Questions About Prime

The stocking shouldn't be a problem then, not overstocked at all.

Well, I hope not. It has been debated how much space BN plecos need, though. Some said that 30 gallons was a little too small for their bio load, but it really hasn't been an issue. The plecos were added more than a month ago, so I don't think it's their bio load that has become an issue suddenly.

 

Chemicals can't just be "eliminated" or "removed" as some put it. They are either bonded to make a safe form or they are broken apart into other chemicals.

As I stated above in previous post, I misunderstood your post, it's 10:00pm here in Indonesia, my brain is starting to lag, lol.

 

Nevermind this post, I misunderstood your post

Ah okay, no problem.

As I stated above in previous post, I misunderstood your post, it's 10:00pm here in Indonesia, my brain is starting to lag, lol.

Yeah, sorry, I'm on my iPhone and can't see posts during the time I'm making one. My bad!

 

Do you feed your shrimp a lot? If so, that could be a contributing factor to the rise of ammonia, shrimp have very high metabolism which pretty much means the more they eat, the more they poop.

Well, they get fed the same as the snail and BN plecos. I give them pellets, veggies, flakes and frozen foods. The Amanos get to the food fast and run off with it. I try to break the pellets into small pieces, cause otherwise it's just one shrimp running off with half a pellet! They most definitely get enough food since they're very fast and fearless.
The RCS get a little less since they're smaller and more careful, but I don't think there's anyone in that tank missing out on food. I try feeding a lot of different foods in small amounts.

If you decide to stick with it they do sell it up to 1gal I believe.

Just FYI since I made the mistake already myself... Seachem "Safe" is NOT THE SAME as prime, I thought it was the dry concentrated version, but it is not. It is almost the same, but not quite. No slime coat protection and no detox ability of heavy metals (it does still remove chlorine/chloramine, and detox ammonia, nitrite, nitrate).
But the biggest difference which I wish they made more clear on the bottle - if you premix it to 'make your own prime' it only has a shelf life of 24 hours - FYI since I don't think most are aware of this if you are temped to buy the even more concentrated dry version to save on shipping costs.

Thanks! I will just keep buying Prime then.

 

Thanks! I will just keep buying Prime then.

Once you're not concerned about toxins anymore, you could still use up the rest of the AquaSafe.

 

I'm not cycling, this is a fully cycled tank. After water changes my ammonia rises to 0.25 - 0.50 for some reason, though my tap water has 0 ammonia. This is why I was advised to use Prime until figuring out the problem.
When dosing Prime again after 24 - 48 hours do I still need to dose for the volume of the entire tank? And how do I know if it's necessary to dose already after 24 hours or if I can wait longer?

If your Ammonia goes up, does it go back down within 24 hours?

This is what I have done recently, because I am having similar issues. I got a Seachem Ammonia Alert card that sits in the tank. That way I can monitor the Ammonia without having to test it every single day. I just started with it and it takes a couple days to start working. It only measures free Ammonia, so with Prime converting to Ammonium, it won't register any Ammonia until the Prime wears off after 24 hours, btw

Secondly, I would dose full tank volume everyday that you have Ammonia in your tank. Prime does not get rid of Ammonia. It converts it into Non-toxic form Ammonium. So it is still there, just non toxic. Your bacteria should be converting the Ammonia to Nitrites then to Nitrates within 24 hours. If that isn't happening it is an indicator that either you are overstocked, or you are over feeding. It means your bacteria aren't keeping up with the bioload in the tank. You may need to remove all your decorations and do a very thorough cleaning and big water change to get back on track. Then go from there.

When using Prime the dose is 0.1ml per gallon of water. In emergencies you can dose up to 5x's that to help convert the Ammonia, but you cannot do that all the time. You can however up the dose to 0.2ml per gallon and use that consistently over time. Regular dose of Prime for a 30 gallon tank would be 3mls. Double dose is 6mls.

If I was you I would treat your tank as if you are going through a minI cycle. Use Seachem Prime and Stability (stop using any other water conditioners as Prime pretty much replaces them all). And follow this formula until you don't see Ammonia anymore.

Ammonia + Nitrites = less than 1ppm, dose Prime & Stability for full tank volume. Ammonia + Nitrites = 1ppm or more do 50% water change then dose full tank volume of Prime & Stability. Repeat every 24 hours.

I would do this for 7 days and see where you are to re-evaluate. Don't do any extra water changes during this time. Just if you are over 1ppm.

When doing normal water changes for tank maintenance, if you are using a hose to fill your tank, add the full tank volume dose of Prime directly to your tank. Be sure to turn off your filter first. Add Prime, wait a few minutes to be sure it has circulated some, then turn on the hose (Python) Always treat for full tank volume when filling directly from the faucet into the tank. It is recommended If you are filling a bucket, then go ahead and just put enough Prime in the bucket for that volume. Dosing a bucket at a time. So a 5 gallon bucket would get 0.5ml of Prime. So with each bucket dose for the volume individually (if that makes sense).

I hope this helps. I know how frustrating this can be. I have been dealing with ammonia for almost a week now. But my cycle is slowly recovering. Mine was cause by extra chlorine in my tap water. (This is my theory). Just this last week I could smell the chlorine and at the same time Ammonia showed up in my tank. Chlorine kills bacteria, which is why we use dechlorinators. I've upped my Prime to double the dose and my cycle is recovering nicely.

