How much prime do I add to 55 litres

[Spookiskeletman]

Basically getting an ammonia reading at 4 managed to get it down from 6 ive cleaned the tank out appropriately many times and have done everything I can to drop it. I believe the ammonia is in my tap water and my current conditioner isnt helping, changed to prime and cant tell how much i need to add to bring it down

 

[Essjay]

Prime will not bring the ammonia level down but it will detoxify it for up to 48 hours. Then the ammonia reverts to the 'non-detoxified' form. Our testers read this detoxified ammonia as though it was non-detoxified, so it will still show up when you test.

Have you tested your tap water for ammonia? 4 ppm is way above the legal limit in most countries. In the UK the legal limit is 0.5 ppm in drinking water. If your tap water is a lot lower than 4 ppm, it suggests you do not have enough bacteria in your tank to cope with the ammonia made by the occupants.

 

[Byron]

You first need to find the source. Test your tap water for ammonia. Also, does your municipal water authority (if on city water rather than private well) add chloramine? Chloramine is ammonia-related. You need t know where the ammonia is coming from, source water or tank.

Second, Prime is not a cure for ammonia for a few reasons. First, like any conditioner that will detoxify ammonia, it is intended to deal with initial ammonia such as what might occur in the source water at a water change, in order to give the bacteria/arachaea/plants time to deal with it going forward. If the ammonia is occurring from within the aquarium, these conditioners will not solve the problem and can actually make things worse.

Prime (and most other conditioners that deal with initial ammonia) detoxify ammonia by changing it into the basically harmless ammonium. But this change is not permanent; Seachem says it lasts 24-36 hours, after which the ammonium, if still present, reverts to ammonia. So that is what I mean by saying Prime and similar conditioners are not "cures" but temporary.

The other thing is that ammonia test kits like the API will test ammonia and ammonium as "ammonia," so a test for ammonia after using Prime will still show "ammonia" even though it is likely ammonium.

In acidic water, pH below 7.0, ammonia changes into ammonium so there is less of an issue. And plants and bacteria will take up ammonia/ammonium just the same.

EDIT. As I was typing, so was essjay...

 

[Spookiskeletman]

You first need to find the source. Test your tap water for ammonia. Also, does your municipal water authority (if on city water rather than private well) add chloramine? Chloramine is ammonia-related. You need t know where the ammonia is coming from, source water or tank.

Second, Prime is not a cure for ammonia for a few reasons. First, like any conditioner that will detoxify ammonia, it is intended to deal with initial ammonia such as what might occur in the source water at a water change, in order to give the bacteria/arachaea/plants time to deal with it going forward. If the ammonia is occurring from within the aquarium, these conditioners will not solve the problem and can actually make things worse.

Prime (and most other conditioners that deal with initial ammonia) detoxify ammonia by changing it into the basically harmless ammonium. But this change is not permanent; Seachem says it lasts 24-36 hours, after which the ammonium, if still present, reverts to ammonia. So that is what I mean by saying Prime and similar conditioners are not "cures" but temporary.

The other thing is that ammonia test kits like the API will test ammonia and ammonium as "ammonia," so a test for ammonia after using Prime will still show "ammonia" even though it is likely ammonium.

In acidic water, pH below 7.0, ammonia changes into ammonium so there is less of an issue. And plants and bacteria will take up ammonia/ammonium just the same.

EDIT. As I was typing, so was essjay...

 

[Spookiskeletman]

Prime will not bring the ammonia level down but it will detoxify it for up to 48 hours. Then the ammonia reverts to the 'non-detoxified' form. Our testers read this detoxified ammonia as though it was non-detoxified, so it will still show up when you test.

Have you tested your tap water for ammonia? 4 ppm is way above the legal limit in most countries. In the UK the legal limit is 0.5 ppm in drinking water. If your tap water is a lot lower than 4 ppm, it suggests you do not have enough bacteria in your tank to cope with the ammonia made by the occupants.

