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Prime's effect on the fish-in cycle

13K views 54 replies 11 participants last post by  Adamson 
#1 ·
I was wondering, do you think that using Prime might have adverse effect on cycling a tank?

I have about 6 fish in my 50 gallon right now that is almost cycled. The Nitrites have been spiking for the past 10 days or so, and I have been putting in some Prime simply to keep my fish alive! By it detoxifying the nitrites, is it not letting my nitrites turn into nitrates, completing the cycle?

Thanks for any input in advance.
 
#7 ·
For your information

HERE.
 
#8 ·
Prime will NOT affect your cycle, it will help reduce the adverse effects caused by high ammonia and Nitrite in your tank.

Use it each time you do a water change.
 
#9 ·
yeah thats me mate, prime is excellent, highly concentrated so you only need a small amount in the tank, works well getting rid of chlorinate, chlorides and heave metals, also will give some healthy bacteria to the water but not very much of it, Prime is one of the best products you can buy I highly recommend it
 
#13 ·
Not a good idea to add MORE fish to a tank that is already over stocked for cycling purposes.
Fishes don't add bacteria,,they add ammonia from waste produced, and as by -product of respiration.
It is the ammonia that feeds bacteria and OP has plenty without adding more fish to possible toxic condition's.
Feeder fish in general,, are quickest way I know to introduce parasites or pathogen's to otherwise healthy tanks.
These fishes are often kept horrid condition's in crowded tank's with many dead fishes or diseased fishes present.
Only takes one diseased fish to infect the whole tank of feeder's and then you bring home these fish and spread the disease to your tank.
 
#12 ·
I was wondering, do you think that using Prime might have adverse effect on cycling a tank?

I have about 6 fish in my 50 gallon right now that is almost cycled. The Nitrites have been spiking for the past 10 days or so, and I have been putting in some Prime simply to keep my fish alive! By it detoxifying the nitrites, is it not letting my nitrites turn into nitrates, completing the cycle?

Thanks for any input in advance.
With the number's of fish listed under your aquariums,(how many are left?) and the fact that the tank is not cycled yet,, along with possibly foods and waste in excess, You would benefit from daily 50 percent water change .
Prime, nor the water changes will slow down the cycle but both are only effective for a 12 to 24 hour period in tank's where biological filter is still developing.
Water changes with Prime are quickest way to reduce Nitrites and ammonia.
Would not add any more fish for at least the next month while bacteria is developing and would feed fishes a tiny amount once every other day until the tank has matured ,or (cycled).
You indictae Six Chinese algae eater's among the fish listed under your aquarium and these,,i would get rid of.
They aren't from China,are quite poor alage eaters as they mature,,and WILL become aggressive with each other and other fishes you have.
 
#14 ·
That is old. I had one day about a week ago where I lost 4-5 fish, the Nitrites were up and killing.

Now I have 4 Tiger Barbs, 1 Chinese Algae Eater, 1 Rhino Pleco, 1 BGK, and a few snails in the 50 gallon tank. It is very well planted, I never get readings for Ammonia (It always tests at 0ppm). I feed the fish every other day. The Nitrites read at 5 ppm, which is high. The Nitrites have been at 5 ppm for 10 days now, when will they come down to 0??
 
#29 ·
High nitrites

I am having the same problem. 60g tank with:
3 swordtails
1 gourami
1 Cory
2 phantom tetras
Ammonia is at 0. Nitrites at 5ppm and Nitrates at 20. I am using the API master test kit. I've done water changes with Prime and have used Stability. The fish are all doing well but the nitrites won't come down and have been high for the last 2 weeks. When will the cycle finish? Could I have false readings on the Nitrites due to the Prime?
 
#30 ·
1077 has offered some good advice.

I would just like to add that Prime detoxifies, but does not remove ammonia or nitrite. Thus, your water test kits will still show the presence of those substances ... because they are still there, just not in a toxic form.

This detoxification is only temporary, and with a cycling tank it is necessary to continue using it to keep it detoxified. While detoxified, it is still useable by the bacteria and thus will not affect your cycle in any way.

5 ppm Nitrite is massively excessive, and will actually hinder the development of the beneficial bacteria. As 1077 mentions I would be doing daily 50% changes to get that under control. I must say I have never heard of water changes causing any disease, however as said sudden changes in water parameters can, by inducing stress and thus weakening the immune system. If you keep your tap water as close as possible to your tanks temperature, there will be no issue. Do not do more than one water change a day.

One thing that has not been mentioned is, have you tested your tap water? Tap water can contain any of the three that we test for (Ammonia, Nitrite, and/or Nitrate). If it does, that can be the source of your problem, but using a water conditioner that detoxifies it is how you get around it, the beneficial bacteria will then take care of it before the water conditioner wears off (in a normally cycled aquarium).

The cycle takes 4-8 weeks to complete.
 
#31 ·
High Nitrites

I have tested the tap water and it is 0 for all. I set up the tank on 12/26 and much to my dismay added fish a week later. I am a newbie and did not know any better got a lot of bad info from the lfs. I lost a lot of fish along the way and am finally learning about cycling. I just wish the nitrites would go down.
 
#32 ·
I have tested the tap water and it is 0 for all. I set up the tank on 12/26 and much to my dismay added fish a week later. I am a newbie and did not know any better got a lot of bad info from the lfs. I lost a lot of fish along the way and am finally learning about cycling. I just wish the nitrites would go down.
They will go down so long as bacteria are present .(and have food source)
Some folks get nervous during the cycling period when cloudy water appears and tank's water no longer looks pristine.
This is most often caused by bacteria bloom and is normal, but some decide to remove,replace filter material and by doing so,,they throw out the majority of bacteria that resides on the filter material in newly established tanks.
Other's clean the material in tapwater at the sink, and chloramines in this water kills off a sizeable portion of the bacteria .
So long as bacteria have source of food,they will continue to grow and cycle will eventually happen but too much food,too many fish,or as mentioned,,tampering with filter,can cause the process to take longer than need be.
Plant's can help, along with patience.
 
