Is Prime really that much better than other conditioners to warrant the higher price ? It says it detoxifies Nitrite and Nitrate too. Any truth to that claim ?
Prime vs. API Stress Coat
- Thread starter jennfier
- Start date
mostlycichlids
Cichlid Specialist
the reason I use prime is I think it is the best and a small amount goes a long way. Compared to others I would go through a whole bottle in one water change with other brands.
Prime is a complete conditioner for both marine and freshwater use that removes chlorine, chloramine, and detoxifies ammonia and nitrite. It also provides essential ions and stimulates natural slime coat. It will also detoxify any heavy metals found in the tap water at typical concenration levels. Prime™ also enhances nitrate removal. It should be the first choice conditioner when setting up a new tank, adding, or changing water. No other product is required to make water safe, even in high chloramine situations. Unlike competing products, Prime™ does not cause a pH drop or over-activate skimmers. A 100 mL bottle treats over 1,000 gallons, much more than competing products. Marine and freshwater.
Prime is a complete conditioner for both marine and freshwater use that removes chlorine, chloramine, and detoxifies ammonia and nitrite. It also provides essential ions and stimulates natural slime coat. It will also detoxify any heavy metals found in the tap water at typical concenration levels. Prime™ also enhances nitrate removal. It should be the first choice conditioner when setting up a new tank, adding, or changing water. No other product is required to make water safe, even in high chloramine situations. Unlike competing products, Prime™ does not cause a pH drop or over-activate skimmers. A 100 mL bottle treats over 1,000 gallons, much more than competing products. Marine and freshwater.
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Prime also helps clear chloramine, not just chlorine. That can be just as detrimental to fish. I go for Prime.
When talking about the cost of the two products you should keep in mind that to dose a 50g aquarium it would take 5ml of Prime vs 25ml of Stress Coat. A 250ml bottle of Prime should be about $9 in a lfs and it would take some 2.65 16oz bottles of stress coat to treat the same amount of water. Last I checked a 16oz bottle of stress coat was about $10 so that would come out to $26.50 to do what one bottle of Prime could do. It's the relatively small dosage of Prime that makes it the better bargain even though the bottle is only about half the size.
So does Stress Coat.fresh_newby said:
The difference is, as others said, the concentration of the product. Even if a bottle of Prime costs $1 more than a same size bottle of Stress Coat at my local store, Prime will last much longer, which makes it much cheaper in the long run.
This is a very good site on water conditioners and what they do and don’t do.
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/rev-cond.htm
Specifically, when a water conditioner says it “treats” chloramines, that is a little misleading. Yes, it breaks the chloramine bond, which is essentially treating…. However, you are left with the broken bond of chlorine and ammonia. The product will then neutralize the chlorine but NOT the ammonia UNLESS IT SPECIFICALLY STATES SO, as Prime does.
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals FAQ on Stress Coat:
http://aquariumpharm.com/en_us/productFAQ.asp?productid=1929
Quoting:
Does Stress Coat remove chlorine and chloramines?
It removes chlorine and the chlorine component of chloramine.
Will Stress Coat detoxify Ammonia?
No. If you need to detoxify ammonia use Ammo-Lock 2.
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/rev-cond.htm
Specifically, when a water conditioner says it “treats” chloramines, that is a little misleading. Yes, it breaks the chloramine bond, which is essentially treating…. However, you are left with the broken bond of chlorine and ammonia. The product will then neutralize the chlorine but NOT the ammonia UNLESS IT SPECIFICALLY STATES SO, as Prime does.
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals FAQ on Stress Coat:
http://aquariumpharm.com/en_us/productFAQ.asp?productid=1929
Quoting:
Does Stress Coat remove chlorine and chloramines?
It removes chlorine and the chlorine component of chloramine.
Will Stress Coat detoxify Ammonia?
No. If you need to detoxify ammonia use Ammo-Lock 2.
it extremely concentrated, so it will last your longer
also, it doesn't have all of those added chemicals to "reduce fish stress" or "promote slime coating" through aloe vera or "remove" ammonia and all that stuff.
it's pretty simple but does the job, thats why i like it.
also, it doesn't have all of those added chemicals to "reduce fish stress" or "promote slime coating" through aloe vera or "remove" ammonia and all that stuff.
it's pretty simple but does the job, thats why i like it.