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Purigen

This certainly turned in to an interesting thread. I am still working my way through Tom`s articles, but the nitrogen one will have to be next on my list.

Thanks for the quote ceg4048, but it does leave me wondering why high tech tanks with heavy planting do not cycle, if ammonia is not the forst choice source of N.

Glad you noticed a difference Maximbob.

Dave.
 
Dave Spencer said:
I recharge mine in ordinary household bleach, but make sure you use unscented as opposed to pine etc. This leaves you with Purigen at a high pH, so I buffer mine down to a pH close to my tanks.
Click to expand...

Looks like a very interesting product and one I think I'm just going to have to try. How do you buffer it down after a recharge?

Thanks
James
 
quote from seachem webpage:

Regeneration: Soak in a 1:1 bleach:water solution for 24 hours in a non-metalic container in a well ventilated area and away from children. Rinse well, then soak for 8 hours with a solution containing 2 tablespoons of ChlorGuardâ„¢, Primeâ„¢, or equivalent dechlorinator per cup of water. Rinse well. For freshwater use, soak for 4 hours with a solution containing 1 tablespoon of buffer per cup of water (Discus Bufferâ„¢, Neutral Regulatorâ„¢, or Acid Bufferâ„¢). Original color and full activity should now be restored and Purigenâ„¢ is ready for reuse. Caution: some slime coat products may permanently foul Purigenâ„¢ and render regeneration difficult. Do not reuse if odor of chlorine is detectable. In case of doubt, soak beads in small quantity of water and test for residual chlorine with a chlorine test kit.
 
James,

I use API pH 6.5 which is pretty close to the pH of my tanks. Obviously, without buffering the Purigen after the bleaching, it will have a very high pH and could have quite an effect.

Purigen is a bit of faffing around, but it is most definitely worth the effort in my Iwagumi. Not so much in my Juwel tank though, because they come with tinted glass for some reason.

Dave.
 
I've been reading a lot about this product and it does sound very useful, especially when setting up a tank when algae is likely.

I'll probably try it out in my next tank (150 gal. planted discus), but doubt I'll run it long-term.
 
Hi guys,
We seemed to have covered the organic nitrogen side of things, but what about organic carbon or more importantly the other checmical 'benefit' of EXCEL. Does anyone have experience of using PURIGEN whilst dosing/overdosing with Flourish Excel :?:

Pete. 🙄
 
That is a good question Pete.

Seachem have just replied to my question, and they say it is fine to dose Excel when using Purigen.

Dave.
 
ceg4048 said:
... The fact that it is (supposedly) indefinitely rechargeable means it's a perfect product for cheapskates...
Cheers,
Click to expand...

I am sorry but this statement is false. It is not "indefinitely rechargeable."

Seachem is a sponsor at Aquariumplantcentral forums and have a tech support rep to answer member questions related to Purigen. According to the Seachem Tech Support(and this is a direct quote).

"Purigen will get to a point that regeneration will not bring back the full color. That typically occurs around 8 regeneration's."
 
homersimpson said:
ceg4048 said:
... The fact that it is (supposedly) indefinitely rechargeable means it's a perfect product for cheapskates...
Cheers,
Click to expand...

I am sorry but this statement is false. It is not "indefinitely rechargeable."

Seachem is a sponsor at Aquariumplantcentral forums and have a tech support rep to answer member questions related to Purigen. According to the Seachem Tech Support(and this is a direct quote).

"Purigen will get to a point that regeneration will not bring back the full color. That typically occurs around 8 regeneration's."
Click to expand...

Hi Homer,
Thanks a lot for the clarification. OK, well I guess that means typical 8 regenerations means 1 pound 25p per cycle. Not quite perfect but if it gives demonstrable results that's not too bad I suppose.

Thanks again!

Cheers,
 
I have just changed 100ml of Purigen on a 120l tank that had been in there for two months. When I looked at the state of the Purigen, it was only 30% exhausted, so I shall be changing mine a lot less often.

Dave.
 
I have just attempted to 'recharge' my Purigen.

Its seems I misunderstood the advice given - i assumed you only needed an non-amine based water conditioner during the recharge phase.. I have been using Nutrafin Aquaplus water conditioner. It apparently (after much internet searching) contains an amine based product which has fouled my purigen.

I first suspected something when I attempted to soak it in a bleach solution and the colour change was minimal. It only changed back to normal after a prolonged soak in 1:1 bleach water solution

The moral of my story is... learn from my mistake, if you use purigen, switch to seachem prime water conditioner. It will make your life easier!
 
Anyone here used this on a new setup?

I saw George mentioned it would be an idea for him. I have it currently on my 180lt dicsus tank, but thats getting closed down as soon as the 800lt is cycled.. Just thought that it may interfere with the cycling? Probably a good thing to add it after a couple of weeks rather than straight away, what are your thoughts? Tank will have the media from an 2217 & ada substrate of a 1yr old setup, so should help cycling it.

James
 
In my next tank I am going to run Purigen and Zeolite from the word go. I don`t cycle my tanks, I just let the plants carry out the purification, and let the bacteria colony catch up at a later date. Hopefully, I will be minimising any early algae issues.

This applies to a high tech tank, though, with a high plant mass and rapid growth.

Dave.
 
I can't see how the bacteria will ever catch up as there'll be nothing left for them to feed on. IMO there should be a cycling period with no substrate or plants and then stripped down and set up properly with a now cycled filter. Only my opinion though.
 
Thanks for the feedback,

I think i will go for a mix of your opinions. The tank is a high tech setup with an ADA substrate / media from a 1yr 2217 & 18lt of used AS, so that will feed the filter right away, but i think i will give it a week to 10 days to help cycle. I would go with Daves view but the discus need their new home ASAP..

James
 
beeky said:
I can't see how the bacteria will ever catch up as there'll be nothing left for them to feed on. IMO there should be a cycling period with no substrate or plants and then stripped down and set up properly with a now cycled filter. Only my opinion though.
Click to expand...

The reason I don`t bother building up a large bacteria colony during a cycle is because I know it will reduce later on as the plant mass increases. I have had no problems adding Otos and Amano shrimp within days of starting up a tank.

At the end of the day, it is about peace of mind, I guess.

Dave.
 
I'm going to be using Purigen for the first time in my Rio 125 this weekend. I look forward to it.

How often, on average, should one consider re-charging? Fish load very low. 100ml bag, 125 litre tank, 1200lph external filter.
 
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