# What is better API water conditioner or prime?



## sohankpatel (Jul 10, 2015)

Prime, it is so,much more value for the money


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## Wilderman204 (Mar 5, 2015)

I've only used prime. It's always done what I needed it to do, no complaints. You can also buy it in a dry powder form that you mix into the water. But I'd think you'd be fine just soaking the rocks in a bucket of water for a day, changing out the water several times.


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## Veritas (Aug 9, 2013)

I have the API water conditioner for my office aquarium (found it on sale one day) and am not super thrilled with it. The water always gets really cloudy right after water changes with it. It will clear up after a few hours - but not a big fan.


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## Kobey (Nov 20, 2015)

When I first started my tanks the LFS and another chain box store told me so many different things starting out.

End result was I ended up with bottles of Nutrifin Aqua+, Tetra AquaSafe, API conditioner and finally Prime.

Now they all did the same thing in that I used tap water and my fish didn't die.

Having said that I have used all 4 bottles and can say my fish honestly seem happier / livelier when I have changed the water using Prime. I don't know what the difference is...maybe a better slime coat...less harsh whatevers...but at the time I had no real knowledge much less preference towards any "name" and only looked at how the fish responded.

And because of that experience I now only use Prime as my water conditioner.


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## latchdan (Sep 7, 2007)

Prime does smell but it says it should on it. I like it because it last a long time. I also use pipets to dose it.


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## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

Prime gets my vote.

Also @ 5x it will detoxify NO2 & NO3 in an emergency.
500ml can be found on the web with free ship for about $11.


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## flight50 (Apr 17, 2012)

Most won't argue that Prime can be beat for the money has its superior to majority of conditioners on the market.


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## Kobey (Nov 20, 2015)

latchdan said:


> Prime does smell but it says it should on it. I like it because it last a long time. I also use pipets to dose it.


 
Totally agreed...at 5ml per 50 gallons pipettes come in handy! 
:nerd:


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## Argus (May 22, 2013)

Kobey said:


> Totally agreed...at 5ml per 50 gallons pipettes come in handy!
> :nerd:


Right, and you can get 100 (approx) 



 for about $12.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Chloramine Buster is another competitively priced dechlor, and it does not smell like Prime. 
I have used both, and they are measured the same way: I use an eyedropper. 
The dry form of Prime, called Safe works the same way-
These break the chlorine-ammonia bond, then lock up the chlorine and ammonia. 

All the others I have seen are dosed by the spoonful or cap full. They may include other things the tank does not need. 'Slime Coat Enhancers'- healthy fish do not need irritants to make more slime coat, nor slimy stuff added to their gills. 
Heavy metal- yes, some water may need the chelators in such a product. If you need this, you can also buy the chelators separately from the dechlor. Look into it, it could be cheaper. 
Electrolytes- Water changes and fertilizers supply these needed elements.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

After years of using Prime, I went shopping and found a house brand from an online store that I like better in some small ways. One is that it is somewhat cheaper when figured by the amount dosed and cost per dose. But then what we want a conditioner to do is a pretty simple things when we want it to do a small job and not get all mixed up in bells and whistles. So sometimes the choice can come down to where I am ordering at the moment that I find I'm needing more. At one point the choice was made due to the store brand coming in a bottle which fit my holder on the stand. Just not a big thing to sweat.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

If you used laundry bleach to clean a rock, just the plain ol' one, not the 'non-splash', not a fragrant one, then the chlorine will evaporate. You can simply rinse it and leave it in the sun for a day. But any dechlor will do for this job, too.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

I use Seachem Safe. The powdered version of Seachem Prime, yet even more cost effective  Measuring doses is not hard at all like some may mention. Just get a set of measuring spoons, but you can safely dose up to 5x the recommended dosage anyways so no big worry of overdosing (unless you have nano tanks I guess). You could even prepare Safe in bottles of water to make your own bottles of Prime.

If you *only* need/want to treat *Chlorine* and nothing else, you can get Sodium Thiosulfate crystals. Really cheap and a little goes a long way. Use it to make your own jugs of water conditioner/dechlorinator. NOTE, it only removes Chlorine, it does not remove Chloramine or bind any metals, nor detoxify ammonia/nitrites/nitrates, like Seachem Prime/Safe can do.
You can buy Sodium Thiosulfate at Kensfish, same for great prices on Seachem Prime/Safe (Until Midnight TONIGHT 11/27 Black Friday, there is a 10% off sale)
Sodium Thiosulfate

Or if you have the time and space to set up barrels or jugs of tap water, the chlorine will evaporate (within 24 hours). Chloramine takes days to evaporate (about a week or so). Temperature and water surface area probably vary evaporation time, water volume might vary too (not sure, just my thoughts).


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## Kobey (Nov 20, 2015)

Diana said:


> 'Slime Coat Enhancers'- healthy fish do not need irritants to make more slime coat, nor slimy stuff added to their gills.


