Aquarium Snake Oil

BRS
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www.dinkinsaquaticgardens.com
LFS advice, one minute it's one thing and the next minute it's something completely different. Yeah.... No thanks, I can figure out what works best in my tank on my own.
 
"ran into" as to used it or "run into" as to heard of it? the thing about having an opinion without having actually used a product is pretty much useless, and too many people in forums are very opinionated, and that is too bad cause it's just replicating exactly that very same behavior some are trying (rightfully or not) to eradicate, preying on the credulity of some people. So if it is just to throw a name out there for the heck of it, do members of this forum a favor, a keep it for yourself.
Prime, is the product i would call "snake oil" and not so much because it does not do the job it says, but because of its inherent flaws and Seachem's inability to come up up with a straight answer. I feel it starts taking control of the aquarium. When I stopped using it for whatever reason, I got an ammonia spike and for a week i could not bring it down. It might have been just ammonium (API test kit does not make the difference) but the bacteria should have oxidized it. It is pretty much using synthetic chemical to control ANN levels without considering its impact on the natural elements of an aquarium, as an ecosystem. Bacteria will not have time to adjust, and then as the chemical wears off, the bacteria can't adjust. I might be bias, cause i got into this hobby because i wanted a piece of nature in my home, not a chemically sanitized water ecosystem.
 
bigblue said:
"ran into" as to used it or "run into" as to heard of it? the thing about having an opinion without having actually used a product is pretty much useless, and too many people in forums are very opinionated, and that is too bad cause it's just replicating exactly that very same behavior some are trying (rightfully or not) to eradicate, preying on the credulity of some people. So if it is just to throw a name out there for the heck of it, do members of this forum a favor, a keep it for yourself.
Prime, is the product i would call "snake oil" and not so much because it does not do the job it says, but because of its inherent flaws and Seachem's inability to come up up with a straight answer. I feel it starts taking control of the aquarium. When I stopped using it for whatever reason, I got an ammonia spike and for a week i could not bring it down. It might have been just ammonium (API test kit does not make the difference) but the bacteria should have oxidized it. It is pretty much using synthetic chemical to control ANN levels without considering its impact on the natural elements of an aquarium, as an ecosystem. Bacteria will not have time to adjust, and then as the chemical wears off, the bacteria can't adjust. I might be bias, cause i got into this hobby because i wanted a piece of nature in my home, not a chemically sanitized water ecosystem.
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I have seen Prime skew NH3 tests. I work in a public aquarium and have seen this exact scenario previously. This was an error on both drop tests and through a spectrophotometer flow through tests. We did learn that tests can be adjusted to read correctly by adding a small amount of Sodium thiosulphate to the water being tested. Weird, yes I agree, but it is widely agreed by aquarists that Prime can manipulate test scores.
 
BRS
Indeed it does, and it seems to put the bacterial colonies out of whack. I'm curious, why would you be using prime in large aquariums?
 
Reef Snow
Amino Acid supplements
Any remedy for Cryptocaryon irritans that states you can added directly to the display and it's reef safe.

 
bigblue said:
Indeed it does, and it seems to put the bacterial colonies out of whack. I'm curious, why would you be using prime in large aquariums?
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Well, I didn't say the size of the aquarium actually. We do change exhibits from time to time and long down times are frowned upon by management and guest alike. We can mitigate this by using some of these remedies in a bottle (Prime or Fritzyme turbo start 900 are a few examples we have used in the past with some success). Do not get me wrong, nothing replaces time and patience in managing aquaria. I will and do recommend the Fritzyme for helping temperate systems establish a cycle, colder systems cycle sooooo slow. :frusty: (me cycling a spider crab tank)
 
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ebushrow said:
Aquabella Bio-Enzyme
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i've been using AquaBella Bio-Enzyme for a wile now in four different tanks and let me tell you that this product works like nothing i've ever seen... it`s about 10 months in one of the tanks and no water changes at all. only RO/DI for top offs... All of my live stock. corals, inverts and fish are super healthy, bright colors and growing well. All levels in my aquariums are perfect. I have a basic sump setup. Pre-filter, Wet-dry, Skimmer, Refugium w chaeto, GFO reactor. Plus I have a "nitrate factory" canister filter running 24/7 with only seachem matrix and in the final stage Seachem Purigen. And amazing but Ammonia = 0, Nitrite =0, Nitrate =0, Phos =0... All off you guys should give it a try. just check your params on a regular basis and you`ll see... 200% recommended. AquaBella Bio-Enzyme is the best... i'm telling you. before aquabella, my tank was covered with green hair algae, cyano, nitrates 20.0 - 30.00, phosp 0.5 - 2.0. now after 10 months with aquabella and no water changes. the tank is algae and cyano free, crystal clear water, really balanced and established tank and Ammonia = 0, Nitrite =0, Nitrate =0, Phos =0... it`s really cheap. All of you. give it a try... you do not lose anything trying, just follow the directions and periodically check the parameters...
 
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lazylivin said:
- Purple up works. It adds calcium, alk and iodine to a tank. This is what Coraline algae requires to grow. There are other less expensive options especially for large systems but it works as described.
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No, it doesn't. Purple up is a calcium carbonate powder in water. Cal and alk need to be dissolved to be bio available. That would require an acid to dissolve it. Which is exactly how a calcium reactor works.

But even if it wasn't a solid. You can't have cal and alk together in a bottle at a concentration much higher than your tank water otherwise it will precipitate out of solution. Then you're back to calcium carbonate powder in water.
 
Question

What, if any, prior snake oils here have since been reinstated back into the public acceptance domain



:)
Hint:
It ain't the aqualyzer



Given enough time, simple forums are excellent filters for utility and the media used to get there is anecdote. Given enough time, repeaters emerge imo. Not even the pure anecdote driving the forums on every web site for reefs would accept the aqualyzer. Gone. Didn't pass filter.

Its big tho for hot tub filtration Ive seen when searching for what became of them


One thing from the prior pages has been found legit tho, what is it
 
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Top Shelf Aquatics
Haha RODI as snake oil.. that post needs to learn a little in biology

Snake oil??
Our own stubbornness
 
Any "herbal", "all natural" or "reef safe" cure for external protozoa (ich, velvet, brook, uronema) is not capable of eradicating these parasites from your tank. This is because these parasites spend most of their life cycle "off fish", in the rocks/substrate. These products may (or may not) be able to help a fish manage symptoms by boosting their natural immune system, increase slime coat protection or something similar. But so long as one free swimmer attaches, feeds and then drops off & encysts, the life cycle will always continue.

Natural remedies designed to help fight off bacterial diseases (PimaFix & MelaFix both come to mind) are probably a lot more useful, as a fish's natural immune system is capable of fighting off mild bacterial infections without the need for antibiotics. Just like our own. ;)
 
BRS

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%

  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%

  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%

  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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