# Seachem Prime question



## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

So when I ordered a phython siphon from bigals.com, I also order a bottle of prime ( for free shipping deal )..

Thanks to the winter storm in ontario, I received the leaky bottle. they said it was frozen during shipment which caused the problem. I got the refund but I'm wondering if I can still use this.. there is still 2/3 of prime in the bottle and the other 1/3 is in the bag. 

will it be good after it got frozen? has anyone had this experience?


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

No idea how effective the Prime is. Send your question to Seachem. Their support system is very good.


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## cadillac_jack (Jul 12, 2013)

I cant see why it wouldnt be useable...


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## Kimrocks (Aug 30, 2011)

BTW - Have you tried Seachem Safe? I think it is considered the powdered version of Prime.

Safe vs. Prime [Archive] - Seachem Support Forums

A lot more economical and longer shelf life.


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

I use Seachem Safe, it's amazing that such a tiny amount can treat so much water. It's great when I need to regenerate my Purigen beads. The only caveat is that it does not detoxify heavy metals like Prime, so if your water source might have heavy metals, Prime might be the better product.


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## mrbob (Aug 9, 2012)

hp10BII said:


> I use Seachem Safe, it's amazing that such a tiny amount can treat so much water. It's great when I need to regenerate my Purigen beads. The only caveat is that it does not detoxify heavy metals like Prime, so if your water source might have heavy metals, Prime might be the better product.


Really I was told that Safe is exactly the same as prime just a powdered and more concentrate version? I don't want to bash the store I am referencing but interested in finding out?
Thank you for that tidbit!! I will have to ask Seachem techs..


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

Kimrocks said:


> BTW - Have you tried Seachem Safe? I think it is considered the powdered version of Prime.
> 
> Safe vs. Prime [Archive] - Seachem Support Forums
> 
> A lot more economical and longer shelf life.


good to know! I didn't know this.. thanks for the link..


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

mrbob said:


> Really I was told that Safe is exactly the same as prime just a powdered and more concentrate version? I don't want to bash the store I am referencing but interested in finding out?
> Thank you for that tidbit!! I will have to ask Seachem techs..


Yep, that's how I found out. In Seachem's advertising blurb, they said it's the powdered more concentrate version of Prime. My jar of Safe made no mention of detoxifying heavy metals so when I asked the Seachem people, they confirmed that it does not detoxify heavy metals like Prime.


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## Momobobo (Sep 28, 2010)

Oh...the post I made must have 403'd

I read a similar thread in the past on MFK with a person dealing with the same issue. I believe the consensus was that it was unusable, but dig around the internet before taking my word for it! 

p.s. I hear great things about Safe! Never got around to using it though~


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

I just emailed seachem tech support.. it would be interesting to know.


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## AKAmikeross (Nov 5, 2012)

I have always used prime but recall doing a lot of reading on the powdered version, safe. Its so concentrated, if you were to buy the biggest container you probably would never have to buy water conditioner again. The 4kg of safe treats 985600 gallons of water for less then 100shipped:bigsmile:

EDIT: I did the math. If I were to do a 50% water change weekly on both my 135gals, the 4kg container would last me just over 20 years lol. I wonder what the shelf life is.

EDIT2: looks like there is no shelf life if kept in its powdered forum.


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## AKAmikeross (Nov 5, 2012)

hp10BII said:


> My jar of Safe made no mention of detoxifying heavy metals so when I asked the Seachem people, they confirmed that it does not detoxify heavy metals like Prime.


How much heavy metals is in our water supply... is that even an issue?


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## AKAmikeross (Nov 5, 2012)

hp10BII said:


> The only caveat is that it does not detoxify heavy metals like Prime, so if your water source might have heavy metals, Prime might be the better product.


*"*There is somewhat of a misconception in this hobby with regards to water conditioners neutralizing heavy metals. This is typically nothing more than a by product of most conditioners, and overall usually has a minor effect in so much as they will typically only detoxify heavy metals that are found in tap water at "typical" concentration levels. (ppb) At those levels there is no need to be concerned from the get go, most natural bodies of water will contain the same trace amounts. So while these products will precipitate typical heavy metals, such as lead, zinc, mercury, copper etc, they will not remove or detoxify heavy metals at elevated levels, make no mistake about that.

The following comment was sent to me years ago by Dr. Greg Morin, CEO of Seachem.

"The principal that operates is the precipitation of the metal salts of the anion used for the dechlorination/reduction process. So products using sodium thiosulfate precipitate (metal)-thiosulfate, we use a hydrosulfite as one ingredient for example, so the (metal)-hydrosulfite is precipitated."
Back in 2004 Seachem actually removed the spiel about detoxifying heavy metals from the Prime labels, and when I questioned Greg about this - his response (in part) is below.

