Best Type of Water Conditioner?

[The_Wolfman]

Hey I was wondering what the best brand of water conditioners are? Like is there really a difference, does one brand work better then others?

 

[neilanh]

Everyone has their personal favorites. From what I've read Seachem Prime is at the top of most people's list.

 

[jrp1588]

i like prime, it's a lot more concentrated than most other stuff, so the value is a lot better. I bought a 1lr bottle of it a couple years back and haven't had to buy more since.

 

[jsoong]

Vote for Prime as well. Single ingredient that does its job (no aloe vera for the slime coat ....) A bottle last forever (you use 1/10 the amount of other brands, but at same price, so save $$), and can be used as an ammonia/nitrite binder in an emergency.

 

[bs6749]

Prime and Amquel are good.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

I use the tetra stuff, they are in the yellow bottle I'm prob. going to switch to Prime though.

 

[CTD]

I use Tetra as well since Prime is not available locally here.

 

[Zagz]

I buy Prime in the 4l containers online, very inexpensive and with all my tanks and water changes, the best bang for the buck. Not to mention it works the best IMO.

 

[CTD]

I just ordered me some.

 

[gwrace]

Conditioner Smells

I've getting ready to buy some water conditioner and was considering Amquel Plus or Seachem Prime. I noticed the ingredients include sulfur. I've seen comments about these introducing a bad odor into an aquarium. Since I'm getting ready to start up a new 75 gallon I don't want any lingering smells since this tank will be in our living room.

For those that use Prime or Amquel plus can you tell me how long the odor lasts after treating the water? It won't be an issue as long as it dissipates and does not linger.

Thanks!

 

[jrp1588]

My tanks are in my bedroom. I've never noticed a smell unless I smell the bottle directly

 

[jsoong]

The bottle of Prime has a smell <when you open it>, but it is not that strong. Once you add it to the water, there is no smell at all.

BTW - most conditioners use the same sulfur compounds, you can't smell them simply because they are really diluted...

 

[kreesdqban]

I use Jungle Labs Fizz Tabs. They are meant for the pond, but my dad gave them to me and they have worked great so far. I want to buy Prime when the Fizz Tabs are done though. One thing that the fizz tabs do have is an ingredient, I think its called allantonin, that helps with the slime coat. Either way its worked great for me.

 

[booginish]

chlor x change works good for me, or any thing that coats your fish at the same time i find works very well, just remember not to add it directly to the tank chlorine kills your hard working bacteria and is harmful to fish, so its always good to condition before adding to aquarium.

 

[jrp1588]

chlor x change works good for me, or any thing that coats your fish at the same time i find works very well, just remember not to add it directly to the tank chlorine kills your hard working bacteria and is harmful to fish, so its always good to condition before adding to aquarium.

I add my water directly all the time; pretty much anyone that uses a python does. I just dose prime before I start filling, never had even a hint at an ammonia spike

 

[timwag2001]

how about stress coat + by api?

 

[kreesdqban]

Does the aloe from Stress Coat work really well?

 

[jsoong]

I don't see why you would want to add aloe (or anything else) to your fish's slime coat ... Mother nature had millions of years to perfect the slime coat, I am not sure we can improve on it.

 

[kreesdqban]

Well I saw that Stress Coat is one of the most popular water conditioners on the market and was wondering if it was the aloe that made it work well.

 

[bluerose]

I use NovAqua+ and occasionally AmQuel+ (I use the latter if I'm worried about ammonia levels). Happy fish, healthy tanks.