Dosing SeaChem Prime

[dyno]

My fish only has very high nitrates. Could I put Prime on a dosing schedule and use it regularly to help neutralize the nitrate build up?

 

[Wes10C]

Better to figure out why your no3 is high and then adjust to bring them them down

 

[dantimdad]

I wouldn't.

I would DIY a cheato reactor and slap that on there. Job done.

 

[Franco1024]

I wouldn't.

I would DIY a cheato reactor and slap that on there. Job done.

+1 Currently trying this before adding any chems

 

[Righteous]

What do you consider high? Are we talking 10ppm (perfectly safe) or 50ppm (might start causing issues)

 

[Dan_P]

My fish only has very high nitrates. Could I put Prime on a dosing schedule and use it regularly to help neutralize the nitrate build up?

Prime works by chemically binding ammonia. The bound ammonia is still available for bacteria to consume. I never thought about which bacteria can do this.

Question: does binding ammonia with Prime reroute the ammonia to bacteria that turn the bound ammonia into new bacteria cells instead of letting nitrifying bacteria turn ammonia into nitrate.

Before trying this, we would need to know how much Prime to add everyday, how much ammonia is produce per day, are there toxic limits for Prime, and does Prime accumulate or degrade.

Cool idea.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

My fish only has very high nitrates. Could I put Prime on a dosing schedule and use it regularly to help neutralize the nitrate build up?

I do not believe that Prime does anything useful about nitrate. I know Seachem mentions it, but there's no basis to believe it.

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

This seems like one of those issues that should be taken care of with water changes, not a shortcut in a bottle

 

[taricha]

Question: does binding ammonia with Prime reroute the ammonia to bacteria that turn the bound ammonia into new bacteria cells instead of letting nitrifying bacteria turn ammonia into nitrate.

hmmm.....
I know that prime can be added during cycling, and the cycle will still proceed, but more slowly. Dr Tim warns that excess of prime etc can slow the nitrifiers

and does Prime accumulate or degrade.

Both the ammonia and the heavy metal binding functions are said to degrade in a few days, but I haven't seen any data to verify.

 

[attiland]

+1 on algae rector or scrubber. Water changes will not take care of it. Chemicals are temp solution for emergency

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

+1 on algae rector or scrubber. Water changes will not take care of it. Chemicals are temp solution for emergency

How do water changes not reduce nitrates?

 

[Righteous]

How do water changes not reduce nitrates?

They do, it’s just not super effective and is can be expensive depending on size of tank (how much salt mix you have to use).

Most people’s typical water change size and schedule won’t knock it back quicker than it’s being generated.

For what it’s worth, I can drive mine near zero within days with a large (10% volume) refugium growing chaeto and strong lighting, harvesting the chaeto every 2 weeks or so.

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

They do, it’s just not super effective and is can be expensive depending on size of tank (how much salt mix you have to use).

Most people’s typical water change size and schedule won’t knock it back quicker than it’s being generated.

For what it’s worth, I can drive mine near zero within days with a large (10% volume) refugium growing chaeto and strong lighting, harvesting the chaeto every 2 weeks or so.

I'd say its pretty darn effective, a 50% water change removes 50% of the nitrates lol refugiums work great, but they aren't just removing nitrates and aren't a replacement for water changes

 

[Righteous]

I'd say its pretty darn effective, a 50% water change removes 50% of the nitrates lol refugiums work great, but they aren't just removing nitrates and aren't a replacement for water changes

It’s a matter of size and frequency. If you’re willing to do 50% water changes weekly it works great. People with larger tanks tend not to do that much. People with smaller, it’s easier. I had a 10 gallon nano, and then water change was all that was needed.

Its also very possible to run with nearly no water changes. I’ve done only 3 in 3 years on my 100g and still have very low nitrates. Obviously not everyones method or cup of tea. For me I like the convenience, but also believe the stable parameters are helpful with Acropora.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

How do water changes not reduce nitrates?

This is how water changes may not get you to your goal unless they are quite large

Water Changes in Reef Aquaria by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

Figure 8. Nitrate concentration as a function of time when performing daily water changes equivalent to 0% (no changes), 7.5%, 15% and 30% of the total volume each month (in other words, 0%, 0.25%, 0.5% and 1% per day). In this example, nitrate is present at 0 ppm at the start, and is accumulated at a rate of 0.1 ppm per day when no water is changed.

Figure 12. Nitrate concentration as a function of time when performing daily water changes equivalent to 0% (no changes), 7.5%, 15% and 30% of the total volume each month (in other words, 0%, 0.25%, 0.5% and 1% per day). In this example, nitrate is present at 100 ppm at the start, and is accumulated at a rate of 0.1 ppm per day when no water is changed.

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

This is how water changes may not get you to your goal unless they are quite large

Water Changes in Reef Aquaria by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

Figure 8. Nitrate concentration as a function of time when performing daily water changes equivalent to 0% (no changes), 7.5%, 15% and 30% of the total volume each month (in other words, 0%, 0.25%, 0.5% and 1% per day). In this example, nitrate is present at 0 ppm at the start, and is accumulated at a rate of 0.1 ppm per day when no water is changed.

Figure 12. Nitrate concentration as a function of time when performing daily water changes equivalent to 0% (no changes), 7.5%, 15% and 30% of the total volume each month (in other words, 0%, 0.25%, 0.5% and 1% per day). In this example, nitrate is present at 100 ppm at the start, and is accumulated at a rate of 0.1 ppm per day when no water is changed.

I'm not sure if it's a product of my freshwater backround, but a 30% water change a month is minimal. I do water changes weekly, usually about 20%. These charts are nice, but what does an 80% monthly water change schedule look like? Even a 10% weekly water change would make a whole lot of difference.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'm not sure if it's a product of my freshwater backround, but a 30% water change a month is minimal. I do water changes weekly, usually about 20%. These charts are nice, but what does an 80% monthly water change schedule look like? Even a 10% weekly water change would make a whole lot of difference.

30% monthly was chosen as typical for reef aquaria. Changing 80% monthly on a reef tank is extremely expensive unless its a teeny tiny tank due to salt costs. Way more expensive than competing ways to reduce nutrients.

The values shift a little lower with 10% weekly, but not that much.

Water changes have lots of uses, but by themselves generally cannot keep nutrients are what most folks consider optimal levels.

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

30% monthly was chosen as typical for reef aquaria. Changing 80% monthly on a reef tank is extremely expensive unless its a teeny tiny tank due to salt costs. Way more expensive than competing ways to reduce nutrients.

The values shift a little lower with 10% weekly, but not that much.

Water changes have lots of uses, but by themselves generally cannot keep nutrients are what most folks consider optimal levels.

I guess I just don't consider salt being a high cost item with the cost of everything else in the hobby lol to each their own, as long as fish and coral are happy, I'm happy

 

[Righteous]

To put numbers on it, Instant Ocean looks to be about $50 for 160g. So for a 100g tank you'd be looking at around $25/month to change out 80g/month.

No judgment either way! Just adding the data.

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

To put numbers on it, Instant Ocean looks to be about $50 for 160g. So for a 100g tank you'd be looking at around $25/month to change out 80g/month.

No judgment either way! Just adding the data.

$25 a month isn't too bad at all in my mind, that's a Netflix and Disney+ subscription lol