference in reducing Nitrates?[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] A: The detoxification of nitrite and nitrate by Prime (when used at elevated levels) is not well understood from a mechanistic standpoint. The most likely explanation is that the nitrite and nitrate is removed in a manner similar to the way ammonia is removed; i.e. it is bound and held in a inert state until such time that bacteria in the biological filter are able to take a hold of it, break it apart and use it. Two other possible scenarios are reduction to nitrogen (N2) gas or conversion into a benign organic nitrogen compound.
I wish we had some more "concrete" explanation, but the end result is the same, it does actually detoxify nitrite and nitrate. This was unexpected chemically and thus initially we were not even aware of this, however we received numerous reports from customers stating that when they overdosed with Prime they were able to reduce or eliminate the high death rates they experienced when their nitrite and nitrate levels were high. We have received enough reports to date to ensure that this is no fluke and is in fact a verifiable function of the product."[/FONT]

Again I do not see how Prime could give a false NO2/NO3 reading. If using Prime at EXTREMELY ELEVATED AMOUNTS does in fact detoxify N02/N03 it seems logical that a lower test reading would be do to actual removal of N02/N03 as explained above.

Again this is not likely to occur with normal Prime usage and therefore shouldn't have an effect on a planted tank.

 

[jmhart]

As that points out, the effect of Prime on NO2/NO3 doesn't rely on the level of NO2/NO3, but the amount(overdose) of Prime.

I wonder what level of overdose they are refering to. I know a lot of people round up. For example, pour in a full capful(enough for 50g) for a 38g or 45g tank. This is an overdose. Additionally, some people treat algae with Prime, by applying prime directly to the algae during a water change. Depending on how much algae is being dosed, an overdose is extremely possible. Anything over 1 capful for 50g would be an overdose, and therefore leads me to believe than any dose of Prime over this amount could effect NO2/NO3 test levels.

However, this is still all moo(you know, like a cows opinion), since these levels are going to decrease anyway after a water change.

 

[H3D]

As that points out, the effect of Prime on NO2/NO3 doesn't rely on the level of NO2/NO3, but the amount(overdose) of Prime.

I wonder what level of overdose they are refering to. I know a lot of people round up. For example, pour in a full capful(enough for 50g) for a 38g or 45g tank. This is an overdose. Additionally, some people treat algae with Prime, by applying prime directly to the algae during a water change. Depending on how much algae is being dosed, an overdose is extremely possible. Anything over 1 capful for 50g would be an overdose, and therefore leads me to believe than any dose of Prime over this amount could effect NO2/NO3 test levels.

I am not sure at what point they determine the "overdose" of prime. My point was that if Prime detoxifies N02/N03 it does so by somehow removing the chemical compound from the water. Meaning it should not in any way cause a false NO2/NO3 reading.

 

[jmhart]

I am not sure at what point they determine the "overdose" of prime. My point was that if Prime detoxifies N02/N03 it does so by somehow removing the chemical compound from the water. Meaning it should not in any way cause a false NO2/NO3 reading.

Yeah, definitely. I had that thought earlier and forgot to mention it. In one of these posts, there seemed to be an implied idea that the reading would be a false one. For sure what effect Prime has on lowering NO2/NO3 is a true removal effect.

So, in this regard, Prime should not affect a water test for NO2 or NO3.

You mentioned it could effect an NH4 test, in what way could it give a false reading?

 

[H3D]

You mentioned it could effect an NH4 test, in what way could it give a false reading?

The false reading is caused by the inability of most NH3 test to be able to distinguish between NH3 and NH4. Prime converts NH3 to NH4. So some test will still show positive for Ammonia.

 

[FtwayneFish]

The false reading is caused by the inability of most NH3 test to be able to distinguish between NH3 and NH4. Prime converts NH3 to NH4. So some test will still show positive for Ammonia.

ahhhh there we go. english lol.

but so if i test too quick it will show some levels of ammonia, when they may be absent or at a less level?