[VMc1218]

So when I got this tank 6 mo ago it came with fish (some albino Corys and some Tetras) and a partial bottle of water conditioner (pictured below). When I did my water change today I noticed I'm almost out of the water conditioner.

My question is: should I stick with this type/brand or is there something better out there since I'm going to be buying new stuff anyway?

Thanks!

 

[Freemananana]

I think the choice product on here is Seachem Prime.

Amazon.com : Seachem Prime 500ml : Aquarium Treatments : Pet Supplies

It works well and has other uses. In the event of an emergency, it can be dosed in excess to transform byproducts into less harmful byproducts.

 

[kinzo]

I just use tap water that's been sitting out for a few days (to allow the chlorine to be released). Water softeners can affect fish/shrimp health...then again I do live in hawaii and our water quality is excellent here...

 

[SwissCheeseHead]

I use Seachem Safe, which is the concentrated powdered form of Seachem Prime. As to the above statement, water softeners do not affect shrimp and fish health, as I've kept both in softened water, as do many, many others. Yes, you can off-gas chlorine by letting it sit overnight, but if you have anything larger than a 10 or 20g gallon tank, leaving one or more 5 gal buckets of water sit is cumbersome for most set ups.

In any case, I would recommend Seachem Safe. A bottle will last you forever.

 

[DluxeShrimps]

get a bottle of Prime and that's all. couple drops does it for you and you will have close to endless water changes with a bottle of prime

 

[Freemananana]

I use Seachem Prime and used a 500ml bottle in about 6 months iirc. I was also doing weekly water changes with a python (you have to dose total water volume if you do not premix before adding to the tank) on a 130g tank/sump. I bought a 2L bottle that would last me about 2 years on that tank. No regrets.

Letting 60+ gallons of water sit around for a few days wasn't really practical for me.

 

[VMc1218]

Wow! Thanks for all the quick replies and great advice. I guess I'll be getting some Seachem (definitely don't have a place/time to let the water sit that long)

Appreciate the input!

 

[MChambers]

If your water has chloramines, letting it sit won't do any good. Just use Prime or Safe and you'll be good.

 

[Diana]

Check the price per gallon of treated water, and that it will do what you want.
The Stress Coat products are not needed.
Break the chlorine- ammonia bond, lock up chlorine and ammonia. Period.
If your water is known to b high in heavy metals you might want a chelator.
I use Chloramines Buster or Prime, and have some Safe. All these are pennies per 10 gallons of water. Other products are as much as 10-20 times as expensive.

 

[Goomie]

I have to use Seachem Neutral Regulator as the natural pH of my water is well over 9 (can't even be measured on my tests!).

It's removes chlorine, chloramines, and detoxifies ammonia while also helping adjust the pH to a more suitable level (and safe for plants) .

I suppose it really depends on your needs and your water.

 

[lksdrinker]

Check the price per gallon of treated water, and that it will do what you want.
The Stress Coat products are not needed.
Break the chlorine- ammonia bond, lock up chlorine and ammonia. Period.
If your water is known to b high in heavy metals you might want a chelator.
I use Chloramines Buster or Prime, and have some Safe. All these are pennies per 10 gallons of water. Other products are as much as 10-20 times as expensive.

Worth noting that Safe and Prime dont do exactly the same thing despite safe being called the powdered version of prime. They both remove chlorine and chloramine. According to Seachem, Safe will remove ammonia will prime detoxifies it (not sure if this is simple semantics of if there is actually something different in how they handle the task); and they both detoxify nitrite and nitrate. But, Safe does not detoxify heavy metals as prime does....and a few other slight differences that escape me right now.

 

[Nordic]

That would not be a bad thing always. If you had to quickly set up a hospital tank and use a metal based medicine like Tetra fungistop, you normally first have to wait 2 days for the dechlorinator to stop binding metals.

 

[goodbytes]

I'm not really sure there's a wrong answer to this question.
I've used a bunch of different dechlorinators over the years with no problems. I don't believe there is such a thing as a "bad" dechlorinator.
Never had any trouble with Tetra, Kordon, TopFin, API, or Seachem. Now I just use whatever my LFS uses because they'll fill my old bottles from their 5 gallon jugs for half price. I use Prime because they do. I used to use API because they did. If there was a serious problem with some brand of dechlorinator I imagine everyone would be aware of it as it is one of the fundamental building blocks of the entire hobby.

