armadillo

Hi everyone. I have been advised to purchase Prime to condition the water which I have finally received after ordering it ages it ago. I am looking at the dosages and am really puzzled. It says to add 5ml per 100L of water. As I fill my tank in buckets of 10L, that would mean 0.25ml per bucket? That seems extraodrinarily small considering my current conditioner's dosage: 5ml per 10L. Seems odd.

sgould

Yes, Prime is a concentrate and does take much smaller amounts than many other conditioners.

armadillo

OK, so you really use so little with your water changes? Like 1/2 of a ml per 10L bucket? I'd feel like I am not conditioning the water at all. Wouldn't even know how to precisely measure such a small quantity, so for sure would use far too much. Any ideas/suggestions as to how to measure such a small amount?

Mind you, it says on the box that over-using it 5x was still OK, so I can err a bit on the + side I guess.

It just feels like such a small quantity. How do I know that the whole quantity is bound with Prime, and not just some parts of the bucket? I guess I have to mix extra hard.

sgould

I just use the threads inside the cap for measuring dosage. A single thread on the inside of the cap is approximately 1ml, which is the amount I need for changing out 10 gallons at a time as I normally do. If I have the conversion right, your 10L bucket is only 2-3 gallons. Is that your total water change, or do you take out more than 1 bucket at a time when you change water? The reason I ask is that if you are changing multiple buckets, it might be easier for you to figure how much Prime is needed for your entire change and add it directly to the tank, rather than trying to break the dosage up into "micro doses" per bucket.

armadillo

Thanks for that suggestion. Didn't know you could treat the water in the tank (rather than having to do it before putting it in).

My entire water change is indeed 2 buckets of 10L each, so 5.3 gallons in total. So I could just add the untreated tap water to the tank, then mix in 5.3 gallons's worth of Prime?

How do I make sure it is nicely mixed, and not just active here and there?

sgould

I think what I would do is add the quantity of Prime you need to the tank just before adding the new water. Then you should be good to start pouring. The agitation in the water from pouring the new in will mix everything for you. This should not cause any problems...there are a number of members who do their water changes with a Python (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113164), which has you essentially running tap water straight into the tank. Many commented in a thread a while back (I'd have to dig to find it now) that they just added their conditioner directly to the tank as the new water was going in and have never had any problems. What you would be doing is really no different.

On a related note...I really need to invest in a Python one of these days.

armadillo

Hi SGould. I know the Python thread you're talking about I think. And you're right. If they don't have problems adding conditionner, then water from the tap, neither should I.

Am getting good at pouring the water in without too much agitation, so I don't think that would mix it up anywhere near as good as my million 8-shapes in the bucket. Am I overdoing it and just a quick mix (with my finger) of the general area of the water in the tank where I dripped the conditionner would do it?

Am thinking of getting a Python too, on a sidenote. Only I can't be bothered dealing with non-standard tap sizes, as it's a US product. I think I'll wait for a bit as I've just about financially ruined myself going overboard with all this fish stuff!

sgould

I would think so.

Isn't that the truth! Somebody should start a support group!

armadillo

I do still wonder how the conditioner gets close to evenly mixed in the whole tank with just a quick mix with the finger. When I leave it in the bucket without mixing it, it just concentrates around the bottom of the bucket. Am guessing it would do the same in water.

Perhaps the people who use the python and condition before the new water being added just have good tap water to start with?

armadillo

I think I'll 'overprime' them and continue with my neurotic mixing-in-the-bucket action! Thanks for confirming that the minute quantities are actually normal for Prime

sgould

She's gone insane! Run!

Small "overdoses" shouldn't cause any problems either. Have fun shaking those buckets!

armadillo

It's more fun than you'd think! Bah, no harm in being thorough (she says with wrinkled finger tips from using the same methods on 5 tanks!)

Radcliffe

You know I thought the same thing when I started using Prime and my python water changer. But, in spite of my only adding a few drops of prime to an entire tank, the fish seem to love swimming in the new water as I add it. I have seen no ill effects to even my new fry! Amazing! I think of it like how dish soap will move all the grease off water, prime seems to instantly work and spread!

--R

armadillo

Aaaah, that's interesting. And did your fish mind immediately after water changes before you used Prime? Am asking this because my mollies definitely don't behave happy after water changes. They dart and thrash. I checked for pH changes but it's pretty stable. Temperature is the same in the tank and in the new water bucket. At a bit of a loss. Currently, I use Tetra AquaSafe as conditionner.

Radcliffe

Um, if anything they like it more with Prime and the Python- but I started the combination together. It might well be that they like the feed of water with air bubbles that the python creates and it has nothing to do with the conditioner. It is my Mollies that have the most fun, btw.

--R

COBettaCouple

Since we deal with treating gallon jugs, we actually measure 1 drop per gallon - which is our way of doing with 1/10th of a mL.

armadillo

OK, so with a turkey baster I'll easily be able to measure that. Thanks, BettaCouple (again, again, again, again, ...) ; )

COBettaCouple

that'll work, or an eyedropper or (if you feel REAL adventurous) use a pin to poke a tiny hole in the top of the bottle and then you can get drops out that way.