villandra

I picked up the only thing any of three aquarium stores I was in today had for clearing cloudy aquarium water - Kent Marine pro-clear. I used it in my fresh water aquarium, then I used another dose. Then I noticed that the bottle says "Do not use in freshwater". And that it is perfectly safe for marine fish and won't harm plants.

Now, Kent also makes a fresh water pro-clear product, and it says, "Do not use on marine systems". And that it is perfectly safe for fresh water fish and won't harm plants.

Both products contain "Deinonized water, polyelectrolytes". Buth work as long chain polymers that attract dirt and debris and form clumps. Both products say very strange things, like to run the aquarium light for atleast two hours after using it. (Why on earth?) It actually looks like they are the same product. The marine product certainly cleared my tank - it made sheets and clumps out of the fine gunk. It works alot better than the aluminum hydrate stuff I was using.

What harm could come of accidentally using the marine product in the fresh water aquarium, and what should I do about it? I got some water that it will properly take another couple of hours to get ready for another major water change. I just did one this afternoon before I used the stuff.

Yours,
Dora Smith
Austin, TX
tiggernut24@yahoo.com

lew2000

As far as i know the only possible difference is the KH (alkalanity of the water) in a freshwater versus marine tank (where KH is more important), and the possible effectiveness of the product. When I had a reef tank - this what i was told by an LFS that knew what they were doing (since sold). I was told i could use either (in freshwater) - but closely follow direction/recomendations on label and use slightly less product when dosing. As far as lighting - we thought this product would be used during the lighted (is this a word) period of the tank anyway so you could see and remove the clumps/sheets. Maybe Kent is concerned that people would use this product in the "not lighted period" of the tank and the clumps would be there until the lights came on

villandra

Kent told me that if you use the marine product in fresh water, it might not work very well. However the freshwater product contains an ingredient that can kill many forms of marine life. I don't know what that ingredient might be.

The light requirement was a mystery to the tech person. He said he'd never read it Though it's right there in the instructions on the bottle - on both products.

The marine product didn't work all that badly. My tank is no longer clouding up when I clean the gravel and then pour in fresh water.

One thing I'm wondering, though. Most clarifying products seem to contain aluminum chlorohydrate or soemthing of the sort - the ingredient in human antiperspirants.

Apparently some clarifiers can clog fish gills. Which products are those?

lew2000

I understood that Kent and some other (Kordon) claifyers used Polyecetrolytes (a long chain Polymers) by themselves and others use a combination of Polyelectrolytes and aluminum chlorohydrate (which are salts) or just aluminum chlorohydrate. Maybe the difference in the Kent and other additives is the type of Polyectolyetes used maybe the differnce is the way the organics and silt are bound up (Polymers versus A C) and precipitate to the bottom of the tank. Most of the other fish sites, the members say to stay away from A C formula clarifiers and report good results with Kent and Kordon. It would be nice if the manufacturers of all of the different type of additives explained how their products worked a little more scientifically instead of in comercialese, and what their products specifically contained - and wether their products actually worked or just "make you feel good products" that are supposedly helping the bio system.