Seachem Prime Water Conditioner Review

[wpsm_update label=”Note”]As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.[/wpsm_update]

Seachem Prime water Conditioner can be used on tanks with bigger fishes, growing fishes and mini ponds. It works just as fine in any aquarium setting. It stands out amongst the tons of water conditioners on the market. This product is super concentrated, which goes a long way in water conditioning. The Seachem safe is pretty much the powdered form of Seachem Prime minus slime coat and few more stuff. Nevertheless, Seachem Prime can be considered as the premium version and is worth all the money spent. You can use it during routine water changes and while introducing new fish to the tank. It helps with treating the higher nitrite levels and serves as improved slime coat. The latter is the fishes’ first line of defense against harmful parasites and infections. Here is the link to product on amazon: https://amzn.to/3G9bZUO

What Seachem Prime does?

Firstly, Seachem Prime claims to remove chlorine and chloramines from the water. It helps especially when you are unsure whether your tap water has chlorine content in it. In some localities, the water treatment methods make it a prevailing issue. Secondly, Seachem Prime claims to detoxify ammonia, which is critical to the wellbeing of your fishes. Water conditioners like Seachem Prime do that by breaking down ammonia into nitrites which is then broken down into nitrates. If your tank has a good bacterial population, it takes care of ammonia naturally. However, it takes a really long time for a good bacterial population to build in the tank. In addition, a water change reduces the bacterial bed by up to 75%, depending on the amount of water displaced.

Does Seachem Prime replace routine water change?

Out of the many water conditioners out there, Seachem prime is definitely amongst the best. It is so competent at what it does, but not till the extent of replacing water changes. Seachem prime has been a practice from pet supply stores to overly hype products, in order to boost sales. When someone tells you that Seachem Prime can replace your routine water change, ignore them. Water change is day one stuff that we accepted to live with, at the first place. Do not be too carried away to believe a chemical could replace the water change. Simply put, you should be using Seachem Prime during water changes, top-offs and while introducing fishes to the tank. Ideally, you should take any water conditioner or aquarium product at what it is really worth.

Is Seachem Prime water Conditioner worth the money?

This water conditioner can be used on both fresh and marine water tanks. It presents a water conditioner plus ammonia detoxifier combination. It also provides a slime coat. Seachem prime can be used on tanks of all sizes as well as mini-pond. As a stress coat it doesn’t perform as effectively as API Stress Coat. But, it does more than exclusively serving as stress coat. As an overall combination, Seachem prime is cheaper than its alternatives. In addition, it is super concentrated unlike the powdered versions of water conditioners. The 3.4 ounce bottle containing 100 ml of liquid concentrate treats close to 1000 gallons. Moreover, the 100 ml bottle costs a little over $4, while the 500 ml bottle is priced at just $13.48.

Dosage details

To make the measurements easy, the bottle cap has threads. These threads measure appropriate amounts to treat 10 gallons, 20 gallons, etc… Approximately, each thread measures 1 ml. One cap (5 ml) of Seachem Prime can treat up to 50 gallons. While treating extremely high chlorine levels, a double dose maybe required. Similarly, while detoxifying extremely high nitrite levels in water, you can use up to 5 times the normal dose. When temperature is under 86 F and chlorine/nitrite levels are low, even half a dose would suffice. A 100 ml bottle is enough to treat up to 1000 gallons under normal dose.

Seachem Prime vs. Seachem Safe

First of all, Seachem Safe is not readily available in a retail perspective. It is the exact same combination as Prime, but comes in a powdered version. It does exactly what Prime does – removes chlorine, chloramine and ammonia from water. The only major difference is Seachem Safe does not promote a slime coat, like Seachem Prime does. In addition, Safe does not detoxify heavy metals while Prime does it so efficiently. Nevertheless, Seachem Safe has 12 times more yield than Seachem Prime. For instance, if you have breeds like African cichlids, they demand a lot of water changes. In that case, Prime gets really expensive in the long term. Hence if you have a larger tank or tend to do lot of water changes, Seachem Safe may be economically better for you. Similarly, if you want all the benefits of Prime for pond, check out the Seachem Pond Prime Water Conditioner review.

Best Practices

Seachem Prime has elements that can be picked up by carbon filter. It works effective, when you take out the filter for a day or two. Similarly, Seachem Prime takes at least a day or two before getting deactivated completely. Space out your water changes accordingly for better results. When talking about successive dosage leave a window of 7 days. Oxygenate your tank more when treating with Seachem Prime or any other water conditioner. Make sure it disperses to all parts of the tank. Even better, dissolve it in new water and introduce the solution to the tank.

Pros

• All in one treatment
• Super concentrated medication
• Little to no side effects

Cons

• Delivers lower yields
• Tad bit pricey

Conclusion

Seachem Prime is easily one of the household names in the fishkeeping community. It is one of the best water conditioners in the industry. Seachem prime has become a household name in the hobby of fishkeeping. It removes chlorines and chloramines from the tap water that is being added to the tank. In addition, it detoxifies ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. You can remove all of that in the next water change. Moreover, it improves the slime coat on the fish, which not many conditioners do. Another bigger element of surprise is it detoxifies heavy metals in water, which makes it such a powerful medication.

Bottomline: This multi-purpose medication addresses almost every major concern of the hobbyists.

I hope you liked this review.Please do let me know your thoughts in comments! Also do Check out my review on API TAP Water Conditioner Review