Silly question about dosing water with seachem prime

[AlgaeAl]

Hi Guys,

Just looking for reassurance really but I have just switched over to using Seachem Prime to dechlorinate tap water at water change time and didn't realise how concentrated this stuff was.

The dosing instructions are 5ml per 200L of water. I only have a 200l tank so 5ml would do the whole tank. However when I do a water change I use 10 litre buckets as I need to run new water through a nitrate filter (high nitrate in my area) and then heat using a heater so I dose the buckets before adding them to the aquarium.

According to the instruction I should add 0.25ml per bucket! I can't accurately measure 0.25ml so what I want to know is, can I overdose the bucket if the total number of buckets means I stay within the 5ml max amount for the tank as a whole.

So if at water change time I'm adding 4 x 10L buckets with each bucket receiving 1ml of Prime = 4ml in total so the buckets are overdosed but the aquarium is within the amount allowed. This is okay, right?

Also, I have a 500ml bottle, with such a high concentration this is going to last me forever (well 4 to 5 years based on what I use) doe this stuff expire once it's opened?

Cheers

Al

 

[pagoda]

Go to a chemist and ask for a syringe, the smallest they have. Its what I have done and they are only too happy to let you have a few for a couple of quid. They always keep them for parents who have to dose things like Calpol to babies where really small amounts are important. You'll find it alot easier to dose the buckets individually that way without the mental arithmetic.

You might even get a few syringes free depending how well you get on with your chemist shop

 

[carsonsgjs]

Agree with pagoda - i use a spare small syringe i got with some dog meds to dose. If you cant get any from a chemist, amazon have loads of 1ml syringes for a few quid, as do other online sellers.

in terms of overdosing prime, i believe you can safely overdose by up to 5x the normal dose to help detox ammonia and nitrites.

 

[Jerome O'Neil]

You can buy bulk syringes cheap from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Frienda-Meas...eywords=Medical+syringe&qid=1620033604&sr=8-3

Dose your first bucket with the amount needed for the total water change, and the fish will be fine. Prime is basically sulphates, so it is going to start to stink like eggs over time. Don't worry about that.

 

[AlgaeAl]

Go to a chemist and ask for a syringe, the smallest they have. Its what I have done and they are only too happy to let you have a few for a couple of quid. They always keep them for parents who have to dose things like Calpol to babies where really small amounts are important. You'll find it alot easier to dose the buckets individually that way without the mental arithmetic.

You might even get a few syringes free depending how well you get on with your chemist shop

Yeah I have done that, well i got a tiny one off ebay. It has 1ml main increments and 0.25ml small increments but it's not accurate.

I tried moving the syringe one small increment and sometimes nothing comes out, sometimes one small drop does. I think the smallest I can trust is maybe 0.5ml so the bucket is double dosed but overall well within the amount allowed for the whole aquarium.

Is my interpretation wrong, must I get a more accurate measuring device rather than my heavy handed more is better approach?

Al

 

[Jerome O'Neil]

Is my interpretation wrong, must I get a more accurate measuring device rather than my heavy handed more is better approach?

You're fine. The level of accuracy you are trying to get isn't necessary. You could quadruple the dose and the fish won't mind. Put the total dose in the first bucket.

 

[AlgaeAl]

Thanks for the advice guys, very much appreciated

I'll try and get a more accurate measure and not stress if I'm a little bit over.

Al

 

[JPH1970]

Thanks for the advice guys, very much appreciated

I'll try and get a more accurate measure and not stress if I'm a little bit over.

Al

One option is to use a child medicine dosing syringe. They usually have ML and half ML measurements

 

[Cinabar]

Yeah I have done that, well i got a tiny one off ebay. It has 1ml main increments and 0.25ml small increments but it's not accurate.

I tried moving the syringe one small increment and sometimes nothing comes out, sometimes one small drop does. I think the smallest I can trust is maybe 0.5ml so the bucket is double dosed but overall well within the amount allowed for the whole aquarium.

Is my interpretation wrong, must I get a more accurate measuring device rather than my heavy handed more is better approach?

Al

0.25ml is consistently five drops of prime. Extensively tested by me lol. It doesn’t really matter if you overdose or underdose as long as it close enough to what the company recommends. After a while you develop a sense of how much is enough. Most of the time I just go “yeah that looks about right”

 

[Dennis57]

You can dose the full amount for the 200L tank and you will be fine.

 

[ForceTen]

You're fine. The level of accuracy you are trying to get isn't necessary. You could quadruple the dose and the fish won't mind. Put the total dose in the first bucket.

Agree.
I use a dropper. Squeeze dropper. No bulb on top. Just like the droppers eye drops come in. Two drops per 1 gallon of water. No measuring. You can buy droppers for pennies as they are cheap and disposable.

 

[JPH1970]

Agree.
I use a dropper. Squeeze dropper. No bulb on top. Just like the droppers eye drops come in. Two drops per 1 gallon of water. No measuring. You can buy droppers for pennies as they are cheap and disposable.
View attachment 787185

Are the holes in those droppers all the same Suze?

Excellent idea

 

[ForceTen]

Are the holes in those droppers all the same Suze?
Excellent idea

A drop is a drop. I think?

 

[Cinabar]

A drop is a drop. I think?

A drop is a drop. The hole size determines how fast the drops come out. The fluid viscosity determines drop size, but we're using the same liquid (seachem prime) so it should be the same

 

[JPH1970]

Ok so a dime-sized hole should do

 

[ForceTen]

Ok so a dime-sized hole should do

Don't be silly.

 

[AlgaeAl]

Thanks guys, got a micro syringe now so I can be super accurate has 1ml capacity with 0.1ml increments

 

[mattgirl]

When I refill my tanks I use a 4 gallon bucket for mixing. I use a syringe to add 1/2ml of Prime to each bucket. I have to fill that bucket 6 times when I do water changes in my 55 gallon tank. By the time I have finished filling the tank I have added a total of 3mls of Prime. It is a bit more than is recommended but you would have to be trying to overdose to add too much. The only affect overdosing will have is you will go through your bottle quicker.

I can't lift and pour 4 gallons of water so dip the water out of the 4 gallon into a 2 gallon and use it to refill the tank. One day I will probably invest in a python type system for refilling but will continue with buckets as long as I am still able to do so.

 

[Jerome O'Neil]

You do not need to be that accurate with Prime. You can completely overdose when you use it. If you are putting in 20 gallons in 5 four gallon buckets, put the entire dose of Prime in the first bucket. It is way easier to measure out.

 

[JLDJ]

I got some 3 ML plastic droppers from e-Bay. They are marked at 1- 2- 3 ML intervals and are reusable many times So, if you only need 1 ML of something.....