Safe Vs Prime

[tarheel96]

so would I use like a pinch of safe for my 29 gallon then?

When filling 32 gallon aging drums to let sit for at least 24 hours I add 1/8th tsp. Safe. My water contains an average of 2.8 ppm chloramine but ranges as high as 4.0 ppm.

You need measuring spoons used for cooking. There are metal sets on amazon that go down to the 32nd and 64th. I just have one to the 1/16 which is all you'll need.

RD. Thanks. I was reading 250 g off the label and was thinking I remembered a higher number from somewhere.

 

[RD.]

I think WSC has me on ignore. lol

 

[white specter crayfish]

I think WSC has me on ignore. lol

I did for a bit lol, but thanks for the help, mine only goes to 1/8th so I guess I'll buy one of the smaller sets, thanks guys

 

[duanes]

As a chemist, I made dechlorinators daily as part of my job.
I would normally make a liter at a time, and a liter for my 1000 gallons of tanks, lasted quite long.
When the lab would toss bottles of liquid sodium thiosulfate because they considered them expired, I would take them home and use them another 3 or 4 weeks. For lab use they were very anal, for tanks, older bottles worked fine for me.
I did tests to assure this, my tap water usually averages about 1-1.5 ppm chloramine.
below a straight tap water sample

below, after the addition of Sodium Thio

The active ingredient of most dechlorinators, is Sodium Thiosulfate, some add ammonia neutralizers and some other stuff, but in reality its pretty much all the same.
Kind of like Aquarium salt.
To a chemist, salt is salt (NaCl) and a 50 lb bag for $5 from Home Depot is just as effective at curing ick, as a fraction sized box of aquarium salt at 10X the price.

 

[skjl47]

As a chemist, I made dechlorinators daily as part of my job.
I would normally make a liter at a time, and a liter for my 1000 gallons of tanks, lasted quite long.
When the lab would toss bottles of liquid sodium thiosulfate because they considered them expired, I would take them home and use them another 3 or 4 weeks. For lab use they were very anal, for tanks, older bottles worked fine for me.
I did tests to assure this, my tap water usually averages about 1-1.5 ppm chloramine.
below a straight tap water sample

below, after the addition of Sodium Thio

The active ingredient of most dechlorinators, is Sodium Thiosulfate, some add ammonia neutralizers and some other stuff, but in reality its pretty much all the same.
Kind of like Aquarium salt.
To a chemist, salt is salt (NaCl) and a 50 lb bag for $5 from Home Depot is just as effective at curing ick, as a fraction sized box of aquarium salt at 10X the price.

Hello; So if I follow correctly my notion of mixing SAFE in water and then using it for up to four weeks may not be totally bad.
For example I have 125 gallons of tanks set up right now. If I did a WC once a week then that is 500 gallons in four weeks (375 in three weeks)

So I could mix enough to do 500 gallons of water and if I used it up in four weeks it should still work well enough. Seems to me a lot easier to dose for 500 gallons than for 29 gallons in powder form.

I get that either way some measuring and figuring is required and that dry measure is in some ways as simple as my proposed method once the units are calculated.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; On e more thing. I was in a Home Depot a week or so back and in the painting or maybe drywall area think I saw a container of what I think was Sodium Thiosulfate. I may of course have gotten the name wrong as this is only from memory. The name stuck in my mind with a connection to this water conditioner topic. I did not examine the bag for any other ingredients so do not know if it is pure enough for aquarium use.
So still some questions unanswered but if this is feasible a potential source???

 

[white specter crayfish]

Hello; So if I follow correctly my notion of mixing SAFE in water and then using it for up to four weeks may not be totally bad.
For example I have 125 gallons of tanks set up right now. If I did a WC once a week then that is 500 gallons in four weeks (375 in three weeks)

So I could mix enough to do 500 gallons of water and if I used it up in four weeks it should still work well enough. Seems to me a lot easier to dose for 500 gallons than for 29 gallons in powder form.

I get that either way some measuring and figuring is required and that dry measure is in some ways as simple as my proposed method once the units are calculated.

I'm just trying to save money so I was going to try using safe instead of prime, but if I can't measure it out properly I'll just use prime

 

[fishhead0103666]

Hello; So if I follow correctly my notion of mixing SAFE in water and then using it for up to four weeks may not be totally bad.
For example I have 125 gallons of tanks set up right now. If I did a WC once a week then that is 500 gallons in four weeks (375 in three weeks)

Correct me if I’m wrong but 500 gallons divided by 4 weeks would equal a 125 gallon water change weekly and the example you gave said you had 125 gallons. Did you perhaps mean to say you had a total of 250 gallons?

 

[PYRU]

I'm just trying to save money so I was going to try using safe instead of prime, but if I can't measure it out properly I'll just use prime

Find your water report or find out how much chloramine. Do a little math and make your dosage. There's not an easy button your going to have to do a little research.

 

[skjl47]

I'm just trying to save money so I was going to try using safe instead of prime, but if I can't measure it out properly I'll just use prime

Hello; I understand and made the same decision a while back. The SAFE is much more cost effective than the PRIME for sure. I also figure there is a way to get the measure correct. You have a similar issue to mine in that I do not have a huge amount of water in tanks right now.

If you do not find the very small measure spoons needed then there are ways to get around to a degree. Say the smallest spoon you can find is twice the amount you will need. Then use that spoon to get an amount and put that amount onto a flat surface. Then use a straight edge to divide the amount into roughly equal amounts.

You should also consider what RD is trying to tell you about sodium thiosulfate. This may be the cheapest. Go back an read the link he gave you.