Confused with Prime and ammonia level

[Rokuzachi]

Prime is a very handy tool, and it doesn't mess with ammonia readings if you're using the API liquid kit.

That kit tests for free and bonded ammonia, so regardless of if you're protecting your fish with Prime dosing or not, you will get the same reading.

 

[koz]

i did say around 0.5 its normally a little less i estimate on my own jugment right or wrongly. 9 times out of 10 am very close
as long as i get a reading 12 hours later of below 0.25 i know am fine. if i need to do a extra water change then i will do one. sorry maybe i should have said 20-50 % WC


Chloramines are derivatives of ammonia by substitution of one, two or three hydrogen atoms with chlorine atoms
from seachem website
Prime works by removing chlorine from the water and then binds with ammonia until it can be consumed by your biological filtration (chloramine minus chlorine = ammonia). The bond is not reversible and ammonia is still available for your bacteria to consume. Prime will not halt your cycling process.
Any type of reducing agent or ammonia binder (dechlorinators, etc) will give you a false positive. Prime dissipates from your system within 24 hours.

 

[eco23]

i did say around 0.5 its normally a little less i estimate on my own jugment right or wrongly. 9 times out of 10 am very close
as long as i get a reading 12 hours later of below 0.25 i know am fine. if i need to do a extra water change then i will do one. sorry maybe i should have said 20-50 % WC

Chloramines are derivatives of ammonia by substitution of one, two or three hydrogen atoms with chlorine atoms
from seachem website
Prime works by removing chlorine from the water and then binds with ammonia until it can be consumed by your biological filtration (chloramine minus chlorine = ammonia). The bond is not reversible and ammonia is still available for your bacteria to consume. Prime will not halt your cycling process.
Any type of reducing agent or ammonia binder (dechlorinators, etc) will give you a false positive. You can avoid this by using our Multitest Ammonia kit (not affected by reducing agents) or you can wait to test, Prime dissipates from your system within 24 hours.

Understood...I just don't follow the recommendation against Prime. You've just got to use the benchmark of ammo dropping to 0 in a 24 hour period to ensure the tank is cycled and stable. As far as value for your money it can't be beat IMO, with a single capful treating 55 gallons. The smell is less than desirable though, lol.

 

[koz]

I said i wouldnt use prime
on reading my thred i can see where your coming from
Sorry i am a curse of reginal dialect problem and my terminalogy can be a little off
I say tomato you say tomato
Prime in my opinion is an outstanding product and will use it when my tank is fully cycled. All i was saying is it needs to be dosed corectly and can give confusing readings

 

[FoxRob]

I guess my biggest problem is my water supply since it tests at ammonia at 1.0 out of the tap.

 

[koz]

foxRob
I would
double dose with prime to eliminate the possabilty of chloramine if your unsure you have it in your water.

 

[FoxRob]

Ok since loosing my pictus catfish(4 line cat) a few months ago I've really been missing having one so my wife went to the fish store and bought me another. She also took a water sample with her for the LFS to test and I don't know what test kit they use but all my parameters are good, usually when I have them test it is is a little high with ammonia today it is all good. but high for the 29 gal I guess the prime is just giving me a false reading. I'll just keep up with the water changes and monitor my 29 gal closely, though if I'm checking one tank I'll check both.

 

[Batt4Christ]

I can't move away from a statement earlier (if I read it correctly): tap water tests for 1ppm of Ammonia? If that is the case, then doing frequent pwc will actually BOOST ammonia levels...

If your bio-filter is fully working, then it will deal with the tap ammonia over time. But as already mentioned, your stock's prospective bio-load is an ammonia overload in the making...

 

[eco23]

Once a tank is fully cycled and stable, and you use a product like Prime to temporarily detoxify the ammo, it's not an issue during pwc's. My tap water has 1.5ppm, so when I do weekly pwc's I am basically adding ammonia (rendered harmless by the Prime). I have a strong and stable bio-filter, so the ammonia level from the tap water is reduced to 0 in a matter of hours by the beneficial bacteria...long before the Primes detoxifying ability wears off.

To really sum this all up...as long as you use a good dechlorinator like Prime that neutralizes chlorine and chloramines (where the ammo comes from), and assuming you have a cycled tank that can convert the ammonia in 24 hours...having ammonia in your tap water is not an issue whatsoever when it comes to your aquarium.

 

[giggalz]

As jetajockey said, the Prime temporarily detoxifies the ammo but will still show on an API kit. It in itself doesn't remove it from the water, just renders it non-toxic for 24-36 hours. As long as the tank is cycled and established...the ammo will be consumed by the bio-filter within 24 hours. If it still tests positive after that time...it may be time to look into an issue like a mini-cycle causing the ammo spike.

so does that mean if i've used prime and the test shows no ammonia..i actually dont have any?? did i read this right?

