Am I overdoing it on the water chemicals?

[pcfriedrich]

Still, neither Prime nor Amquel is really necessary--plain ole cheap Dechlor is all we need.

true. and maybe a little Morton's Canning and Pickeling Salt from time to time.

 

[Pufferpunk]

P-lease don't get me started on that argument!

http://www.aquariumboard.com/forums/articles/4770.htm

 

[Pyramid_Party]

I am gonna get some Prime. I will use up what I got and after that I'll switch to prime. So removing Ammonia completely is a bad thing right? You want that for your beneficial bacteria?

Ive always used DeChlor and Stress coat together. But according to you guys, its unnecessary.

 

[Bawb2u]

I use Pond Prime and that's it. It's more concentrated than regular Prime, so it's 3ml per 60 gallons. In the long run, it's the most economical way to go with big tanks and frequent water changes.

 

[pcfriedrich]

I am gonna get some Prime. I will use up what I got and after that I'll switch to prime. So removing Ammonia completely is a bad thing right? You want that for your beneficial bacteria?

Ive always used DeChlor and Stress coat together. But according to you guys, its unnecessary.

stress coat has a chlorine remover in it.

 

[Pufferpunk]

I use Pond Prime and that's it. It's more concentrated than regular Prime, so it's 3ml per 60 gallons.

I thought ther same thing. Look at the bottle again. Exact same concentration. Not like the Pond Melafix.

 

[Bawb2u]

I thought ther same thing. Look at the bottle again. Exact same concentration. Not like the Pond Melafix.

Son of a gun! I just started doing some searching, just to prove you were wrong and guess what happened? You were right.
Seems that according to SeaChems website "The products are actually the same. However, the instructions are different. Given that most pond are more of an open system compared to a typical aquarium, chlorine tends to gas off more readily in a pond in effect having to use less Prime. The dosing instructions are as follows:
- for aquarium use, 1 ml per 10 gallons
-for pond use, 2 tablespoons* per 600 gallons"
* which when broken down comes to my figure of 3ml per 60 gallons.

That being said, I've been dosing at the 3ml/60 gallon dose for a couple of years now with no adverse reaction from my fish.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Son of a gun! I just started doing some searching, just to prove you were wrong and guess what happened? You were right.

LOL, I'm actually right some of the time... I'd been diluting the pond Prime for over a year, so don't feel bad.

 

[pcfriedrich]

I went for about 6 years without ever adding any dechlorinator to a 350 gallon pond stocked with about 10 comets. they were fine, until one day I forgot I left the hose on, and the water was just running over for hours, not allowing any chlorine to evaporate off.

that was a sad, sad burial ceremony.