I'm still very new to all this and have no idea how "slime coat" happens...but considering they say you can "safely" increase Prime by X amount how does it impact their gills?

I know for example Tea Tree in API Bettafix can mess up Betta over time so I assume it's akin to that just on a smaller and technically different scale?


...sorry this is maybe an off topic question


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## robbhammack (Nov 26, 2015)

I believe the best bang for your buck these days is Seachem Safe - dry powder form of Prime.

The complete and concentrated conditioner for both fresh and salt water
Removes chlorine chloramine and ammonia
Converts ammonia into a safe nontoxic form that is readily removed by the tank's biofilter
May be used during tank cycling to alleviate ammonia and nitrite toxicity; Non acidic and will not impact ph nor will it over activate skimmers
Safe is the dry version of Prime and shares all of its advantages, however Safe is even more concentrated

Size: 250 g / 8.8 oz $12.87 at Amazon

Dosing 

Chlorine: use 5 g (1 tsp.*) to each 1625 L (450 gallons*) of tap water (removes 4 ppm).
Chloramine: use 5 g (1 tsp.*) to each 1250 L (300 gallons*) of tap water (removes 4 ppm).
Ammonia: use 5 g (1 tsp.*) to each 400 L (100 gallons*) of tap water (removes 4 ppm). Do not overdose!
To detoxify nitrite/nitrate in an emergency situation use up to 5 g (1 tsp.*) to each 400 L (100 gallons*). Use fish to gauge toxicity reduction as test kits will still show presence of nitrite/nitrate even when detoxified. May be added to aquarium directly, but is better if added to new water first. If adding directly to aquarium, base dose on aquarium volume. If temperature is > 30 C (86 F) cut dosing in half.

never tried for "exact" dosing, never had a problem, no smell. fish always seem happy and healthy. been using the same little bottle for 3+ years, still over half full.
the claim of detoxifying nitrate seems to be true as well - I was on a job for over 6 months out of state, and when I returned, I found out that when my family members assured me they were doing regular water changes, they mean pouring in some water when evaporation made the filters to loud, not actually removing and replacing water. Nitrate off the charts, after a bunch of 20% water changes over the course of 4 days, it was still over 200 ppm. not a single fish death, the neon tetras were healthy. 
truly amazed me.


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Diana said:


> Chloramine Buster is another competitively priced dechlor, and it does not smell like Prime.
> I have used both, and they are measured the same way: I use an eyedropper.
> The dry form of Prime, called Safe works the same way-
> These break the chlorine-ammonia bond, then lock up the chlorine and ammonia.
> ...



The last half of Diana's advices are particularly important, because many water conditioners also have a 'slime coat enhancer', which contain certain amines that bind with Purigen beads' resin to form chloramines, which are toxic when released into the tank water.
Prime does not contain these amines, so are perfectly safe to neutralize the chlorine when recharging Purigen.
I wouldn't use anything but Prime when conditioning tap water for any reason, whether or not it's being used to re-charge Purigen or otherwise.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

WaterLife said:


> You could even prepare Safe in bottles of water to make your own bottles of Prime.


Sorry, I have to recant what I said earlier. I was just looking Seachem Safe back up and you can NOT create Prime using Safe. prime vs safe - Seachem Support Forums
Just wanted to clear that up.

And oh yeah, 2 drops (medicine dropper) of Prime per gallon equates to the standard dosing but measured out more conveniently for nano tank dosing.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

A healthy fish creates slime coat and as it disappears, they create more. If something bothers the fish they can create excess slime coat hoping that as the excess sloughs off it will take with it the parasite or chemical that is irritating the fish. 

Some aquarium additives irritate the fish, so they create excess slime coat. Some combo dechlorinators boast about this, as if healthy fish in a well cared for aquarium need more slime coat. They do not. 
Some combo dechlorinators contain other materials that can stick to the slime coat to add on to it. The problem is that these materials stick to everything, including the gills. Including Purigen. Again, it is not needed by healthy fish. 
Bettas, Gouramis, Paradise fish and a few others have a special breathing organ called a Labyrinth organ. The ingredients in Melafix can cause problems with this organ, which is why Melafix is labeled not for use with Bettas. 

A side note in this: 
Some Loaches can create excess slime coat when they are stressed, for example by capture. If they are then kept in the same bucket as other species of fish the other fish may die. I do not know if anything toxic has been found in the slime coat of Loaches. Thick strands of slime coat were found in the bucket with stressed Loaches. 
I simply know that if I am moving fish, even as short a distance as between tanks at home, never put stressed Loaches in the same container with other fish. Move them separately.


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## Kobey (Nov 20, 2015)

...So seachem makes their own version of what I assume is the slime coat portion of Prime called "Stress Guard"

I do totally understand the point of not adding things you do not need and so I'm wondering if "Safe" is the same as a Prime without slime coat?

Or if the amount of slime coat in prime is really worth worrying about compared to messing up with more complicate practices.


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