ronrca

Excellant job and a terrific idea using plastic decking for the lid. Where did you buy the Polyurea lining and how expensive is it? What thickness is the glass? Thanks

As far as I understand Neil, free ammonia has nothing to do with being bonded or not. Free ammonia is simply unionised ammonia. If they are claiming that the readings are not affected by the presence ammonia removal products, I understand that it doesnt matter whether there is or isnt prime, the reading is accurate for NH3 without any interference. Perhaps its the wording or something that is throwing me for a loop as they dont mention anything about the complexed (bond by prime) portion of ammonia. I did check Seachems site regarding the Alert and in the Q&A I found this which, for me, is clearer. http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/AmmoniaAlertFAQ.html Thanks Neil for pointing me in the right direction. I guess I need to read it rather than assume it. In water with ph of 7.8, I wonder what portion of total ammonia is free and ionised?

Thanks Neil for sharing that info however it didnt explain whether it measures ammonia bond by prime or not bond by prime. If the test kits would only measure NH3 not bond by prime, sweet, however it seems they dont as they mention that they "use a gas exchange based sensor technology that is not affected by the presence of ammonia removal products. Both give an accurate reading for free ammonia without any interference." I would like a test kit that measures NH3 that is not bond by prime, that can separate the NH3 bond and the NH3 not bond by prime, a test kit that is affected by ammonia removal products. This would indicate whether you are using enough prime or have a problem in the cycle process. Regarding 2l Prime, I found that jlaquatics.com has the best price. I think it was around $40-45.

And Im just sharing my experience with Prime as well. Its the only 'stuff' I put in my water. Unlike most ammonia test kits on the market the Seachem test kit does not give false readings, it measures for both free ammonia (NH3), as well as total ammonia. (NH3 and NH4+) Most test kits measure only the total ammonia, which is why one can get false readings when using products such as Prime etc. Free ammonia is the form that is toxic to fish, so it is the only form of ammonia that I have monitored closely when testing various water conditioners. As far as I understand, NH3 stays NH3 even when bond with Prime. NH4+ in higher ph water will alter to NH3. No matter which form of ammonia or ammonium, Prime will still bind the molecules to render them harmless to the fish however allowing the bio to consume it. So even though your using a test kit that measures both, Im under the impression that you will still get an reading even though Prime has bond it.

Ron, you might want to read the info posted in the link by johnsmith. Prime will only detoxify trace amounts of heavy metals, as in what is typically allowed by local water municipalities. Neil, I just mentioned that the prime dissolved the titantium rods, totally ate them up from using prime within a couple of days and my discus didnt even blink an eye. If that indicates trace amounts of heavy metals Im still amazed. The factor would be the interpretation of 'trace' amounts. The test kits will still measure ammonia when using Prime however it has been bond by prime to render it harmless to the fish. Couple of years ago I email Seachem regarding this. I'll look for it and post it. Ive never had a problem with detoxing ammonia/nitrite levels with the recommended dosage. Seachem has 3 different dosages depending on the situation. I used the dosage that I would use (chloramines) and got the total gs. http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/Safe.html Thanks for the safe link! I'll check it out.

My experience with Prime has been that it will remove heavy metals. I was trying to figure out a system for auto wc's, particularily sensing low/high water levels and I was using titanitum rods. Within a couple of days, the titanitum rods were gone, totally. The deciding factor is what level of heavy waters may be present in the water and whether there is enough conditioner to deal with it. Regarding the cost, both are very comparable per gallon treatment, within a penny I believe if I remember correctly when I calculated it last. I do have some ChlorAm however have not used it yet. Btw, where can one buy Seachem Safe? I believe it is the powdered form of Prime. Doing some quick calculations with Safe and ChlorAm. 1kg (2.2lbs) of safe treats 200,000G which would l last me around 15years using 250G/week wc's. Sweet! 5lbs of ChlorAm treats just under 20,000G. Price for 1kg of Safe is around$75-80US. Price for 5lbs of ChlorAm is around $28-35US.

They do ship but you have to phone or email them. Dont email their sales address but Walters as sales automatically responded that they dont ship north. I had no problems with shipping across the border minus the brokerage fee unfortunately. If shipping multiple boxes, make sure they link the boxes together to reduce brokerage. Other than that, Walter is a great guy to deal with, awesome customer service and really knows his stuff.

I get my ro units from http://www.airwaterice.com/. Beware of cheap units using crappy connectors/components which may leak after a while. Buying locally can be expensive so research the web for reasonable prices for units, components, filters, etc. Dehumdifer water is not the same as ro or distilled due to the method used. Dehums use condensation therefore may contain traces of metal plus any pollutants that may be in the air as well as bacteria, gases, dust and other airborn particles.

If you have a hospital tank, use metro at 400mg/10G. Raising temp is also good, salt and clean water is a must. If still eating, use food with metro in it. You can make your own as well by using tetrabits (or similar food) and making a paste with hot water, adding gelatin and metro (1g metro/4oz food). Use a swallow pan and throw it in the fridge until it hardens. Then cut into small cubes and put it in the freezer. Feed only medicated food for 3-5 days. I just went thru the same problem and my discus are doing great. I have also heard good things regarding Gel Tek however have not tried it yet. Next time perhaps!

Tony is correct! When your doing a wc and adding conditioner like Prime, the conditioner breaks the bond between chlorine and ammonia. If your testing for ammonia, you will get a reading however the conditioner binds the ammonia and renders it harmless to your fish. The bio will then process the ammonia. If you have killed you bio with meds, use prime at least twice a day to detox the ammonia plus wc's until the bio establishes itself.

I buy my 'flex' pipe also at Home Depot for $0.91/feet. This pipe is located in the electrical section where the grey conduit is and seems to be a flexible pvc pipe. It is used for electrical wires however is liquid tight, nonmetallic and stable. Unfortunately, the only sizes it comes in is 1/2" and 3/4" however. The 3/4" fits nicely inside 1" PVC and can be glued with the same glue as PVC pipes.

For a Canadian source of drugs, try this link: http://www.ferrischemicals.com/prod/catm.htm mops.ca also sells methylene blue!

I add all at once as well!

You may be refering to circuiting loading which is typically 12 outlets (1A/oulet) on a 15A breaker unless the load in known (switches not included as there is no load from a switch). I did a quick look thru the CEC and could not find a limit on the number of receptacles that a GFI protects therefore it is limited by the CEC circuiting loading. There may be a spec from the manufacture perhaps.

Unfortunately, my discus refuse garlic. They claim it gives them bad breath and horrible gas!