Seachem prime adding ammonia?

[aCHadien]

I did a 25% water change and after testing I noticed that the nitrate was higher the day after the change then the day before I did my water change.

I did another water change today but,
Before adding new water in my tank I did a test in my 5 gallon bucket and my nutrafin amonia test is reading ammonia.

I am using seachem prime.
I did multiple ammonia test using prime with different mixing ratio with water and it always reading amonia.

Seachem prime is smelling like rotten eggs! Is it normal?. I can't see any expiration date on it.

Should I stop using it right away?

Is it giving me a false test result?

I need to add water right now.

I am afraid to use nutrafin aqua plus because I have 100th of seachem purigen in my power filter and I have read that is not good because of the slim coating in it and can become toxic with purigen .


Please help me !


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[BBradbury]

Your Tank

Hello aC...

The Seachem product will have have a sulfur (rotten egg) smell. This is normal. I'd switch from Seachem's "Prime" to Seachem's "Safe". It's a powder and an improvement over the liquid. Anyway, review in instructions for water testing. Unless the tank is cycling, you shouldn't have traces of ammonia in the tank water. Even a trace is deadly to aquarium fish.

Small water changes just remove a little dissolved waste from the tank. You should be working up to the point you're changing half the water at least once a week. Do this, and you remove half the dissolved wastes. The rest are diluted to a safe level in all the new, treated tap water.

Chemicals other than water treatment to remove chlorine and chloramine shouldn't go into the tank water. Just keep up with the large, weekly water changes and your fish and plants will be fine.

B

 

[aCHadien]

Hi bbrad. ..

I am doing water change every week. Without any problems.
My concern today it's is it normal to find ammonia in my bucket of fresh water when i am using prime?

Thanks

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[Patty1980]

Have you tested your tap water for ammonia before you treat with prime? Are you using an API liquid test kit or strips? Strips are notoriously inaccurate.

 

[BBradbury]

Your Tank Water

Hi bbrad. ..

I am doing water change every week. Without any problems.
My concern today it's is it normal to find ammonia in my bucket of fresh water when i am using prime?

Thanks

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Hello again aC...

The water treatment, provided it's working, should be removing ammonia. That's it's purpose along with removing the chemicals the public water people put into the tap water to make it safe to drink. Review your testing procedure specifically for ammonia. Are you doing it correctly?

If you keep getting the same results, then I'd get a new bottle of Prime or Safe and make sure the testing bucket is clean.

B

 

[aCHadien]

No my tap water look clean. I am using nutrafin mini master kit.
No amonia when I am using aqua plus instead of prime.
I have purigen in my filter so I am afraid of using aqua plus regarding amine based.

Do know what to do.



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[aCHadien]

Yes testing look good. Only place I am getting amonia is in my fresh water bucket treated with Prime. In my tank good bacteria taking care of the amonia I am putting from my bucket.
The only thing I can see is that I am using the same 5 gallon bucket for waste and fresh water. I am cleaning it with fresh and aquarium salt before using it.



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[Mebbid]

Prime does not add ammonia into your water. But it also doesn't remove ammonia, it instead converts it into a much less toxic compound.

What is most likely happening is that your water company is treating the water with chloramine rather than chlorine. This chloramine will give you an ammonia reading when you treat the water with prime.

 

[aCHadien]

Mebbid,

I don't have city water. I have natural water from my land (how to say that in english... lol) I am using it more for heavy metal from my tap water. I don't have chlorine or chloramine. Anyway I shouldn't...



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[Mebbid]

Mebbid,

I don't have city water. I have natural water from my land (how to say that in english... lol) I am using it more for heavy metal from my tap water. I don't have chlorine or chloramine. Anyway I shouldn't...



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Ahh, well water. When was the last time you tested straight from the tap?

 

[aCHadien]

I did it today. No amonia ...

Maybe I have chloramine in my well water

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[Mebbid]

What level of ammonia is it giving you?

 

[aCHadien]

Well depending how many quantity of prime I am putting in my fresh water. Around 1.2mg/l.

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[jetajockey]

Did you try testing the same container of water before adding Prime and then again after to see if the prime is specifically doing it?

 

[aCHadien]

Yes I did! The only thing I can see it's that prime is changing chloride to amoniacal so the tester is getting me false result because it can't make the difference between real Ammonia and amoniacal.
Anyway that's what I reed from he seachem website

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[ppo8820]

Its a documented fact that prime can alter your water tests as it binds to ammonia and Nitrites, converting them to a safe substance for fish (only for 24 hours). If you test with active prime in the water, it will almost always show ammonia of at least .25-.50. That has been my experience and it can be annoying. I only use prime now when I see a spike in any of my levels, otherwise I stick to a regular cheap dechlorinator.

 

[Mebbid]

Its a documented fact that prime can alter your water tests as it binds to ammonia and Nitrites, converting them to a safe substance for fish (only for 24 hours). If you test with active prime in the water, it will almost always show ammonia of at least .25-.50. That has been my experience and it can be annoying. I only use prime now when I see a spike in any of my levels, otherwise I stick to a regular cheap dechlorinator.

Where is this documented at? Also, how will it bind to any ammonia or nitrites if there are none present in the water?

The "well known affect" of prime and ammonia is just due to the test kit itself. They don't differentiate between free ammonia and ammonium which are constantly in flux inside an aquarium anyways based on temperature and pH. With the prime causing the free ammonia to be converted into ammonium then it's still read by the test kit.

 

[michellev512]

It's normal. The prime is binding to something chloramine or ammonia and creating the nontoxic compound and reading a false positive. That's why it says to wait 24 hours to test...


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[Delapool]

It's normal. The prime is binding to something chloramine or ammonia and creating the nontoxic compound and reading a false positive. That's why it says to wait 24 hours to test...


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Perhaps it depends on how much or what chloramine is being added to the tap water?

I generally use just a cheap water conditioner that breaks the chloramine bond but doesn't convert ammonia to ammonium. I've tested to check all is ok (after say a 30% pwc) and just don't get an ammonia reading. I had some advice this would be the case but usually dose seachem safe just in case on a really large water change or dosing DIY substrate fert pills.

Edit - I've also checked for an ammonia reading (or total ammonia reading) after dosing API ammo lock or seachem prime and as expected from above, I get no reading on the API ammonia test kit.