Prime or Stress Coat

[FishGuest5123]

Which do you prefer for water treatment? I have a friend working on a study with a university. They are finding that Stress Coat keeps nitrates down better than Prime. Not sure about this. I have always used Prime and testing Stress Coat on one tank now. Just wondering which you guys use and what your nitrate readings are.

 

[The Lumpfish Guy]

I use Tapsafe...
I have never tried either to be honnest

 

[Essjay]

Stress Coat is just a dechlorinator which also binds metals, with Aloe vera added.

Taken from here https://www.apifishcare.com/product.php?p=faqs&id=652
"Stress Coat removes chlorine and neutralizes chloramine and heavy metals. It also reduces stress in fish and promotes the healing of wounds and regeneration of damaged tissue."

It contains nothing to affect nitrate.



Seachem won't say what's in Prime but even they don't claim that it reduces nitrate just that it 'detoxifies' nitrate.




Because I don't like adding unnecessary chemicals to my tank (whatever is in Prime and Aloe vera) I use API Tap Water Conditioner https://www.apifishcare.com/product.php?sectionid=1&catid=19&subcatid=102&id=655
This contains just 2 chemicals - one to remove chlorine and another to bind metals. My water company uses chlorine so I don't need anything to detoxify the ammonia from chloramine.

I have no idea what my tank nitrate is as I never replaced the tester when it expired. But my tank has live plants, and my water company gives the mean value of several nitrate tests as 2.215 ppm, and when I did have a tester I never had a reading over 5 ppm.

 

[Byron]

The results of this test will be interesting to see, depending upon the aim of this study which we do not know from what is posted here.

Second, exactly what is meant by "keeping nitrates down." Neither product's manufacturer makes any claim that this is the case, so it is difficult to assess.

Seachem's Prime does not reduce or eliminate nitrates, it temporarily detoxifies nitrate (along with ammonia and nitrite, if any of these are present). It does this by somehow binding nitrate which means it is no longer toxic. But this binding only remains effective for 24-36 hours, after which the nitrate if still present will revert back to the toxic form. During the period of detoxification, most tests (like the API) will still show the nitrate, in its detoxified or toxic form, whichever. So long as Prime is effective, the "nitrate" will presumably be harmless to fish, but again this is temporary and to my knowledge there have never been scientific studies examining how this "non-toxic form of nitrate" may affect the fish.

API makes no claim about nitrate at all for Stress Coat.

On nitrate itself, this should always be as low as possible, since nitrate does affect fish to varying degrees depending upon the species, level of nitrate, and exposure time. If nitrate occurs from within the aquarium, it must be dealt with naturally, not with additives that often can make things even worse for fish. Nitrate in the source water is another issue, and there are a couple of threads on this.

EDIT. Essjay posted as I was typing...I agree with what she posts, and the aloe vera issue is important as scientific studies have proven that over time this does negatively affect the gills of fish so it is something that should never go into the water in an aquarium.

 

[The Lumpfish Guy]

The results of this test will be interesting to see, depending upon the aim of this study which we do not know from what is posted here.

Mars product testing is very tightly controlled....

 

[FishGuest5123]

According to the study ( and the little bit I know at this time), the Prime is believed to actually increase nitrates as time goes on. They also claim that Prime and Stress Coat used together raises ammonia. In the study, according to my friend, when Stress Coat is used along with daily water changes for 2 weeks, the water tests at0 nitrates at the end of the 2 weeks and stays there with no further daily w/c’s. I don’t know the rhyme or reason to this at this time as I’m not privileged to the study notes. The research is still in the testing phase. Just curious if anyone has noticed more success n lower nitrates when testing using one product vs. the other. My nitrates test high as I have nitrates in my tap water. I’ll see if I notice any difference after 2 weeks but not holding my breath.

 

[Byron]

According to the study ( and the little bit I know at this time), the Prime is believed to actually increase nitrates as time goes on. They also claim that Prime and Stress Coat used together raises ammonia. In the study, according to my friend, when Stress Coat is used along with daily water changes for 2 weeks, the water tests at0 nitrates at the end of the 2 weeks and stays there with no further daily w/c’s. I don’t know the rhyme or reason to this at this time as I’m not privileged to the study notes. The research is still in the testing phase. Just curious if anyone has noticed more success n lower nitrates when testing using one product vs. the other. My nitrates test high as I have nitrates in my tap water. I’ll see if I notice any difference after 2 weeks but not holding my breath.

