Prime gives false readings!???

[AdamsAquarium]

I was wondering if you have heard about that.

A buddy of mine is confident that prime gives false readings on tester strips.

What do you know about that?

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[ImACoolguy]

Prime is just a water conditioner. No idea how it would throw off a water test. Test strips are know. To be inaccurate anyway. I would switch to a liquid test kit. API master test kit is cheap and much more accurate.


Caleb

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[sinibotia]

Yeah test strips give false readings, prime or not.

 

[AdamsAquarium]

Let it be known, I have a liquid test kit. However, I work at a fish store that does water testing with test strips. So I wanted to be able to inform my customers if prime gives false readings or if it is just the test strips

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[Mebbid]

What does it give a false reading on?

 

[Gillie]

This should help you http://www.seachem.com/support/forums/showthread.php?t=7248

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[candymancan]

The only thing false prime does IMO is detoxify Nitrite and Nitrates.. It originally was made for Ammonia and Chlorine only but based off some people's claims it helped with nitrites and nitrates they started to label it to help with that too. They have even admitted to not doing research on proving it helps with nitrites.. Me personally I haven't seen prime help with nitrites.. Just ammonia and Clorine and stuff..


A lot of stuff seacheam lables on their products is really stretched as far as truth goes.. Its a good company but I wouldn't trust them with my life

 

[gilpi]

Overpriced water conditioner.

 

[ImACoolguy]

Overpriced water conditioner.

I'm willing to pay a few extra dollars and have the peace of mind it's going to do its job rather than some off brand.


Caleb

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[Mebbid]

Overpriced water conditioner.

And yet its still cheaper than almost all the ofber common water conditioners.

 

[Delapool]

Let it be known, I have a liquid test kit. However, I work at a fish store that does water testing with test strips. So I wanted to be able to inform my customers if prime gives false readings or if it is just the test strips

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Either way imo any reading of ammonia should be cause for more research. I could maybe understand ammonia after a large pwc but otherwise that is it.

The test strips I have don't cover ammonia, only nitrites and nitrates. For these two I find the strips will under-read compared to a liquid based test kit.

So if I do use strips, any hint of an issue or unexpected readings would mean I dig out the liquid based tests.

 

[PoppaRyno]

I swear by prime. Most breeders i know swear by prime. I have seen prime save fish. Prime is prime stuff, lol. Our greater area club would buy stock in prime. I would too. False readings may happen on test strips, because its the cheapest easiest way to test. We all know, in this hobby, cheap n easy is rarely good. Liquid test kits are the way to go.

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[ScotJudd]

The balance of opinion on this forum is that Prime is the best water conditioner. It gives some protection in the short term against moderate ammonia levels and may give protection against moderate nitrite and nitrate levels. It's concentrated formula makes it a fairly cheap product as a bottle lasts ages.
API, or at least a liquid test kit is far more reliable than test strips.
So many experienced fish keepers can't be wrong!


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[ImACoolguy]

The balance of opinion on this forum is that Prime is the best water conditioner. It gives some protection in the short term against moderate ammonia levels and may give protection against moderate nitrite and nitrate levels. It's concentrated formula makes it a fairly cheap product as a bottle lasts ages.
API, or at least a liquid test kit is far more reliable than test strips.
So many experienced fish keepers can't be wrong!


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We definitely can be wrong sometimes. But general things like this are so simple it's common knowledge now.


Caleb

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[threnjen]

Let it be known, I have a liquid test kit. However, I work at a fish store that does water testing with test strips. So I wanted to be able to inform my customers if prime gives false readings or if it is just the test strips

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Did the info in the Seachem link make sense?

So in the aquarium, ammonia exists in two forms - Free Ammonia NH3 which is toxic to your fish, and Ammonium NH4 which is not toxic. The ratio of free ammonia to ammonium is directly dependent on the pH of the water.

A test kit like strips or the API kit will measure the TOTAL amount of ammonia in the water, both NH3 and NH4. So those tests don't distinguish between the toxic and non-toxic ammonia forms.

Prime chemically bonds the free ammonia into ammonium somehow. It would not change the result that you receive on any test that checks for TOTAL ammonia both NH3 + NH4 which is what the common tests look at.

Make sense?

TL&DR: No, it will not cause a false positive. Any ammonia in the water will register on the test both before and after using Prime.

P.S. Prime is awesome

 

[jetajockey]

I always thought it meant a false positive in that it still reads TAN although the NH3 component is temporarily 'bound'.

I use sodium thiosulfate crystals to dechlor, I don't have ammonia problems.

 

[Delapool]

Did the info in the Seachem link make sense?

So in the aquarium, ammonia exists in two forms - Free Ammonia NH3 which is toxic to your fish, and Ammonium NH4 which is not toxic. The ratio of free ammonia to ammonium is directly dependent on the pH of the water.

A test kit like strips or the API kit will measure the TOTAL amount of ammonia in the water, both NH3 and NH4. So those tests don't distinguish between the toxic and non-toxic ammonia forms.

Prime chemically bonds the free ammonia into ammonium somehow. It would not change the result that you receive on any test that checks for TOTAL ammonia both NH3 + NH4 which is what the common tests look at.

Make sense?

TL&DR: No, it will not cause a false positive. Any ammonia in the water will register on the test both before and after using Prime.

P.S. Prime is awesome

More importantly, welcome back! I'm sure I missed posts but hadn't seen you in a bit. .

 

[Delapool]

I always thought it meant a false positive in that it still reads TAN although the NH3 component is temporarily 'bound'.

I use sodium thiosulfate crystals to dechlor, I don't have ammonia problems.

My trouble with all this false positive business is that it is still an ammonia reading and thus I would still find it disconcerting. It's just one form is safer. In mine as well, I just don't get any ammonia spikes. Sometimes I'll get a minor bacterial bloom and that for me is a warning the tank is going a bit unstable. Still a working theory though.

 

[threnjen]

More importantly, welcome back! I'm sure I missed posts but hadn't seen you in a bit. .

Hey You didn't miss anything actually, I just kind of popped up out of nowhere lol

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