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	American Cichlids and Water Conditioners
livebait Enthusiast Posts: 211 Kudos: 242 Votes: 76 Registered: 25-May-2004	What brand water conditioner do you use when doing water changes?
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:25
Jason_R_S Moderator Posts: 2811 Kudos: 2421 Votes: 391 Registered: 18-Apr-2001	for my larger tanks I use Prime by Seachem. In my smaller tanks I either use Jungle ACE or Marineland's BioSafe.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:25
livebait Enthusiast Posts: 211 Kudos: 242 Votes: 76 Registered: 25-May-2004	Jason, Thanks for the response. This must be one un-interesting topic.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:25
Untitled No. 4 Big Fish Posts: 488 Kudos: 452 Votes: 33 Registered: 07-Nov-2004	I use NovAqua and AmQuel by Kordon, or sometimes AmmLock by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:25
wish-ga Mega Fish Dial 1800-Positive-Posts Posts: 1198 Kudos: 640 Registered: 07-Aug-2001	I like prime because it helps with the nasties in the water as well as getting rid of the chlorine. It is all I have ever used since I got my tanks up and running. All the best with a tank of Americans. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:25
livebait Enthusiast Posts: 211 Kudos: 242 Votes: 76 Registered: 25-May-2004	Thanks for the responses untitled and wish-ga. Much appreciated. I've been using Amquel since I've setup my tank, about 7 months now, and just recently ran out of the stuff. I was wondering if there was a better product I could be using or should I stick with Amquel? Two votes for Prime. One question: How bad is it to do a water change without any conditioner?
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:25
Untitled No. 4 Big Fish Posts: 488 Kudos: 452 Votes: 33 Registered: 07-Nov-2004	If you are sure that your water supplier doesn't add chlormaines, but only chlorine, then topping up with unconditioned water that were let to stand for 24 hours will probably be okay. If you are not sure, then don't do it. Prime and AmQuel+ basically do the same thing -- detoxify chlorine, chloramines, ammonia and nitrites.. The differences between them is that AmQuel+ also detoxifies nitrates and Prime detoxifies heavy metals and promotes production of slime coat. Prime, as far as I know, is not available in the UK, so using it is out of the question for me. Even if it was available, I think I would still use AmQuel+ as I don't want my conditioner to detoxify heavy metals (good for my plants) and as for the slime coat, that's why I use AmQuel+ with NovAqua (both by the same maker -- Kordon). I hope this information helps in making your decision.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:25
Jason_R_S Moderator Posts: 2811 Kudos: 2421 Votes: 391 Registered: 18-Apr-2001	actually the biggest difference between prime and amquel is that 1 capful (5 mL) of amquel treats 10 gallons whereas 1 capful (5 mL) of Prime treats 50 gallons. Prime goes much further.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:25
Untitled No. 4 Big Fish Posts: 488 Kudos: 452 Votes: 33 Registered: 07-Nov-2004	When it comes to travelling the world, AmQuel+ goes as far as Britain, while Prime doesn't...
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:25
livebait Enthusiast Posts: 211 Kudos: 242 Votes: 76 Registered: 25-May-2004	-untitled, Thanks for clarifying the difference of the two. -Jason, GREAT point added. I might go with Prime. Last edited by livebait at 22-Jan-2005 09:23
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:25
.cm. Ultimate Fish Guru Posts: 2998 Kudos: 596 Votes: 2 Registered: 27-May-2001	Prime is very pricy compared to Amquel. My store sells the smallest bottle of Amquel for $2 and change, and the smallest--same size bottle of Prime for $5 and change. I personally use Novaqua because is does the job of Amquel and Stress Coat put together without being as thick and messy as using Stress Coat. I also use Wardley's water conditioner--it is basic, cheap, and does what it needs to do when you need to do large water changes. My favorite of all though is Novaqua.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:25
livebait Enthusiast Posts: 211 Kudos: 242 Votes: 76 Registered: 25-May-2004	Good point .CM. If Novaqua costs LESS, and has a ratio of one capful (teaspoon) per 10 gallons, and Prime cost MORE, but has a ratio of one capful per 50 gallons. Which would be a better buy for the price? Here's my confusion: Can Novaqua be used alone, or does it have to be used with Amquel? Which is better? The bottle of AMQUEL (NOT AMQUEL Plus) I've been using reads: "DETOXIFIER." I just looked up a picture of the Novaqua bottle which reads: "Conditioner and Fish Protector." Last edited by livebait at 22-Jan-2005 09:05
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:25
Jason_R_S Moderator Posts: 2811 Kudos: 2421 Votes: 391 Registered: 18-Apr-2001	If Novaqua costs LESS, and has a ratio of one capful (teaspoon) per 10 gallons, and Prime cost MORE, but has a ratio of one capful per 50 gallons. Which would be a better buy for the price? if prime goes 5 times further, then it would stand to reason you'd need to buy 5 bottles of novaqua to last as long as 1 bottle of prime. so if novaqua is $2 a bottle and prime is $5 a bottle, it would cost $10 for the amount of novaqua that it would take to last as long as 1 $5 bottle of prime. genesis is another that's comparable to prime in that it goes a lot further. I buy my Prime from www.bigalsonline.com. I bought the 2 liter (67.7 oz.) bottle for $32.99. not bad considering the 8 oz. bottle cost around $10 at lfs.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:25


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