If you decide to build a guppy tank, then you may want to get Seachem Prime. You can check out this guide at Aquarium Blueprints to see what are the main benefits of using this water conditioner.
Chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals removal
If you live in a city, then you will most likely fill and re-fill your tank with tap water. Most of these waters contain chlorine, chloramine and/or heavy metals.
Chlorine and chloramine can end up harming not only your guppies, but also the beneficial bacteria living in your tank. These bacterial colonies will help negate ammonia, nitrite and nitrate spikes. Therefore, it is very important that you don’t kill them with chlorine and chloramine.
Fortunately, Seachem Prime will detoxify both of the compound right away from your tap water.
Temporary detoxification of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates
For the uninformed, your guppies will produce wastes in the tank. If left in, these wastes will decompose into ammonia. The aforementioned bacterial colonies will be able to convert ammonia to nitrites and then nitrites to nitrates. In some scenarios, you can also grow a bacteria species that will remove nitrates from your tank water as well.
In order to keep your guppies healthy, you should aim for the following:
- 0 ppm of ammonia
- 0 ppm of nitrites
- Less than 40 ppm of nitrates
In your fish tank is not cycled, or something happened that may have caused the biological filtration to be disrupted, then Seachem Prime is an extremely helpful product as it will convert ammonia, nitrites and nitrates into non-toxic forms.
The detoxification last up to 48 hours, which should give the beneficial bacteria colonies time to consume the excess toxins in your tank. If 48 hours isn’t enough, then you can re-dose Prime into your fish tank ever 24 hours without any issues in order to keep your guppies healthy.
To see how you can deal with spikes in ammonia and nitrites, we recommend that you follow these tips.
If you have extremely high nitrates in your tank water, then you can check out this nitrate-lowering guide to see how you can lower it.
Slime coat production
One last major benefit of using Seachem Prime for your guppy tank is that it should help with slime coat protection. The layer of slime should help the guppies ward off any infections.
Recap
Along with being able to remove chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals from your tap water, Seachem Prime will also temporarily detoxify ammonia, nitrites and nitrates from your aquarium. Furthermore, the solution will stimulate slime coat products for your guppies, providing them with more protection against any potentially infections.
So, if you are looking for a water conditioner for your guppy tank, then we highly recommend that you get Seachem Prime.