PRIME VS Water

[richardhmc]

If I want to add water from my sink to the tank.
Is it better to put water into a bucket, add an airstone and leave it overnight or just use Prime?

My prime has been smelling funny. I know it says its supposed to smell like iodine but mine has like black things on the bottom and im not so sure if thats a good thing.

I can just use any airstone right?

 

[dmopar74]

dont use the prime if you suspect it is bad, throw it away and get new prime. you can fill buckets and leave them overnight. the addition of an airstone creats current in the bucket and also gas exchange at the surface of the water, which will help dissipate the chlorine faster than without. any airstone will work.

 

[richardhmc]

So is it better to use Prime or just bubble water?

 

[dmopar74]

that could go either way. using prime is adding chemichals to the tank which is frowned upon by many, but it also removes or converts ammonia and nitrites to a nontoxic form thus making your water safer for your fish. using prime is better for me because i dont have the room to store 150g of water for waterchanges.

 

[ewurm]

If I want to add water from my sink to the tank.
Is it better to put water into a bucket, add an airstone and leave it overnight or just use Prime?

My prime has been smelling funny. I know it says its supposed to smell like iodine but mine has like black things on the bottom and im not so sure if thats a good thing.

I can just use any airstone right?

Your Prime is fine, go ahead and use it. It's supposed to smell like sulfur, not iodine.

 

[DeLgAdO]

If I want to add water from my sink to the tank.
Is it better to put water into a bucket, add an airstone and leave it overnight or just use Prime?

My prime has been smelling funny. I know it says its supposed to smell like iodine but mine has like black things on the bottom and im not so sure if thats a good thing.

I can just use any airstone right?

the black specs are normal as well

 

[sandtiger]

Yup, both black specs and smell are normal. When I started using it I was concerned as well. Just add it to the tank BEFORE the new water, try to match the temp and you should be fine.

 

[Ianab]

So is it better to use Prime or just bubble water?

Depends on the quality of your tap water and the hardiness of your fish.

It MAY be safe to use water straight from the tap, I do, but our local water is pretty good quality and no noticable chlorine residue.

If the water only contains a bit of residual chlorine, then leaving it to sit for a day will let the chlorine evaporate, and an airstone will help this.

If your water is a bit suspect and may contain chloramine, ammonia or other nasties, then use the Prime for sure. The chemicals in it a relatively harmless (at the diluted amounts) , certainly less harmfull than leaving chlorine or chloramine in the water.

So.. if you aren't SURE, use a bit of Prime in the water.

Cheers

Ian

 

[ziggy2]

The airstones do not take out chloramine, I'd stick with Prime.