This illustrates what I was getting at previously, about the aim of the test and the conditions. Given that neither product claims to lower nitrates, there may well be other factors playing into this. Example,

In the study, according to my friend, when Stress Coat is used along with daily water changes for 2 weeks, the water tests at0 nitrates at the end of the 2 weeks and stays there with no further daily w/c’s.​

This is not proof of anything, without the background. What sized aquarium, how many fish, what is in the source water, what is the GH/KH, pH, temperature, how much are the fish being fed, are there plants...without knowing all this, and probably more, we cannot possibly conclude anything about nitrates. And just so you know, this is not a blame on you, but merely pointing out that without the data for the testing the conclusions are meaningless.

Another thing...the long-term and/or cumulative effect of using such products that is being suggested is not really surprising.

They also claim that Prime and Stress Coat used together raises ammonia.​

Everyone here knows how I regularly warn about using any additives unless absolutely essential, and this is one very good reason why I do. Interaction between substances can have serious consequences for fish and bacteria. But beyond this, these products are getting inside the fish, and that is always negative no matter the additive.

 

[FishGuyBri]

Was just curious as to any follow-up to this study?

 

[bigroof]

i use seachem prime. I used to use other products but found prime to be the best. Why change what works and keep the fish happy i guess.

 

[Slaphppy7]

i use seachem prime. I used to use other products but found prime to be the best. Why change what works and keep the fish happy i guess.

Same here...

 

[GaryE]

It's interesting. Talking to US aquarists in the midwest, it seems a lot of them have agricultural pollutants in their drinking water, and so water changes don't always do the job for maintaining water quality. In such a case, I can see the need for extra chemicals.
I'm lucky in that I have clean water, and regular water changes clear any problems before they become problems. I don't need these products. If I keep a good water change routine, I don't even have any use for test kits or water treatments beyond a dechlorinator for any extra large changes.
Often when we evaluate products and give advice, we aren't aware of what 'normal' is for people in other parts of the world. There are so many variables. Room temperature. Water. Commonly available species. Food brands. Medications... none can be taken for granted online.
I went out back with the dog early this morning and thought it was really weirdly warm, at +1c. Meanwhile, Colin T is sitting at 40c in Australia.

 

[baylor703]

I'm starting to like Prime because it is an all-in-one of sorts. I also use purigen, and anything that has artificial slime coats like aloe are supposedly a big no for any tanks using purigen.

 

[AbbeysDad]

They also claim that Prime and Stress Coat used together raises ammonia. In the study, according to my friend, when Stress Coat is used along with daily water changes for 2 weeks, the water tests at0 nitrates at the end of the 2 weeks and stays there with no further daily w/c’s.

Say what? On balance, do daily water changes with most water supplies for 2 weeks and of course there will be little/no nitrates...but this would have nothing to do with any conditioner. These conditioners are simply not magic bullets for nitrates that result from decomposing organic matter.
I'm [also] not a fan of conditioners with aloe vera. Fish need fresh, CLEAN water with as few (or no) additives.

It is true that in agricultural areas, more and more we see high nitrates in source water. Something I know first hand (see My Nitrate Fight). This problem (or challenge) will likely not go away as conventional farming uses fair amounts of petro-chemical and animal waste fertilizers. (Although I have seen a reduction when animal manures are used instead of chemical ferts.)
I tend to believe that nitrates found in source water is somewhat less harmful to fish than tank generated nitrates, but that's just a thought/opinion based on no technical data.

 

[Sgooosh]

hmm i use api tap water, stress coat only when fish need healing fins desperately
api tap water never runs out like u only need a drop for a gallon !!!

 

[Byron]

hmm i use api tap water, stress coat only when fish need healing fins desperately
api tap water never runs out like u only need a drop for a gallon !!!

I also use the API Tap Water Conditioner, it is the most concentrated and safe conditioner. I say "safe" simply because you use less (the concentrated aspect) but also most other conditioners either have ingredients that are or may be harmful, or they mess somehow with the chemistry (without explaining how they do).

The Stress Coat however brings us to these other harmful products. The aloe vera is one issue (it can damage gills), but a scientific study found that the actual "coating" benefit claimed by these products is questionable at best and absent for most.