 

[eco23]

so does that mean if i've used prime and the test shows no ammonia..i actually dont have any?? did i read this right?

Yep . Prime doesn't make ammonia disappear, it temporarily detoxifies it until a healthy bio-filter can consume it. So whether the ammonia is free or bound, it will still test positive on an API kit. If you're reading 0 ammo either with or without Prime...the zero reading is accurate

 

[giggalz]

i bought prime and put it in my tank the 28th...and read 0..and its still 0...so theres 0..right?

i'm new to ammonia talk sorry for jumping in lol (and this was a question i was asking myself and then saw this post)

 

[eco23]

i bought prime and put it in my tank the 28th...and read 0..and its still 0...so theres 0..right?

i'm new to ammonia talk sorry for jumping in lol (and this was a question i was asking myself and then saw this post)

Yep, whether you've added nothing at all, or Prime or any other conditioner...if it tests at 0ppm there is no ammonia assuming you are using a reliable test kit like an API Master kit.

Lots of municipalities use chloramines (chlorine / ammonia mixture) to treat the water. That is where a lot of the mysterious ammo readings can come from. If your tap water tests at zero, your city / county must be using free chlorine and not chloramines.

 

[giggalz]

yes using api master kit...good....thank you

 

[FoxRob]

OK rather then start a new thread, I checked my water earlier today this is my 55 gal tank, my 29 gal is staying the same.
PH 6.6
Ammonia .50
NitrIte 0
NitrAte is up at 10PPM from 5PPM

When ever I checked my water NitrAte have always been stable at 5PPM, I rechecked it and it was 10PPM. Could there be a problem causing the NitrAtes to rise? My tap water always tests at 1.0 Ammonia.

 

[FoxRob]

Update to this since it has been a little while.
55 gallon
PH 6.8
Ammonia 0
NitrIte 0
NitrAte 40ppm

29 gallon(no longer has fish tiger barbs stressed everyone)
PH 6.0
Ammonia 0
NitrIte 0
NitrAte 5ppm

I have never seen the NitrIte rise in the 55 gallon. I only use prime in my tank and a plant food supplement.

How can I get the NitrAte lower since it has been staying the same for the past 4-5 days.

I just received my new AquaClear 70 filter which I installed as soon as the mail man delivered it today. I am still running my TopFin 60 with it.

 

[eco23]

Update to this since it has been a little while.
55 gallon
PH 6.8
Ammonia 0
NitrIte 0
NitrAte 40ppm

29 gallon(no longer has fish tiger barbs stressed everyone)
PH 6.0
Ammonia 0
NitrIte 0
NitrAte 5ppm

I have never seen the NitrIte rise in the 55 gallon. I only use prime in my tank and a plant food supplement.

How can I get the NitrAte lower since it has been staying the same for the past 4-5 days.

I just received my new AquaClear 70 filter which I installed as soon as the mail man delivered it today. I am still running my TopFin 60 with it.

The only ways to effectively lower no3 in an aquarium are with water changes or having a heavily planted tank (plants will consume the no3). Some degree of anaerobic bacteria will turn the nitrAte into gas...but never close to as fast as no3 is developed. A 25% pwc done weekly is the average routine to keep nitrAte in check, and to restore nutrients and buffers to the water. Also, it obviously helps clean debris and fish poo.

The % of water you change directly reflects how much you remove. 25% pwc reduces them by a quarter, a 50% pwc reduces them by half, etc...

 

[FoxRob]

That was a fast reply thanks Eco.
I did a 50% PWC today, so I'll recheck it tomorrow.

 

[eco23]

That was a fast reply thanks Eco.
I did a 50% PWC today, so I'll recheck it tomorrow.

Seems like I'm always here thanks to the app, lol. Happy to help

 

[Rush81]

Interesting, I have a 75 gallon freshwater I use prime but i did not know about this 24-48 time frame. I've had tanks for a long time but ever since i moved where i am now I have had such a hard time. All was fine then my ammonia spiked tank got cloudy and my ph dropped to 6.0 from a 7.0 I freaked. All I can guess is that my mollies all had babies about the same time. Anyhow point is I use Prime /Stability/Clarity and IDK Its like my tank keeps cycling or something Now its been about a month of struggle and my fish are getting sick so im fighting levels and illness not fun any suggestions on what else to do? I use a phyton hose but only to drain my tank i use buckets to put water back in my tank, my pleco is too hard to get to.