Seachem Prime And False Ammonia Readings?

[kevinjames]

so ive been using prime on my large aquarium which i set up last weekend. ive done 2 water changes as ive had a small spike in ammonia. after reading the bumf on seachem primes website it states that it converts ammonia into a non-toxic form. if this is the case will the readings im getting of slight ammonia infact be false readings???

here is the prime details:

http/www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Prime.html

 

[Tolak]

This depends on the test kit. A nessler test will show both ammonia and ammonium, which is what Prime converts ammonia to. These tests generally show the levels through a yellow to brown range. A salicylate test will discriminate between ammonia & ammonium, showing only ammonia. These generally show the results in greenish hues.

 

[kevinjames]

This depends on the test kit. A nessler test will show both ammonia and ammonium, which is what Prime converts ammonia to. These tests generally show the levels through a yellow to brown range. A salicylate test will discriminate between ammonia & ammonium, showing only ammonia. These generally show the results in greenish hues.

so the product that prime converts ammonia to is what my tests might be reading? is this definately the case though as im obviously concerned if ive got a toxic ammonia in there.

 

[Tolak]

It may, depending on the test. Not knowing what sort of test you have I can't say, either judge by the colors mentioned or contact the test manufacturer. Ammonium is used the same as ammonia by your nitrifying bacteria, so this will not affect any cycling. Ammonium is harmless to fish at levels found in an aquarium, and is why the component in Prime does this.

 

[kevinjames]

It may, depending on the test. Not knowing what sort of test you have I can't say, either judge by the colors mentioned or contact the test manufacturer. Ammonium is used the same as ammonia by your nitrifying bacteria, so this will not affect any cycling. Ammonium is harmless to fish at levels found in an aquarium, and is why the component in Prime does this.

thank for your replys tolak. the test im using is a liquid test. from the research ive done my test result are most probably the non-toxic ammonium. how do i then find out when my filters are handling my current stock of fish should i do a water change then wait a few days to test to see if the filter has dealt with the ammonium that the prime has made???

 

[anon02]

The ammonium may be less toxic to fish but it still converts to nitrite which is very toxic to fish

 

[kevinjames]

The ammonium may be less toxic to fish but it still converts to nitrite which is very toxic to fish

i understand this but my nitrite levels are zero and im sure the bacteria that deals with nitrite are much faster at colonizing than the ammonia ones. come to think of it i cant remember ever doing a nitrite test that wasnt zero.

 

[anon02]

My own experience and everything I`ve read and been told says that NOB are slower to colonize that AOB, and every ppm of ammonia processed produces 2.7ppm of nitrite. If you had an immature filter that wasn`t processing NH3 or NO2 that could account for an ammonia spike without seeing nitrite

Just a suggestion

 

[kevinjames]

My own experience and everything I`ve read and been told says that NOB are slower to colonize that AOB, and every ppm of ammonia processed produces 2.7ppm of nitrite. If you had an immature filter that wasn`t processing NH3 or NO2 that could account for an ammonia spike without seeing nitrite

Just a suggestion

i understand what ur saying but a lot of mature filter media with colonized bacteria went into the new filer.

 

[Geoff-]

My own experience and everything I`ve read and been told says that NOB are slower to colonize that AOB, and every ppm of ammonia processed produces 2.7ppm of nitrite.

woah.. that's huge. certainly explains why i'm finding it harder to keep my nitrites low than I did with the ammonia!