Yeah, I know its not a quick fix deal just trying to take the heat off my fish until I can get things stable , we have 2 tanks both with ammonia in them we live about 2 and a half miles from a chemical plant and our vets were saying theyve had reports of this happening before. I had stress zyme with every water change which is about 50% every 2 days now and nothing seems to be helping it. There is a brown type of algae on the glass im not sure if its diatoms but it looks spotty and after that appeared we have been having problems with ammonia. Also ive only had it tested at a pet store, we were told our PH was guite high for the area but to just add some bogwood and plants and that should bring it down but I dont know im new to this by about 3 months and im just really worried about my fish

 

[Byron]

Yeah, I know its not a quick fix deal just trying to take the heat off my fish until I can get things stable , we have 2 tanks both with ammonia in them we live about 2 and a half miles from a chemical plant and our vets were saying theyve had reports of this happening before. I had stress zyme with every water change which is about 50% every 2 days now and nothing seems to be helping it. There is a brown type of algae on the glass im not sure if its diatoms but it looks spotty and after that appeared we have been having problems with ammonia. Also ive only had it tested at a pet store, we were told our PH was guite high for the area but to just add some bogwood and plants and that should bring it down but I dont know im new to this by about 3 months and im just really worried about my fish

We will need to know all the data to advise. What is the ammonia test reading for the tap water? And is the tank water different, and if so, what exactly? What is the pH of the tank water, and the tap water (separately)? Testing tap water for pH must out-gas the CO2. This can be done by letting a jar of tap water sit 24 hours, or by briskly shaking it in a sealed jar.

Ammonia is a nutrient for plants, so that is likely part of the algae issue.

 

[Spookiskeletman]

We will need to know all the data to advise. What is the ammonia test reading for the tap water? And is the tank water different, and if so, what exactly? What is the pH of the tank water, and the tap water (separately)? Testing tap water for pH must out-gas the CO2. This can be done by letting a jar of tap water sit 24 hours, or by briskly shaking it in a sealed jar.

Ammonia is a nutrient for plants, so that is likely part of the algae issue.

I will buy a new test kit tomorrow, and post it up. My plants are growing like crazy too, so that must be the ammonia. Is it possible to fill the tank with plants and thatll bring ammonia down? Not as a solution but is it theoretically possible as I am going to add quite a bit of plants anyway.

Current inhabitants are
1 betta
6 neon tetra
4 african dwarf frogs
And 3 kuhli loaches that are there temporary because my familys 20 gallon tank is damaged

Im currently running 2 filters too. One external and the other a stingray 10 elite of that information is of any help

 

[Byron]

I will buy a new test kit tomorrow, and post it up. My plants are growing like crazy too, so that must be the ammonia. Is it possible to fill the tank with plants and thatll bring ammonia down? Not as a solution but is it theoretically possible as I am going to add quite a bit of plants anyway.

Current inhabitants are
1 betta
6 neon tetra
4 african dwarf frogs
And 3 kuhli loaches that are there temporary because my familys 20 gallon tank is damaged

Im currently running 2 filters too. One external and the other a stingray 10 elite of that information is of any help

Yes, plants will help with ammonia. But it is limited, so we still need the test numbers when you get them. There are also long-term methods of dealing with ammonia, others will be better able to advise on this once we have numbers. For ammonia, and pH, in both tap and tank water separately.

Do you happen to know the nitrate number, again for tap and tank water separately? This may be another factor in the equation.

 

[Spookiskeletman]

You first need to find the source. Test your tap water for ammonia. Also, does your municipal water authority (if on city water rather than private well) add chloramine? Chloramine is ammonia-related. You need t know where the ammonia is coming from, source water or tank.

Second, Prime is not a cure for ammonia for a few reasons. First, like any conditioner that will detoxify ammonia, it is intended to deal with initial ammonia such as what might occur in the source water at a water change, in order to give the bacteria/arachaea/plants time to deal with it going forward. If the ammonia is occurring from within the aquarium, these conditioners will not solve the problem and can actually make things worse.

