In order to provide a healthy environment for your pet fish, you most likely need a dechlorinator. One of the best option available is Seachem Safe. So, is this concentrated dry aquarium water conditioner worth buying?
You can find out in this review at Aquarium Blueprints.
Pricing and Size Options
The Seachem Safe comes in four different size options: 50 g, 250 g, 1 kg (or 2.2 pounds), 4 kg (or 8.8 pounds). You can check out the price tags, as well as how much total water volume each container can treat with the chart below:
| Size | Pricing | Total Treatable Water Volume |
|---|---|---|
| 50 g | Check price on Amazon.(#CommissionsEarned) | 12,000 gallons (or 48,000 liters) |
| 250 g | Check price on Amazon.(#CommissionsEarned) | 60,000 gallons (or 240,000 liters) |
| 1 kg (or 2.2 pounds) | Check price on Amazon.(#CommissionsEarned) | 240,000 gallons (or 960,000 liters) |
| 4 kg (or 8.8 pounds) | Check price on Amazon.(#CommissionsEarned) | 960,000 gallons (or 3,840,000 liters) |
Expiration Date
The Seachem Safe Concentrated Dry Water Conditioner does not have an expiration date. With that said, we recommend keeping the lid tightly closed when not in use. You should also store the powder in a cool and dry environment.
Features
Removes Chlorine and Chloramine
Seachem Safe will remove chlorine and chloramine if you are using tap water to fill and refresh your fish tank. Although chlorine and chloramine are used to keep the tap water clean for you to drink, the chemicals will harm both the fish as well as the nitrifying bacteria needed to break down fish wastes.
Detoxifies Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates
Safe will also detoxify ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. If you are new to the fish keeping hobby, then you should know that fish wastes will turn into ammonia. Nitrifying bacteria will convert ammonia into nitrites. Another type of nitrifying bacteria will then convert nitrites to nitrates. This is known as the nitrogen cycle.
Even in small amounts, ammonia and nitrites are extremely toxic for your fish. Although significantly less lethal, you should also keep the nitrate concentration low (below 40 ppm if you are using a test kit) or you may run into issues in the long term.
Non-Acidic
Seachem Safe is also non-acidic as it won’t lower the pH of your tank water. This is important if you have fish that prefer more neutral or alkaline water (a pH of at least 7.0). Not to mention that sudden, drastic changes to pH may also harm your pet fish.
Won’t Over-Activate Skimmers
You can also use the concentrated dry conditioner if you have a protein skimmer (which is mostly used in brackish or saltwater tanks) as the substance won’t over-activate the skimmers.
Pros
The best feature of Seachem Safe is its versatility. Not only does it completely remove chlorine and chloramine but it will also detoxify ammonia, nitrite and nitrate for a limited amount of time.
Thus, we recommend using the conditioner every time you perform a water change.
If you are setting up a new fish tank and want to add fish, you can also dose Safe daily until you build up enough beneficial nitrifying bacteria to handle the bioload of fish wastes.
If you have spikes in ammonia, nitrite and/or nitrate, then this conditioner will also help keep the water safe for fish as you try to get to the source of what is causing the elevated levels of the toxic nitrogen compounds.
If you are using Seachem Purigen(#CommissionsEarned), Safe is also used to help regenerate absorbent so that you will be able to reuse it again to clean your tank.
Cons
The only issue we have is relatively minor as the Seachem Safe has a rather unpleasant sulfur odor that smells like rotten eggs. Thankfully, the smell goes away once you mix the powder with water.
Safety
The Safe Concentrated Dry Aquarium Water Conditioner is not made for human consumption. Seachem recommends taking the following steps if you managed to consume the powder:
If you made skin contact with Safe, you should clean it off with soap and a lot of water.
If Safe got into your eyes, you need to rinse your eyes thoroughly between 15 and 20 minutes. If you are wearing contact lens, you must remove them immediately (within 2 minutes) and then rinse your eyes for several more additional minutes than the aforementioned recommended duration for non-contact wearers.
If you managed to inhale Safe, you should move to an area to get fresh air. You should then rest and keep warm.
If you managed to swallow Safe, you need to rinse your mouth and then drink a glass of water.
If you are experiencing issues after taking the recommended steps, you should seek medical assistance. You can find the exact verbage in the Sachem Safe Safety Data Sheet.
Directions
Depending on the packaging size, the directions are a little different. In general, we recommend dosing for the entire water volume of your fish tank instead of the amount of new water you are planning to put in the aquarium. So, if you have a 40 gallon tank, you should dose Safe based on the entire 40 gallon.
Directions for Seachem Safe 50g container:
- Remove Chlorine and Chloramine: 200 mg per 50 gallons (or 200 liters)
- Detoxify Ammonia: 200 mg per 13 gallons (or 50 liters)
- Remove High Chloramine Concentration: 400 mg per 50 gallons (or 200 liters)
- Detoxify Nitrite and Nitrate in Emergency: Up to 800 mg per 50 gallons (or 200 liters)
- Temperature Higher Than 86 °F (or 30 °C); Remove Chlorine and Detoxify Ammonia: 100 mg per 50 gallons (or 200 liters)
Directions for Seachem Safe 250g, 1kg (or 2.2 pounds), 4kg (or 8.8 pounds) containers:
- Remove Chlorine and Chloramine: 1.25 g per 300 gallons (or 1,250 liters)
- Detoxify Ammonia: 1.25 g per 75 gallons (or 300 liters)
- Remove High Chloramine Concentration: 2.50 g per 300 gallons (or 1,250 liters)
- Detoxify Nitrite and Nitrate in Emergency: Up to 5 g per 300 gallons (or 1,250 liters)
- Temperature Higher Than 86 °F (or 30 °C); Remove Chlorine and Detoxify Ammonia: 0.625 g per 300 gallons (or 1,250 liters)
Each container of the Seachem Safe Concentrated Dry Conditioner comes with a scoop. If you want to be as precise as possible, then you might want to get the Seachem Digital Spoon Scale, which is available on Amazon. (#CommissionsEarned).
Can you mix Safe with water and then store for future use?
You cannot mix Safe with water and then store it away for future use. This is because, unlike Prime, Seachem did not include any stabilizers to keep Safe stable while it is in liquid form. Thus, you should mix the powder only when you are planning to add it to your fish tank.
Recap
Overall, the Seachem Safe is an excellent water conditioner that will also help detoxify ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. You can the powder during water changes, cycling a fish tank, regenerating Seachem Purigen and other scenarios.
If you are interested, you can purchase the fish tank water conditioner with the following link:
- Seachem Safe(#CommissionsEarned)
If you want to see how Seachcem Safe compare against Seachem Prime, then you can take a look at our comparison guide between these two water conditioners.
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