 

Once you're not concerned about toxins anymore, you could still use up the rest of the AquaSafe.

Yeah, absolutely. It's not that expensive, so I'll be ok even if it's wasted money.

If your Ammonia goes up, does it go back down within 24 hours?

This is what I have done recently, because I am having similar issues. I got a Seachem Ammonia Alert card that sits in the tank. That way I can monitor the Ammonia without having to test it every single day. I just started with it and it takes a couple days to start working. It only measures free Ammonia, so with Prime converting to Ammonium, it won't register any Ammonia until the Prime wears off after 24 hours, btw

Secondly, I would dose full tank volume everyday that you have Ammonia in your tank. Prime does not get rid of Ammonia. It converts it into Non-toxic form Ammonium. So it is still there, just non toxic. Your bacteria should be converting the Ammonia to Nitrites then to Nitrates within 24 hours. If that isn't happening it is an indicator that either you are overstocked, or you are over feeding. It means your bacteria aren't keeping up with the bioload in the tank. You may need to remove all your decorations and do a very thorough cleaning and big water change to get back on track. Then go from there.

When using Prime the dose is 0.1ml per gallon of water. In emergencies you can dose up to 5x's that to help convert the Ammonia, but you cannot do that all the time. You can however up the dose to 0.2ml per gallon and use that consistently over time. Regular dose of Prime for a 30 gallon tank would be 3mls. Double dose is 6mls.

If I was you I would treat your tank as if you are going through a minI cycle. Use Seachem Prime and Stability (stop using any other water conditioners as Prime pretty much replaces them all). And follow this formula until you don't see Ammonia anymore.

Ammonia + Nitrites = less than 1ppm, dose Prime & Stability for full tank volume. Ammonia + Nitrites = 1ppm or more do 50% water change then dose full tank volume of Prime & Stability. Repeat every 24 hours.

I would do this for 7 days and see where you are to re-evaluate. Don't do any extra water changes during this time. Just if you are over 1ppm.

When doing normal water changes for tank maintenance, if you are using a hose to fill your tank, add the full tank volume dose of Prime directly to your tank. Be sure to turn off your filter first. Add Prime, wait a few minutes to be sure it has circulated some, then turn on the hose (Python) Always treat for full tank volume when filling directly from the faucet into the tank. It is recommended If you are filling a bucket, then go ahead and just put enough Prime in the bucket for that volume. Dosing a bucket at a time. So a 5 gallon bucket would get 0.5ml of Prime. So with each bucket dose for the volume individually (if that makes sense).

I hope this helps. I know how frustrating this can be. I have been dealing with ammonia for almost a week now. But my cycle is slowly recovering. Mine was cause by extra chlorine in my tap water. (This is my theory). Just this last week I could smell the chlorine and at the same time Ammonia showed up in my tank. Chlorine kills bacteria, which is why we use dechlorinators. I've upped my Prime to double the dose and my cycle is recovering nicely.

Thanks for the advice!
My ammonia goes down to 0 usually within 24 hours. Right now I'm dosing the Prime so the ammonia won't hurt my fish and hope that my beneficial bacteria will keep up soon. If not I'm gonna try what you're suggesting or buy a more powerful filter.

 

Also if the ammonia is 0? When I do a water change my ammonia rises to 0.25 - 0.50. However, it goes down to 0 within 24 hours by itself.

I read all 6 pages. If you are getting a spike in ammonia after a water change it is one of 2 possibilities.

1. There is ammonia in your water source. (Not unheard of)
2. When pouring in your water it is fluffing the substrate and moving things around. I would guess over feeding or those poop monsters the pleco's.

Since you have shrimp. I would just let them scavenge leftovers. That's kinda their role in the ecosystem.

I to am in the process of switching from the Tetra products, to the Seachem products. And this is a big deal for me since I have been using Tetra products for 20+ years. They are by far much more efficient\cost effective.

Good Luck
Ray

Unless I am mistaken, Prime also helps slime coat (and does so while not clogging up things like Purigen with Aloe).


If you are still having ammonia readings, well first of all you are not cycled. But yes, continue to dose daily for the tank volume if you see ammonia daily. You may see the ammonia after a WC because your water has chloramines in it, and when the chlorine is removed it leaves ammonia behind - this will be eaten by your biofilter but in the meantime (if you are using prime) it will hold it in the ammonium state which is non toxic to fish This effect only lasts 24-48 hours however so if you still see some the next day you should dose again.

As for the amount to add, as some others have stated above. If you are adding new water directly to the tank via something like a python you need to dose for the full tank volume. If you are adding fresh water to a bucket first you can treat for just the volume in the bucket, mix, and add.

 

No, I'm not trying to cycle. My tank is cycled and I'm not using TSS, I'm using AquaSafe.

Why aqua safe why not use prime and stability together ??

 

Why aqua safe why not use prime and stability together ??

She had aqua safe already, and is switching to Prime. Aqua Safe is easier to find in most places. A lot of us have to order Prime Online. I can see why she has it. I have some in my kit too, just as a backup. Not sure I will run out of Prime anytime soon, I have the big bottle lol

 

Why aqua safe why not use prime and stability together ??

As AllieSten says, I've been using AquaSafe since it's the only product that's sold in stores here. I've bought Prime on Amazon when I started having these issues.
I don't think I'm gonna run out either. Bought a 500 ml bottle!