#33 ·
I have not touched my filter at all, all I have been doing is gravel vacs.
Could it be possible that since my fish are producing so little Ammonia, and that because I have so many plants (about 15 in the 50 gallons) that no ammonia is getting to the filter to help with the cycle?

I have tested my tap water, it had .25 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 10 nitrates..
 
#34 ·
I have not touched my filter at all, all I have been doing is gravel vacs.
Could it be possible that since my fish are producing so little Ammonia, and that because I have so many plants (about 15 in the 50 gallons) that no ammonia is getting to the filter to help with the cycle?

I have tested my tap water, it had .25 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 10 nitrates..
I checked the other thread on your issue; did you remove that straw filter item?
 
#37 ·
hello adamson! here is what I read on prime and how to use it
Use 1 capful (5 mL) for each 200 L (50 gallons*) of new water. This removes approximately 1 mg/L ammonia, 4 mg/L chloramine, or 5 mg/L chlorine. For smaller doses, please note each cap thread is approx. 1 mL. May be added to aquarium directly, but better if added to new water first. If adding directly to aquarium, base dose on aquarium volume. Sulfur odor is normal. For exceptionally high chloramine concentrations, a double dose may be used safely. To detoxify nitrite in an emergency, up to 5 times normal dose may be used. If temperature is > 30 °C (86 °F) and chlorine or ammonia levels are low, use a half dose.

so using 5x the ammount of prime in your aquarium will make your nitrite harmless for your fish and will not slow down your cycle, and after you have added the required amount of prime you should read 0 nitrite even tho its still there but none toxic, monitor your aquarium each 2 days and on the day that you have 0 nitrite 2 days after adding prime you can be almost sure you are cycled to make sure test again the next day then the consequent day and if 0 again then you are cycled :) do a water change to remove any unwanted chemicals from prime as you will dose at 5x the normal amount!
 
#39 ·
When I used prime to detoxify nitrite it would show over limit on chart then after using prime it would indicate 0
so if you are still seeing nitrite with your test means it is not detoxify well at least with the api test kit I have
and to answer the other question there is no way to speed up a cycle aside from uping your temperature to 30c
witch should help bacteria colonize faster, make sure your fish a comfortable at these temperature because high temp can be as harmful to some fish then ammonia or nitrite!
 
#40 · (Edited)
Been keeping an eye on this thread, as I also have the same questions about adding Prime to a cycling tank. Thanks for all the info here. . . I'm still feeling a bit skeptical about adding ANY extra chemicals to the tank, and am very worried about what happens after the 24 hour mark when the 'binding' on the nitrites and nitrates 'breaks' and the fish feel the true levels return very suddenly (as opposed to the slow building up of these toxins that allow their systems to somewhat adjust). I didn't realize that you have to dose at 5x the normal amount in order for it to have an effect on anything other than ammonia, chlorine, and chloramine. This actually makes me feel better about the stuff, as I've never come close to dosing that high! I know that I read that nitrates and nitrites would still test positive after prime, which really worried me - I don't like not being able to trust my testing kit to show me accurately what the fish are feeling.
When I used prime to detoxify nitrite it would show over limit on chart then after using prime it would indicate 0
I think I'll have to do an experiment on this, as my tank is cycling and I'm currently in the middle of a nitrAte spike. Tomorrow, if the numbers are still high, I'll separate 2 gallons of the dirty water when I do my water change, test it as a control, then do another test at 2.5 and again at 5x the two-drops-per-gallon amount called for in the directions. I'd really like to see this for myself! IF the numbers drop to zero, it will make me feel much more comfortable using this stuff, knowing that my API test IS still showing an accurate representation of whats in my tank. The problem with the muddy ammonia reading is a whole 'nother story, though.

The information they have on their FAQ didn't make me feel any better about using it - regarding the HOW aspect:
The detoxification of nitrite and nitrate by Prime (when used at elevated levels) is not well understood from a mechanistic standpoint. The most likely explanation is that the nitrite and nitrate is removed in a manner similar to the way ammonia is removed; i.e. it is bound and held in a inert state until such time that bacteria in the biological filter are able to take a hold of it, break it apart and use it. Two other possible scenarios are reduction to nitrogen (N2) gas or conversion into a benign organic nitrogen compound.
I wish we had some more "concrete" explanation, but the end result is the same, it does actually detoxify nitrite and nitrate. This was unexpected chemically and thus initially we were not even aware of this, however we received numerous reports from customers stating that when they overdosed with Prime they were able to reduce or eliminate the high death rates they experienced when their nitrite and nitrate levels were high. We have received enough reports to date to ensure that this is no fluke and is in fact a verifiable function of the product.
Basically *shrug* they have no idea how it works. . . how is this to inspire confidence!?? Still, as an emergency measure, I think the stuff is good to have on-hand!


Much to think on in this thread. . . thanks again! I'll be lurking around to see if there is any more information gathered here on the stuff!
 
#44 ·
I'm sure they will, too! Sorry I kind of went nuts on your thread, I got excited because it was the only one I've been able to find with any information on Prime, and that's MY concern. Didn't mean to butt in with my beginner self! :oops:
Good luck with your tank!
 
#42 ·
Patience is the key unless you have a heavily planted tank to help suck up the nitrites.

Prime is THE recommended conditioner that many people and have never had any problems with it.
 
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