API (Mars Fishcare)
API Pond Aqua Essential Water Conditioner | 16 oz, 32 oz & 1 Gallon
API Pond Aqua Essential Water Conditioner | 16 oz, 32 oz & 1 Gallon
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API Pond Aqua Essential Water Conditioner
This is API’s concentrated pond conditioner. It is meant to make new tap water safer for fish and to bind ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate so they are less harmful while your biofilter catches up.
Tap water often carries chlorine, chloramine, and metals. Fish also add ammonia through gills, urine, and waste. Uneaten food and rotting plants add more. This formula is intended to:
- Remove chlorine and chloramine in tap water
- Help neutralize common tap-water heavy metals
- Bind ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate so they are less toxic, which lets the biofilter process them more easily
Use it at pond start-up, any time you add or change water, and any time a test kit shows high ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate.
This product is not an algaecide, not a sludge tablet, and not a replacement for filtration, aeration, or water changes. If ammonia stays high after a week of dosing, change water — do not only add more conditioner.
Sizes and coverage (when dosed as directed):
Two different rates. Use the lighter rate for tap water. Use the heavier rate only when you are treating measured ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate.
| Job | Dose |
|---|---|
| Treat tap water | 5 ml per 50 U.S. gallons, or 50 ml (about ¼ cup) per 500 gallons |
| Detoxify ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate | 5 ml per 10 U.S. gallons, or 50 ml per 100 gallons |
| Bottle | About how much tap water | About how much water at the ammonia dose |
|---|---|---|
| 16 oz | up to ~4,730 gal | up to ~946 gal |
| 32 oz | up to ~9,460 gal | up to ~1,892 gal |
| 1 gallon | up to ~37,850 gal | up to ~7,570 gal |
How to use:
- Measure pond volume, or measure only the gallons of new tap water you are adding. Do not guess.
- Shake the bottle well.
- Use the cap to measure.
- For a water change or fill: dose the new tap water at 50 ml per 500 gallons.
- If a test kit shows high ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate: dose the whole pond at 50 ml per 100 gallons.
- You may repeat the ammonia dose every 24 hours if tests are still high.
- If tests are still high after 7 days, do a partial water change and keep aeration strong.
For best results:
- Test before you dose. Do not treat “just in case” at the ammonia rate on a clean pond.
- Keep the filter and aeration running. The conditioner binds waste; bacteria still have to finish the job.
- API recommends Pond Stress Coat when you are moving or quarantining fish. You can use it with Aqua Essential.
- Pair with a filter and UV for green water. Pair with muck tablets or Pure Bale for sludge and weekly biological support. Those are different jobs.
Fish and plants:
Intended for ornamental ponds with fish and plants when used as directed. Does not change pH. Follow the label. Increase aeration if fish show stress.
What this is not:
- Not Algae No-Mo or AlgaeFix (visible algae)
- Not Pure Bale (barley / bacteria gel)
- Not ClearLake Muck Eliminator Tablets (bottom sludge)
- Not a complete water-change substitute
Need help matching a bottle to pond size or a water-change volume? Contact us
FAQ
Do I dose the whole pond or only the new water?
Tap-water rate: dose for the gallons you are adding. Ammonia rate: dose the whole pond.
Will this clear green water?
No. It treats chlorine and helps detoxify nitrogen waste. Use UV plus an algae product when that is the problem.
Can I use it with Pure Bale or muck tablets?
Yes, different jobs. Do not dump everything in at once if fish already look stressed. Condition the new water first.
What if I overdose?
API says the formula has some margin. Still follow the label. Extra aeration is the first response if you are unsure.
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