Plants and Carbon?

[Floyd R Turbo]

That's what I've read. But if you reference the posts above, it's 'anecdotal'. Meaning people have noticed their plants do better without running carbon, therefore carbon they summize that carbon is bad for planted tanks.

Purigen, on the other hand, does not seen to affect plant growth and still 'polishes' the water

 

[Tetra22]

I just read that pitch on purigen and it says that it specifically removes nitrogen. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't nitrate one of the most important nutrients for plants?

 

[jeremyblevins]

yes anything that absorbs ammonia,nitrites, or nitrates will take away from plants.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

I guess I don't know for sure. The website says "Purigen® controls ammonia, nitrites and nitrates by removing nitrogenous organic waste that would otherwise release these harmful compounds."

So it's removing the waste, not the compounds themselves, and it probably cannot remove them at the rate by which it would starve your plants. I still have plenty of nitrates in my FW planted community (20-40ppm most of the time). So anything that makes it to the Nitrate stage won't be absorbed.

A lot of planted tank people use this product including me. My plants literally explode with growth when I am dosing ferts. I've backed off on those due to expense and having to constantly trim plants. My Crypt Wendtii Florida Sunset took a while to get established but it's going bonkers now without many ferts at all. I got rid of my Asian Marshweed and Sunset Hygro because my tank looked like this

So I can tell you without a doubt that it does not inhibit plant growth. This a is running a Marineland C-360 and 500mL Purigen (that's 10x the 'recommended' amount of Purigen)

 

[jeremyblevins]

While I wouldn't be so positive to say without a doubt... Specially without a control or anything. You are dosing nitrogen which it sounds like the product only absorbs certain forums and I would guess youre dosing some kind of nitrate while the product says it removes the wastes before that stage. But I would still be cautious in a tank where there is no dosing. May I ask what the purpose of purigen has in a planted tank?