# Using Seachem Safe instead of Prime?



## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

I got tired of treking out to Burnaby to get my Prime. (The LFS charges $35 for what J&L charges $15.) So, I got the bright idea of buying Seachem Safe. I planned to mix up a batch, and use Safe instead of Prime, making fewer trips to J&L, and saving a whack of money to boot. Guess I should have done my research first.

Apparently Safe does not have the same preservative as Prime, so pre-mixing is out. It has no shelf life once it has been mixed. The trouble is, I often change one small/medium tank at a time so only need a miniscule amount of Safe in a bucket. (My water changes are often 2 1/2 or 5 gallons at a time.) Directions say 1/4 tsp for 75 gallons, so I need to measure out 1/120 or 1/60 tsp. How do I do that? Does anyone else use Safe for small amounts?


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## outsider (Jan 13, 2015)

Sadly Seachem safe isn't mean for small aquarium or small water change. I bought seachem safe off amazon and I emailed seachem about dosage. They suggest me to buy prime and return the safe because safe is design for large aquarium. You can email seachem and ask if they can provide you the measuring spoon, however it is still hard to measure.


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## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

I have asked Seachem to send a spoon, and the said they will send one. I probably will be offering my unopened 2.2 pound (1 kg) for $60. The cheapest I can see it for is $70 delivered on Amazon.ca


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## cpat83 (Sep 1, 2015)

I've been using safe in my 75 and 55.

I bought a 250 G container from amazon.ca and to get the free shipping I added these mini measuring spoons

Norpro 3080 Mini Measuring Spoons, 5-Piece Set: Amazon.ca: Home & Kitchen

They can be broken down as
TAD - 1/4 teaspoon
DASH - 1/12 teaspoon
PINCH - 1/16 teaspoon
SMIDGEN - 1/32 teaspoon
DROP - 1/64 teaspoon

Why they put stupid words on it rather than the numbers - I have NO idea and it is very stupid...

Anyways,
I've determined that for my 75 gallon I use 1/16 a teaspoon. I use the same amount for my 55 gallon. No issues, I pre mix it with a bit of water just before a water change (and i put water in straight from the tap).


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## mikebike (Sep 8, 2010)

I find the inexpensive digital scales are handy for making the initial dose.

then use that quanity to make/mark a spoon or other container to use as a scoup.


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## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

Nice spoons. Does anyone know if they can be found locally?


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

I've only been able to find them through E-bay/Amazon, Tom.

Best regards,

Stuart




Tankless in Vancouver


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## mikebike (Sep 8, 2010)

I will check the local kitchen ware shop

They had them in the past but sold out they suggest the $ stores.


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## davej (Apr 28, 2010)

Contact seachem and they will send you out one of the little spoons.
The spoon is equal to about 1/50 of a teaspoon, so very little is needed.
They recommend you dose safe to the full volume of the tank you are changing the water in.
I use a spoonful for every 20 gallons of water in the tank.
For my 40 gallon tanks I siphon out my water, drop 2 spoons of safe in and fill tank back up straight from the tap.
Never had an issue, do this on my zebra plecos with loads of babies.


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## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

davej said:


> They recommend you dose safe to the full volume of the tank you are changing the water in.


 That seems odd. I'll have to look into that. Normally you would think that, say, if you made a 50g change in a 100g tank you would use twice as much as if you changed 25g in the same tank. My tanks range from 15g to 40g, and normally I change about 25% at a time.

I managed to find a set of those spoons on ebay for about $8 US delivered. I may go for that.

J&L and ebay have some pretty cool spoons with a built in mini-scale.


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## Ocean (Nov 20, 2014)

I use seachem safe for my 90g and 46 bowfront. I got one of the spoons from seachem. One scoop is for 25 gallons. Works well just stinks up the house for 10mins or so.
What i do now is open the window in the room and close the doors. The smell goes away quickly and doesnt stink up the house anymore.


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## Ra's al Ghul (Apr 28, 2010)

Lol, it does smell pretty bad


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## davej (Apr 28, 2010)

TomC said:


> That seems odd. I'll have to look into that. Normally you would think that, say, if you made a 50g change in a 100g tank you would use twice as much as if you changed 25g in the same tank. My tanks range from 15g to 40g, and normally I change about 25% at a time.


If I remember right, they suggest you dose for the whole volume because it will detoxify nitrite and nitrates. If your parameters are high, the effectiveness can be used up before you add your water. Plus they get you to use more ; )


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## outsider (Jan 13, 2015)

I saw those mini measurement spoon at bed, bath and beyond at Station square. However it come with a set of 3. (with 2 other larger size of measurement spoon.)


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## outsider (Jan 13, 2015)

davej said:


> If I remember right, they suggest you dose for the whole volume because it will detoxify nitrite and nitrates. If your parameters are high, the effectiveness can be used up before you add your water. Plus they get you to use more ; )


It only temporarily change Ammonia and Nitrite into less harmful salt format and allow bacteria to consume them without kill fish.

I believe you use the right amount if you pre-mix the water in the bucket. However you use directly add tap water through those automatic water change than you will have to add safe/prime for the whole tank.


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