Prime

[Terri L Coon]

I have a question?? Does seachum Prime or Fritz Complete actually detox Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate? Thanks 

[Colu]

It depends who use ask some say it works some say it does nothing others swear by it I haven't seen any evidence that convinces me either way i use prime if I had high levels of ammonia or nitrites nitrates would I use prime instead of doing a  water change the answer is no  water changes are still best option for high levels of  ammonia and nitirte nitrates

Edited April 30, 2022 by Colu
Typo

[Guppysnail]

I’m in the same camp as @Colu.  No idea if it does or does not.  I water change if I detect any issue. 

[ReeseADHD]

Like @Guppysnail and @Colu I'd recommend water changing it out. If you're having high ammonia then most likely the fish are having a hard time pulling oxygen from the water. Adding certain water conditioners can also use up available oxygen which may make it worse for your fish. As for the detoxifying of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates I'm not sure. I only use Fritz Complete and it claims to detoxify ammonia, nitrites and reduce (not detox) nitrates.

[Torrey]

On 4/29/2022 at 5:48 PM, Terri L Coon said:

I have a question?? Does seachum Prime or Fritz Complete actually detox Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate? Thanks 

My understanding of the chemistry involved is Prime binds ammonia, nitrites & nitrates for 48 hours, acting as a buffer. The salts that are used to bind to the ammonia in chloramine (to break the hydrogen & nitrogen bonds of the NH2Cl) work as a protective buffer for approximately 48 hours, before those bonds break down, releasing the nitrogen and hydrogen as NO3 & H2O (nitrates and water) as long as the beneficial bacteria colony is large enough to change ammonia and nitrites into nitrates in under 48 hours.

Meaning it's a bandaid that can buy you a little time, but shouldn't be relied on as a permanent solution.

[Terri L Coon]

Thank You, I added fish when I thought it was cycled, there wasn’t enough good nacho handle the bio Load so I am trying to keep them safe until my filter catches up , would you recommend I keep changing the water until it catches up ? Thanks 

[Guppysnail]

This is just my opinion and what I have had success with. Everyone has their own so they will vary.  I’ve been keeping fish since before “fishless” cycling was a thing.  We always did fish in cycling and changed water daily or even a second small one if needed each day.  Since the fish is there it will eventually catch up. It’s the old fashioned way but very reliable.  

[modified lung]

I know trans shippers that say using Prime dramatically improved the survival rates of their fish during and after shipping. Shipping fish is actually what products like Prime were originally made for and should only be used in aquariums as an emergency buffer just in case IMO.

A lot of people uncritically accept that something like Prime can't work because someone on the internet claiming to be a chemist said the word "debunk". But even if they're right that Prime can't interact with ammonia, they've only done half the work. It could also work not by interacting with the ammonia molecular, but by interacting with the fish's biology which is exactly how chloride "detoxifies" nitrite. 

[Cory]

I think it's a problem with keywords. Like myself, when I hear detoxify, I don't really know the definition. However what Prime, Complete and some others do is break down some compounds and bind other compounds. usually this lasts for 24 hours, so that our filtration can then break it down further. In the instance where we have extra ammonia we can dose more to bind that up for 24 hours. As I'm not a chemist, I don't understand how it would remove heavy metals and such as some claim. I think in general the products work well for what I need, which is dechlorination.

[Sun.singh1991]

On 4/29/2022 at 8:51 PM, Cory said:

I think it's a problem with keywords. Like myself, when I hear detoxify, I don't really know the definition. However what Prime, Complete and some others do is break down some compounds and bind other compounds. usually this lasts for 24 hours, so that our filtration can then break it down further. In the instance where we have extra ammonia we can dose more to bind that up for 24 hours. As I'm not a chemist, I don't understand how it would remove heavy metals and such as some claim. I think in general the products work well for what I need, which is dechlorination.

The heavy metals are bonded by the chelated agents found in these products. Then I assume the  chelated metals are inert and later removed by plants or water changes. 

[Torrey]

On 4/29/2022 at 8:36 PM, Sun.singh1991 said:

The heavy metals are bonded by the chelated agents found in these products. Then I assume the  chelated metals are inert and later removed by plants or water changes. 

You explained it better than I did, thanks.