How long does prime last I'n water

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
tdkee1;4827272; said:
prime removes heavy metals?

well no but it does something to them to detoxify them according to the manufacturer

aclockworkorange;4827319; said:
I'm not sure the exact science on that... Seems a bit weird on a chemical level. Maybe another good question for Seachem.

me neither. surely nothing actually gets removed from a tank except by changing the water or adsorbtion by filter medias
 
Laticauda;4827303; said:
Prime is an amazing tool.

It continues to detoxify ammonia (up to 1ppm) for 48-24 hours depending on the body of water, the amount of Prime added, and the amount of ammonia.

You can overdose Prime up to 5 times (on the instructions it says to do this in such a case as nitrIte poisoning) with no ill effects. I wouldn't be worried about overdosing your fish with the Prime, just ensure there is adequate oxygenation happening with your water.

You can always use the tub/basin idea of "aging water" but instead of just letting it age, add Prime, and let it age for 24-48 hours before use. This would be rather tedious, and I believe unnecessary.

^ what she says :naughty:
 
Prime description I just posted on another thread, but might be helpful here as well...


Prime
Product Description
Prime® is the complete and concentrated conditioner for both fresh and salt water. Prime® removes chlorine, chloramine and ammonia. Prime® converts ammonia into a safe, non-toxic form that is readily removed by the tank’s biofilter. Prime® may be used during tank cycling to alleviate ammonia/nitrite toxicity. Prime® detoxifies nitrite and nitrate, allowing the biofilter to more efficiently remove them. It will also detoxify any heavy metals found in the tap water at typical concentration levels. Prime® also promotes the production and regeneration of the natural slime coat. Prime® is non-acidic and will not impact pH. Prime® will not overactivate skimmers. Use at start-up and whenever adding or replacing water.

Sizes: 50 mL, 100 mL, 250 mL, 500 mL, 2 L, 4 L, 20 L

Why It's Different
Nearly all companies manufacture a product that removes chlorine. None of those, however, can compare in quality, concentration, or effectiveness to Seachem’s flagship product: Prime®. Prime® is the second most concentrated dechlorinator on the market after our own aquavitro alpha™. A single 100 mL bottle will treat 1000 US gallons of tap water. Prime® will remove both chlorine and chloramines from municipal water supplies.

Prime® also contains a binder which renders ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate non-toxic. It is very important to understand how those two functions work together. All dechlorinators operate through a chemical process known as reduction. In this process, toxic dissolved chlorine gas (Cl2) is converted into non-toxic chloride ions (Cl-). The reduction process also breaks the bonds between chlorine and nitrogen atoms in the chloramine molecule (NH2Cl), freeing the chlorine atoms and replacing them with hydrogen (H) to create ammonia (NH3).

Typically, dechlorinators stop there, leaving an aquarium full of toxic ammonia! Seachem takes the necessary next step by including an ammonia binder to detoxify the ammonia produced in the reduction process.

Be very careful when purchasing water conditioners. If your municipality includes chloramines in the water supplies, a standard sodium thiosulfate dechlorinator is not enough. Prime® promotes the natural production and restoration of the slime coat rather than relying on artificial or non-native slime compounds. A further bonus for the ref hobbyist—Prime® will not overactivate protein skimmers.

Directions
Use 1 capful (5 mL) for each 200 L (50 gallons*) of new water. This removes approximately 1 mg/L ammonia, 4 mg/L chloramine, or 5 mg/L chlorine. For smaller doses, please note each cap thread is approx. 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. Sulfur odor is normal. For exceptionally high chloramine concentrations, a double dose may be used safely. To detoxify nitrite in an emergency, up to 5 times normal dose may be used. If temperature is > 30 °C (86 °F) and chlorine or ammonia levels are low, use a half dose.

*
 
Ok still haven't got a clear answer just started a argument.my fish are not like others you can't dose stingrays 5x like the bottle says safely .they are extremely sensitive to chemicals but also very tolerant to it.since saying this I believe more air I'n my tanks may help I'n the dissipating of the prime I'n water .also running alot of carbon
 
I cannot find anything stating that Calgary is using clorimaine, my post about aging water is still valid.

As for your question about how long does it last, I do not know but I would recommend that if you're doing water changes that often that I would use less Prime than recommended for the amount of water you're changing.
 
I have than my rays get white bumps and patched which is a result of chlorine.and no their is no chloramaine I'n our water here I have been using a 45 gallon garbage can to age water but I still add prime just because our city uses lots of chlorine during winter months.
 
ok just called seachem here is the official correct answer .

"prime will last a full 48 hours in water until it dissipates"

he also said since i am doing 50% water changes with tap water ex.100 gallon tank taking out 50 gallons a day and adding 50 gallons of untreated tap water directly means i could get away with a half dose because their is only so much chlroine to absorb.
but if i were to do a 50% water change daily and dose for the full 100 gallons everytime i will overdose the tank.and since water temp is high prime will not allow for dissolved oxygen in the tank.so basically around 86 or 30 degrees and you overdose with prime you may suffocate your fish or rays he said.he siad their is not a big issue overdosing the tank with prime but because of the temperature their is,due to prime reacting with dissolved oxygen in the water.

hopefully everbody on here learned something because not one person on this thread knew how long it last.everybody just quessing could have resulted in bad things
 
Prime is a reducing agent and if levels are high enough it will begin to bind weak oxidizers like gaseous oxygen dissolved in the water. Thats really the only risk of overdosing. If you have half decent circulation you'd need a hell of a lot more than 5x the dose to kill your fish. Seachem just says that to avoid having to pay someone a ton of money cause they killed there expensive fish after overdosing prime in a low circulation tank. Warmer water will compound the problem because warmer water holds less oxygen than cooler water.

This reducing agent (or agents; seachem never has released a list of the chemicals that are actualy in prime) Is responsible for the removal of chlorine and chloramine (both of which are oxidizers) It is a different chemical that detoxifies metals by binding them.


All seachem lists on the side of the bottle is "complexed hydrosulfite salts" which is obviously intentionaly vague. Every other dechlorinator uses either sodium thiosulfate or hydroxymethanesulfonate the latter will neutralize chlorine and ammonia the first one only chlorine. Prime is probably something similar to the second one.

To be clear nothing is ever removed by a dechlorinator only bound/neutralized.


For seachem to say that it lasts 48 hours in all water regardless of tempurature, organic load,acidity, etc seemsa a little sketchy to me. Take a look at seachems competitors. Sodium thiosulfate is unstable in acidic solution and so is hydroxymethanesulfonate. Until they release the actual chemicals that are in their product i won't trust a word they say ... Ill keep using their product though....;)


i've never found the need to go above the normal dose so i don't see how overdosing anything is at all relevent. If your doing 50% water changes your also removing 50% of the unbound prime each time at a certain point equilirium will be reached between the prime being added to the system and the prime leavong the system/ being used up similar to how nitrate dosen't build up week by week even though only 50% is being removed.
 
so you will dose 1.5x which really is not that bad.also keeping chemicals in the water consistantly probably not the greatest idea when keeping rays.dont know how hard those chemicals in prime are to rays but maybe i will juts hook up a drip system and drip into buckets for now than dump into my tanks upstairs.
 
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