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Proline vs Prime

8K views 34 replies 8 participants last post by  Aquapparel 
#1 ·
So I just wanted get some peoples opinions on two different products. As far as water conditioners go, which do you think is better: Proline or Prime? (Both are used to remove nitrogenous waste and chlorines..fyi) Pros, cons, experiences. Any input will be appreciated. Thanks.
 
#3 ·
Well I'm not working with a typical aquarium. Its for a research project. I am having problems getting rid of Nitrites. It has been a month since the nitrites have formed, and I am wondering if it is the Proline i am using not properly working. I have always used Prime and had great results, but it seems like the Proline isn't having the effects that Prime has.
 
#5 ·
Lol guess i should have given more info...okay so here is the complete low down.

I am working with a sheepshead minnow for a research project. I have them in a 15 gal tub (this is what we use for make-shift aquarium) with 2 corner filters supported by an air compressor that gives them way more air than they need.

Temperature: 19 C (required for what I am doing)
Salinity: 25 ppt (again, required for what I am doing)

The tank has been seeding for about a month and a half now. I originally kept the tank at 25 C, so that the starter fish and bacteria would be more productive.

I have been doing 25, 33, and 50% water changes everyday (Depending on the nitrite levels). It has been a month and the tank is still not seeded. I have seeded many tanks before (at this temp and salinity), but it has never taken this long. With all my constant water changes, my fish are doing fine.

I've added proline the whole time, but THE LESS CHEMICALS THE BETTER. With that said, The nitrites were staying at 1.0 ppm, even after a water change and proline. At one point, I stopped feeding for 3 days, and the tanks continued to stay this high. The ammonia level did significantly drop, as well as nitrates. BUT THE NITRITES CONTINUE TO STAY THE SAME.

So again, since I have been using proline to try and control the nitrites to no avail, is it maybe I have a bad batch of proline?
 
#6 ·
Not for nothing, but when you start messing with a natural cycle of a tank, thats when you actually screw it up, and it takes longer than the customary 4-6 weeks.
The tank will take care of it by itself, you have but to have patience. Nothing else in the tank? Are you cleaning the filters also? If so, stop. You need the filters to seed bacteria so that eats out the Nitites.
 
#8 ·
IMO I would relax with water changes, let the system cycle all the way through, by doing continuous water changes you stop the natural cycle, as long as the nitrite are not increasing pass your average 1.0 ppm then your cycle is just trying to mature. You should try adding rock and live sand it helps the natural cycling of your system.
 
#21 ·
I call BS on this. I'm not proud of it but i setup a 55g tank and in a weeks time had it fully stocked and no fish died due to amonia/nitritre or nitrate. I did many 50% water changes, sometimes on a daily basis to keep the amonia down. Seeded it with gravel from another tank, and tank was fine on it's own in 2 months time.
 
#9 ·
Well the system was has been at 1.0 ppm for a month now and doing the continuous water changes is what is keeping it there. Otherwise it was getting to 1.5 ppm. At 1.0 ppm the fish are going to be alot more stressed and vunerable to disease than at 0 ppm which is where I need it to be.

Unfortunately adding live rock/sand is not an option for me. Because this is scientific research, as many factors need to be ruled out as possible including addition of any kind of substrate.
 
#10 ·
Wwlp, i know you don't want to hear this, but, the fish should have been left out until the cycle had been completed. Your filters are growing the needed bacteria for the tank, your just going to have to wait it out. And if your not using RO/DI water, your water changes may be adding Nitrites and other things to the water that are not wanted also. Have you tetsed your tap water?
 
#13 ·
My filtration system are corner filters...basically plastic containers that hold porous rock with filter floss on top. An air line forces air down into the bottom of the filter, where it then bubbles back up. The principle behind it is simple water displacement, unlike something like a canister filter, where water is actually intaken by the rotation of a magnet and expelled.
 
#14 ·
I use same filtration system, are you able to add a skimmer to the system or will it interfere with the research. If not a skimmer, then just continue doing 25% water changes because that's really all you can do to temporarily control nitrites and nitrates without adding other variables (more filtration) into the system. My guess is you just need to do water changes until your system matures even more and is able to control the nitrite problem without continuous water changes, my advice is just give it even more time, also the food you are feeding it might contain chemicals that boost nitrite levels, flake food and pellet foods usually do this.
 
#15 ·
The skimmer would be a possibility, but I'd have to buy it, and I'd rather not. And your right about the food. I use the Tetraman Flakes, but unfortunately, I need to use this food to supplement their diet.

However, since starting this post, I've been adding 3.5 g of Proline instead of the normal 2.5 g and in combination with water changes, it is having a significant difference. With that said, I don't plan on continuing the course due to the fact that I don't won't to stress the fish out more than needed.

Thanks for the help guys. Got a lot of good info. :)
 
#16 ·
Although I have used prime in the one emergency situation I had, I do not recommend it or other chemicals as part of routine maintenance.

What I recommend is starting the tank balanced out with macro algaes right from the beginning. That way the macros will consume coarbon dioxide and return oxygen while consuming ammonia durint the initial cycle. Then after aerobic bacteria build up the macros will consume nitrates because that is the only nitrogen avaialble.

Before using macros I did get a nitrIte spike but found that by not feeding the fish the first week the nitrItes only lasted a few days.

my .02
 
#22 ·
Good info Chandavi...glad to see a paper for support to *thumbsup thanx. At my university every lab has a special faucet with diH2O. So I guess you could say we have a built in RO/DI system in our water system, so I can make salt water with DI-water anytime, and never have to worry about chlorimines (or shouldn't hopefully lol).
 
#27 ·
Welp, both cases into account. But, looking down the road, your not letting the improtant key to take hold. Nitrates. You must have enough of them to sustain the environment, by changing out the water so frequently, your messing with nature and its way of dealing with the situation on its own, thus extending the cycle. That is why we preach patience, I know it sucks waiting for a new tank to get it over with, but, its been proven time and time again, the more you screw with a new tank, the longer it usually takes to cycle.
 
#33 ·
... Fish tanks are different from things like gardens poop help plants grow yes, but ammonia in a fish tank is a different story, ammonia, nitrite and nitrates if not taken care don't get better in a matured tank it gets worse and will slowly kill your tank the tank only sustains itself for a fairly short period of time before it gets out of hand and you need to assist it. The closest to me doing something like this and letting my tank sustain itself was with my biocube I left my house for 2.5 months on a trip and only had my neighbor feed my fish (I know not that responsible), but in that period 50% of my coral and fish died. (it was my first tank, and my neighbor didn't really keep me noticed). I tested Water and everything was very high, so much for sustaining itself.
 
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