water conditioner advice

[aqua]

hi

i found that the seachem prime water conditioner i have been using detox nitrites and nitrates. the other Fritz Guard water conditioner i just bought detox "some heavy metals".

so i guess both water conditioners are not really suitable for planted tank as plants need nitrates and heavy metal for growth??

cheers

[dOlBy]

Oh NO! I just bought a big bottle of Seachem Prime.

[|squee|]

If you have a densely planted tank, water conditioners should not be needed. The plants do all the detox work already.

[bullosa]

I am a hobbyist and a planted tank shop owner in Kuching. In my experience, water conditioners with heavy metal detox is an essential part to your arsenal.

In the case of Malaysia, plants imported (even through different states) are required by law to be dipped in copper sulphate solution for 15 mins prior to entry. Copper sensitive plants will suffer, not to mention the shrimps as well.

Copper plumbing in some homes also are potential risk to the planted tank. Water conditioners with heavy metal detox helps a great deal in these cases.

Conditioning tap waters in pails and aging them before usage is a good practise.

Cheers

[aqua]

hi

i am doing wc of 25% weeky so is it safe not to use water conditioner?? i pipe water directly from the tape.

cheers

[bullosa]

It is always safer to use water conditioner during water change. I learnt this at a cost of an adult arowana 15 years ago. I thought the fish would be strong enough for a 10% water change without treatment.

Sometimes local water board's water treatment gets more chlorine then usual. Such inconsistency makes it not safe to practice water change without treatment unless your water is stored and aged for days.

[balacam]

I post the following question to seachem and their tech support replied

>comments: I keep alot of aquatic plants in my aquarium. Sometimes I
>need to add liquid nitrate as a fertiliser for the aquatic plants
>during water change.
>
>I quote the following from your FAQ and I have a question. If Prime
>is able to reduce nitrates, does it mean that it is not a suitable
>water conditioner for my aquarium?


Prime is definitely suited for use in all types of aquarium
environments, even planted aquariums. As stated below, Prime does
have the ability to detoxify varying amounts of nitrate (generally
small amounts). While some of the nitrate present may be bound and
held in an inert state, it is still available for consumption by your
plants as well as other biological processes. The ability for Prime
to bind all nitrogenous pollutants is limited to a 24 hour period as
that is when Prime is broken down and biologically consumed. After
that, any bound pollutants will be released. That is why we recommend
to use Prime every 24 hours in emergency situations of elevated
ammonia and nitrite levels.

[dOlBy]

Thanks for the info, phew my big bottle of Prime is not wated then.