 

[Bandit1200]

I would say it depends on how much water you do with a change. I don't even bother with dechlorinator unless I'm doing something like a 50% water change.

 

[MChambers]

If you only have one tank, get Prime. It will do the job. If you have more, consider Safe, because it's cheaper.

 

[Lonestarbandit]

Worth noting that Safe and Prime dont do exactly the same thing despite safe being called the powdered version of prime. They both remove chlorine and chloramine. According to Seachem, Safe will remove ammonia will prime detoxifies it (not sure if this is simple semantics of if there is actually something different in how they handle the task); and they both detoxify nitrite and nitrate. But, Safe does not detoxify heavy metals as prime does....and a few other slight differences that escape me right now.

I would have to respectfully disagree on Safe not being the same with regards to detoxifying heavy metals. This is a common misconception.
Totally Seachem's fault as I see it. Their website fails to mention this fact.

From another board who's member emailed Seachem RE: Safe

"Thank you for your email. Prime & Safe will permanently remove all heavy metals found at typical concentrations. These concentration amounts are normally in trace levels or slightly higher. If you are wanting to remove a specific concentration of copper (or other heavy metals) then I would suggest the use of Cuprisorb (Seachem. CupriSorb). Cuprisorb is an adsorbent that specifically targets copper and other heavy metals at any concentration for permanent removal. This would be the safest and most effective removal aid of copper and various heavy metals found in most municipal water sources".

I hope this helps. Have a nice day!

Product Support 102086


The ONLY thing different as I recall with my own conversation with Seachem some years ago was that Safe does not have a stabilizing agent that Prime does.
IE You can't mix it, then leave it sitting for a week and expect it to work correctly as you can indeed with Prime.

And you save quite a bit using Safe compared to Prime. I am NOT disparaging Prime it is great product. But why pay for water.

Cheers.

 

[Lonestarbandit]

If you only have one tank, get Prime. It will do the job. If you have more, consider Safe, because it's cheaper.

Plus 1.:wink2:

 

[Zoidburg]

I have both Seachem Prime and Fluval Aqua+plus Water Conditioner. I can't tell you which one works better, heck, I don't always remember to use it! And typically speaking, it's not used in the 90+ gallon tank anyway. Just easier to siphon out the water via the Python, then put it back in the same way. The 20 gallon I've been doing water top-offs instead of water changes, and if I remember, I'll use some.

I should hopefully be doing a 100% water change on the 30 gallon tomorrow, and if I remember to, I'll use some then, then mess around with the water parameters, hopefully stabilize it, then move fish and shrimp over.

 

[lksdrinker]

I would have to respectfully disagree on Safe not being the same with regards to detoxifying heavy metals. This is a common misconception.
Totally Seachem's fault as I see it. Their website fails to mention this fact.

From another board who's member emailed Seachem RE: Safe

"Thank you for your email. Prime & Safe will permanently remove all heavy metals found at typical concentrations. These concentration amounts are normally in trace levels or slightly higher. If you are wanting to remove a specific concentration of copper (or other heavy metals) then I would suggest the use of Cuprisorb (Seachem. CupriSorb). Cuprisorb is an adsorbent that specifically targets copper and other heavy metals at any concentration for permanent removal. This would be the safest and most effective removal aid of copper and various heavy metals found in most municipal water sources".

I hope this helps. Have a nice day!

Product Support 102086


The ONLY thing different as I recall with my own conversation with Seachem some years ago was that Safe does not have a stabilizing agent that Prime does.
IE You can't mix it, then leave it sitting for a week and expect it to work correctly as you can indeed with Prime.

And you save quite a bit using Safe compared to Prime. I am NOT disparaging Prime it is great product. But why pay for water.

Cheers.

Interesting. The only reason I mentioned the idea of safe not being able to handle the heavy metals is due to someone claiming their email to seachem got a confirmation stating just that!