How do you dose prime?

[Nilsafeller]

So I've bought my first bottle of prime (always used api).
I've heard this is much better and alot cheaper on the wallet as you use much less per volume of new water.
Thing is I add water straight from tap via hose and pump... I change about 50 to 60 gallons of water on my 210 every 4 days.. how would I gradually add prime to new water as for 50 to 60 gallons they recommend 5 to 6 mil.. adding 1 mill at a time is hard to dose... would a syringe be my best bet? If I double dosed would that pose a threat to the health of my fish?
Thank you in advance for recommendations.

 

[Hendre]

I would do a double dose in the main tank and call it a day, also you do not need to worry about overdosing too much. Syringes work well for it

 

[Nilsafeller]

I would do a double dose in the main tank and call it a day, also you do not need to worry about overdosing too much. Syringes work well for it

Thank you Hendre looking at the back of the bottle.. they have so many suggestions on how to dose for high ammonia or chloramine and so on.. so I was sceptical on if it was easily overdosed or not although I had previously read it's hard to overdose it.. just wanted to double check from more knowledgeable persons as yourself . Will just double dose like I usually do with the api to make it more simple.
Thanks!

 

[Hendre]

I believe the only huge risk is sometimes oxygen deprivation from the chemical reactions but I have accidentally overdosed a huge amount with no ill effects

 

[deeda]

I don't see a reason to double dose Prime, just follow the instructions for treating the entire tank volume since you are adding water with a hose and add Prime as you are filling the tank.

If you want to get a bit more technical, test your tap water for chlorine using a pool test kit or if your water source uses chloramine, test for ammonia. There is a detailed Sticky article Cost effective water conditioners that gives more advice on dosing water conditioners based on both product and tap water parameters.

 

[Rocksor]

Treat for entire 210g of water, as said before, when using Prime. Doesn’t matter if you change 50% or 25%, dose for entire 210g of tank volume when adding tap water at less than 86f

 

[esoxlucius]

No need to double dose prime under usual filling conditions. If you are dosing it as you fill then you need to dose for FULL TANK volume. Calculate this according to the instructions on the bottle and then just dump it in the tank as you fill. It amazes me how a capful, that is what I use in my 360, is enough to neutralise the chlorine. I used to get it wrong occasionally and my fish would always show signs, laboured breathing and such. But nowadays they never show any signs of stress.

It's worth noting as well that the recommended dosage levels are pretty much a "blanket" level so seachem sort of cover all likely chlorine levels. If you actually search your local water report you can get very accurate chlorine levels and then you dose your prime as per your own level.

I addressed this issue and discovered I was originally dosing FIVE times more than what was actually required. Like I said, I use a full capful for 360g!! And my fish are fine. RD used to push this point regularly and I believe a lot of members discovered they were over dosing.

 

[duanes]

I don't dose for the entire tank, if I change a ball park anount of 50 gallons, that's what I dose for, but that being said, I've got an idea over time of what 50 gallons requires, so do a little eyeballed bloop of that amount.
When the hose is turned on, adding water to the system, I drop that bloop of dechlorinator in the tank, although I always add new water to the sump first.
The chloramine tap water residual at my house in Milwaukee averaged 1.25 to 1.50 ppm, depending on the season, spring a little higher, dead of winter, a tad lower.
There are plenty of inexpensive strips out there (made for pools) you can use to determine what the chlorine/chloramine level in your personal residence is, in many cases it has to do with your distance, from where the dosage is added (and the multi test strip can be useful for some other parameters.


The reading above is straight from the tap, below after adding a bloop of Sodium Thiosulfate to the tank.

Being a chemist I was very anal about dosage at first, but experimentation over time and the accurate, altered HACH moniter to read Chloramine gave me the background for the regimen I used.

 

[Nilsafeller]

"No need to double dose... treat for entire tank volume"...
That would be quadruple dosing.. question asked was primarily if double doseing could be harmful to fish as instructions come off as if it would be (dose for "new" tank water)... also the fact of useing less saves money compared to other brands (api) saves money.
Is there a benefit of doseing for entire tank volume?
Says no where on bottle anything about doseing entire tank volume.
Thanks

 

[Rocksor]

It allows for faster removal of chlorine and chloramines from the water. You can stagger the dosing. If you want to dose less, measure how much chlorine/chloramine comes out of your tap before a water change.

from the website

Use 1 capful (5 mL) for each 200 L (50 US gallons) of new water. For smaller volumes, please note each cap thread is approximately 1 mL. May be added to aquarium directly, but better if added to new water first. If adding directly to aquarium, base dose on aquarium volume....

before Seachem dumbed down the instructions,

5ml Prime/ 50g water removes 1ppm ammonia, 4ppm chloramine, 5ppm of chlorine