Help! Pet shop lied to us.

[ska d]

Wow, so when we have an advance in the hobby and learn that the smartest thing to do is condition your water with a chemical like prime that is a bad thing just because people didn't do it before we learned that?

She has gotten a lot of advice in here but the only conflicting advice was from you telling her not to neutralize the ammonia in the water which kills fish.

Besides hearing about different fish to stock she has been told to use a chemical like prime to condition her tap water to make it safe for fish, get a liquid test kit to monitor test results, and keep track of the levels and neutralize Chen spikes as needed. No one told her to use something not as it was recommended (and if you are referring to me mentioning dosing 2-5x prime it is written right on the bottle to do that for specific instances like a nitrite spike) and we have only offered advice.

What would you have her do? Just throw some more fish in there, not make sure her water has been treated, and hope they survive with regular water changes? Once again, just because that's how people did it for years doesn't mean it is how it should be done now when so much has been learned. Chemicals like prime are not a last resort. They are a chemical to be used regularly for every water change and to neutralize chemical spikes to preserve the life of your fish

We have found out that she can't obtain Prime where she is so someone will have to offer another way to do what it does. I don't know of any others so hopefully someone can help her out in that regard.

Ya OK you're right. But when I said products should be used as intended I think that covered the water conditioner part. As for cycling a tank I guess using prime to aid this can work but not sure how it would benefit the BB. Its all a moot point anyways since she can't even get the stuff

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[Star_Rider]

This is correct but does not apply to the chemically bound ammonia from the use of Prime. If the tank in question has no bio-filter/plants or a weak biofilter, then some of the initially 'bound' ammonia may be released back to it's free form as the Prime dissipates after 24-48 hrs or so. This normally isn't an issue in most tanks. However, any free/unbound ammonia is indeed at the mercy of the tank's pH.

slappy, having spent a large amount of time studying science...I never put myself out there and say'does not apply to ....' as there are many unknowns and often we learn later that never really isn't never
ska d prime is simply bottled/premixed Sodium Thiosulphate
they also make a dry version(safe) which is prime sans the water and buffers..prime or sodium thiosulfate, simple binds the free H to NH3 transforming it to NH4 NH4 can still be consumed by the BB colony and continue on it's merry way.

 

[ska d]

slappy, having spent a large amount of time studying science...I never put myself out there and say'does not apply to ....' as there are many unknowns and often we learn later that never really isn't never
ska d prime is simply bottled/premixed Sodium Thiosulphate
they also make a dry version(safe) which is prime sans the water and buffers..prime or sodium thiosulfate, simple binds the free H to NH3 transforming it to NH4 NH4 can still be consumed by the BB colony and continue on it's merry way.

didn't realize there was a dry version. Would this be cheaper to buy and add your own ro water to mix.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[Rbishop]

Yes..but it doesn't have stabilizers as the Liquid prime does, keep your batches small and use in a timely manner.

 

[Slappy*McFish]

slappy, having spent a large amount of time studying science...I never put myself out there and say'does not apply to ....' as there are many unknowns and often we learn later that never really isn't never
ska d prime is simply bottled/premixed Sodium Thiosulphate
they also make a dry version(safe) which is prime sans the water and buffers..prime or sodium thiosulfate, simple binds the free H to NH3 transforming it to NH4 NH4 can still be consumed by the BB colony and continue on it's merry way.

Fair enough.

Here is some good reading if anyone is interested. http://www.seachem.net/support/forums/showthread.php?t=3148
It seems that Prime's 'detoxification' of ammonia is a bit more complicated than just transforming it to NH4. Seachem states that it is converted into 'complexed imidium salts.' Nonetheless, it remains that way as long as Prime is in the water.
http://www.seachem.com/support/forums/showthread.php?t=3983

 

[nerdyrcdriver]

Why do we keep talking about prime if t isnt even available for prettykitty?

Lets try to focus on finding a way to help and get the right conditioner vs arguing and suggesting prime over and over again.

 

[Rbishop]

Just answering questions presented in the thread...

 

[Slappy*McFish]

Why do we keep talking about prime if t isnt even available for prettykitty?

Lets try to focus on finding a way to help and get the right conditioner vs arguing and suggesting prime over and over again.

Prime is available at many online stores throughout the UK.

 

[jpappy789]

Getting back to the OP...

Nerdy I'm in Ireland so the sale is no a go for me but just heard my mums friend is thinking of getting rid of her tank ( nice big one) so I may get it free! no one here has heard of prime but they told me to use interpet ammonia remover.. Not sure how this will help if I need the ammonia to cycle the water properly. This is the stuff here http://www.amazon.co.uk/Interpet-0550-Ammonia-Remover-125ml/dp/B003LUE188.

Definitely do not use this product. The Prime allows the ammonia/ammonium to be used by the bacteria. From reading the description, it seems like this product is intended to remove it entirely.

 

[ska d]

Found a site online "petworddirect.ie" supposed to be in Ireland. They seem to carry the Nutrafin "Aqua plus" water conditioner but couldn't find "Cycle" on their site. If you could find this combo I think you'd be good to go.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using MonsterAquariaNetwork App