Prime (and most other conditioners that deal with initial ammonia) detoxify ammonia by changing it into the basically harmless ammonium. But this change is not permanent; Seachem says it lasts 24-36 hours, after which the ammonium, if still present, reverts to ammonia. So that is what I mean by saying Prime and similar conditioners are not "cures" but temporary.

The other thing is that ammonia test kits like the API will test ammonia and ammonium as "ammonia," so a test for ammonia after using Prime will still show "ammonia" even though it is likely ammonium.

In acidic water, pH below 7.0, ammonia changes into ammonium so there is less of an issue. And plants and bacteria will take up ammonia/ammonium just the same.

EDIT. As I was typing, so was essjay...

A chemical plant is about 2 miles down the road from my house. It is possible these are leaking into our water supply as we live on the fringe of a lake and I could be wrong but most of our water suppliers work from that, im not too sure. Im going to post up the numbers from my test kit soon I will let you guys know. I just need to know the amount of prime I should add to condition my water before I do a clean later today. Sorry for the buggy reply aswell dude my phone died as I was typing : )

 

[Spookiskeletman]

There has been a high rate of health issues in rural animals in this area too. I have other sources I can get water from itll just be really inconvenient

 

[Byron]

A chemical plant is about 2 miles down the road from my house. It is possible these are leaking into our water supply as we live on the fringe of a lake and I could be wrong but most of our water suppliers work from that, im not too sure. Im going to post up the numbers from my test kit soon I will let you guys know. I just need to know the amount of prime I should add to condition my water before I do a clean later today. Sorry for the buggy reply aswell dude my phone died as I was typing : )

Add the amount of Prime as indicated on the label. I don't have this conditioner so I do not know what it says, but it will mention one drop for each "x" or so many ml for each "x". This amount should be only for the replacement water, not the entire tank.

 

[NickAu]

Use 2 drops per gallon.

Prime is highly over rated and the company misleads ( Lies ) about its product.

Here they state that it detoxifies Ammonia.

Typically, dechlorinators stop there, leaving an aquarium full of toxic ammonia! Seachem takes the necessary next step by including an ammonia binder to detoxify the ammonia produced in the reduction process.

https://www.seachem.com/prime.php

Yet on their forum a Seachem employee clearly states.

Prime will bind ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate for 24-48 hours

https://www.seachem.com/support/forums/forum/general-discussion/1803-prime-questions

 

[Spookiskeletman]

We will need to know all the data to advise. What is the ammonia test reading for the tap water? And is the tank water different, and if so, what exactly? What is the pH of the tank water, and the tap water (separately)? Testing tap water for pH must out-gas the CO2. This can be done by letting a jar of tap water sit 24 hours, or by briskly shaking it in a sealed jar.

Ammonia is a nutrient for plants, so that is likely part of the algae issue.

Here is the stats for both the tap and tank water as they are relatively the same apart from pH

GH 60
KH 0
pH is at 7.5 for tap water and for the tank its at 6.0
Nitrite is at 0
Nitrate is at 20

If you need any more info or I have messed something up just let me know, thanks again guys

 

[Essjay]

For pH did you test freshly run tap water or tap water that had stood for 24 hours? There is very often a difference between freshly run tap water and tap water that has stood for 24 hours. It is helpful if you give us the pH of both.

We also need an ammonia reading, that is one of the most important tests (the other important one being nitrite, which you report as zero, which is good)

 

[Spookiskeletman]

For pH did you test freshly run tap water or tap water that had stood for 24 hours? There is very often a difference between freshly run tap water and tap water that has stood for 24 hours. It is helpful if you give us the pH of both.

We also need an ammonia reading, that is one of the most important tests (the other important one being nitrite, which you report as zero, which is good)

I will leave a glass of water out and let you know tomorrow, I will also do an ammonia test at my local pet store too, do you need a test with conditioner in aswell?