*We did remove from our labeling as it is a fairly minor effect and did not want to mislead people into thinking it was some kind of heavy metal removing product... but maybe removal of that has caused more confusion since competitors still make the claim for an effect that is identical in their products as well.*
-Greg Morin

Gregory Morin, Ph.D. ~~~~~~~President/CEO~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seachem Laboratories, Inc. *"*


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## mrbob (Aug 9, 2012)

I have the 4kg container lol but I also have 30 tanks running lol aprox 1400 gallons..cost me 140.00 w/tax to have a popular fish store in Burnaby to special order it for me!!


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## mrbob (Aug 9, 2012)

So in theory prime is the same has Safe just as I was Informed?


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## AKAmikeross (Nov 5, 2012)

mrbob said:


> So in theory prime is the same has Safe just as I was Informed?


IMO yes its the same stuff, though some might disagree with regards to removing heavy metals. Directly from the mouth of the president/ceo of seachem " it is a fairly minor effect and did not want to mislead people into thinking it was some kind of heavy metal removing product". So if the only difference is prime has a "fairly minor effect" on removing traces of heavy metals, then IMO its pretty much the same.


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

That was my original bone of contention. If it's exactly the same product, why different claims on the label? It just confuses the buying public and especially when your own Tech Support team confirms the fact, contrary to what the principals are saying.


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

mikeross said:


> How much heavy metals is in our water supply... is that even an issue?


It seemed to be with Grant when he was running IPU. Whatever your comfort level...like some choose to under dose dechlorinators during water changes or use none at all, my marine buddies want their water even purer by running through an r/o system.


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Sounds very much like just marketing nonsense to me to make us spend for the more expensive stuff. 

Sent from my gigantic Samsung Note 2


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## cadillac_jack (Jul 12, 2013)

what isnt these days


tony1928 said:


> Sounds very much like just marketing nonsense to me to make us spend for the more expensive stuff.
> 
> Sent from my gigantic Samsung Note 2


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

cadillac_jack said:


> what isnt these days


Agreed, people need to understand what they are buying.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Because our water is low is TDS, dissolution of metals into the water is a concern. But you have to remember lots of people still have cast iron and copper pipes. If metals really dissolve that fast, we'd be all dead. I won't repeat the name that I had this big long drawn out discussion on and as some say here, I deemed it all marketing bruhaha. That person even said, on *BC*Aquaria that Metro Vancouver was a lousy place to live and that Toronto was a superior city. 

Anyway to those of us who change upwards of 300 or 400 gallons a week or more, Safe is a good option. For people who do less or with smaller tanks, Prime is still a heckuva great deal and more convenient. I even looked into Sodium thiosulphate once just for dechlorination, but at the places I found it at and the concentrations they were selling, Prime was still cheaper per gallon even if I paid retail. As I said, heckuva deal if you change a lot of water. I've also used and am still using ClorAm-X, which is also a great alternative and it doesn't smell strongly of sulphur like Prime or Safe.


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

....and the best deal......

Age your water overnight. 

Sent from my LT30a using Tapatalk


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

jobber said:


> ....and the best deal......
> 
> Age your water overnight.


Yep, I do that for my 8, 15 and 20 gallons, but not for my 46, 93, or 125.  Wouldn't be popular with the CFO.


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## deepRED (May 22, 2010)

I'm using Safe on all my tanks. I change about 300 gallons of water a week.

Picked up a pail of it and it treats like 50,000 gallons. Lol

If anyone needs any, let me know. 



2wheelsx2 said:


> Because our water is low is TDS, dissolution of metals into the water is a concern. But you have to remember lots of people still have cast iron and copper pipes. If metals really dissolve that fast, we'd be all dead. I won't repeat the name that I had this big long drawn out discussion on and as some say here, I deemed it all marketing bruhaha. That personal even said, on *BC*Aquaria that Metro Vancouver was a lousy place to live and that Toronto was a superior city.
> 
> Anyway to those of us who change upwards of 300 or 400 gallons a week or more, Safe is a good option. For people who do less or with smaller tanks, Prime is still a heckuva great deal and more convenient. I even looked into Sodium thiosulphate once just for dechlorination, but at the places I found it at and the concentrations they were selling, Prime was still cheaper per gallon even if I paid retail. As I said, heckuva deal if you change a lot of water. I've also used and am still using ClorAm-X, which is also a great alternative and it doesn't smell strongly of sulphur like Prime or Safe.


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## cadillac_jack (Jul 12, 2013)

good for treating that orca display tank. lol


deepRED said:


> I'm using Safe on all my tanks. I change about 300 gallons of water a week.
> 
> Picked up a pail of it and it treats like 50,000 gallons. Lol
> 
> If anyone needs any, let me know.


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

ok here is the email from Seachem techsupport

*From: Seachem Support <[email protected]>
Date: 16 January, 2014 6:17:49 AM PST
To: 
Subject: Re: Prime got frozen
Hello David,

Thank you for your email. Prime will be completely find to use once thawed. If it is already thawed out you are good to go and the product is safe to use. We do however recommend to shake well before using. The freezing temperatures will not effect the integrity of this product.

I hope this helps! Have a great day!
Product Support 10251*


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