Seachem Purigen
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calfishguy
Aquarium Advice Addict
Works well however I wouldn't put it in tanks that don't have tannins.
phin
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Why not? it does much more than just remove tannins.
calfishguy
Aquarium Advice Addict
IMO of the aquarium is properly maintained there is not really a need for it. Your water should already be crystal clear.
Purgen removes organics from your tank. I keep it in my canisters all the time. Here's a little clip from Seachem explaining some of what it does... Purigen and what it does - Seachem Support Forums
That was a good read, tks river cat.
I thought is was more of a water polisher. I do have some wood and once the filter is off when I'm feeding the little guys you can see it leaching the tannin. I have been making the cichlid food & just wanted that extra touch if needed to make the water nice and clear for their health. I'm doing 2 PWC a week of 40g on a 50g tank & know nitrate have been under 10ppm.
I thought is was more of a water polisher. I do have some wood and once the filter is off when I'm feeding the little guys you can see it leaching the tannin. I have been making the cichlid food & just wanted that extra touch if needed to make the water nice and clear for their health. I'm doing 2 PWC a week of 40g on a 50g tank & know nitrate have been under 10ppm.
phin
Aquarium Advice FINatic
The polishing and clarity aspect is secondary, and due to what it is removing from the water - dissolved organic waste. IMO it is a way to help properly maintain an aquarium and worth the money.
I've been contemplating using purigen in my 40b, which has 3 fancy goldfish. I do 2 water changes a week of at least 50%. One week I did only one water change. A test of nitrates revealed nearly the darkest color red on the API test. I'm wondering if purigen is the answer for me.
calfishguy
Aquarium Advice Addict
I did a test in my 55 gallon. I added purigen for about two months and did my usual pwcs and such. There was no difference in the levels that I can test, I saw no difference in the clarity of the water, and did not see any difference in the fish. I will admit it works wonders to remove tannins though.
I quickly skimmed the article and from my understanding wouldn't it give you a false security when it comes to your biofiltration and how much nitrates are actually being produced. Wouldn't this also give the impression that your tank isn't a s stocked as it actually is. Just what I understand. Also if it removes organic compounds doesn't it remove compounds that could potentially used by plants
Albino Sick Led
Aquarium Advice Regular
Not necessary but helps
Purigen will help get rid of biological waste before chemicals like ammonia and NO2(nitrites), and NO3(nitrates) which will in retrospect help control this before it becomes a problem (NO2,NO3, and ammonia should not be a major concern for freshwater though).From my experience, purigen also extracts needed nutrients from the aquarium(other "biological waste" which sometimes are beneficial to plants), which would only be a problem if you have live plants or other organism depending on them. Now this is not a major problem, you can sometimes mix higher than usual doses to make up for the loss. Purigen is a great addition to your biofilter. Me personally though, if you're wanting crystal clear water, that comes from your filtration. I have a 55 gal long aquarium and i over-filter, so to speak. I currently run two EHEIM 2313's (good for up to 60 gallons each). My water is so clean all the time and i do not think something like purigen is necessary but an aid. Water clarity is almost always due to filtration, the only reason you should not have water clarity due to chemicals is if you're adding too many things to your aquarium.
Good luck
Purigen will help get rid of biological waste before chemicals like ammonia and NO2(nitrites), and NO3(nitrates) which will in retrospect help control this before it becomes a problem (NO2,NO3, and ammonia should not be a major concern for freshwater though).From my experience, purigen also extracts needed nutrients from the aquarium(other "biological waste" which sometimes are beneficial to plants), which would only be a problem if you have live plants or other organism depending on them. Now this is not a major problem, you can sometimes mix higher than usual doses to make up for the loss. Purigen is a great addition to your biofilter. Me personally though, if you're wanting crystal clear water, that comes from your filtration. I have a 55 gal long aquarium and i over-filter, so to speak. I currently run two EHEIM 2313's (good for up to 60 gallons each). My water is so clean all the time and i do not think something like purigen is necessary but an aid. Water clarity is almost always due to filtration, the only reason you should not have water clarity due to chemicals is if you're adding too many things to your aquarium.
Good luck
phin
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I never had any false security regarding nitrate production in my mbuna tank. I get plenty with 14 cichlids in a 44gallon. Anything I can do to remove ammonia, nitrite, & nitrates I do. With purigen + matrix + ammochips + 50% waterchange 1x per week I keep nitrates < 40ppm.
I run it in my planted tank as well. The main reason I run it in this tank though is to remove color given off by the peat I have in my filter. According to seachem, it removes the color without removing the humic acids. According to Seachem, Purigen doesn't remove simple elemental compounds or trace elements, but has a strong affinity for nitrogenous organics.
Its almost the same thing as carbon, but Seachem advertises Purigen in a different manner. I would rather buy carbon for my tanks and toss them once I'm done (which I already do).
Its not needed in most aquariums that does 50% water change. I would use it if I'm lazy with maintenance (big no no), have colors in the water, or overstocked fish tanks.
Its not needed in most aquariums that does 50% water change. I would use it if I'm lazy with maintenance (big no no), have colors in the water, or overstocked fish tanks.
Albino Sick Led
Aquarium Advice Regular
I would hope you're running <40ppm in ammonia. Most test kits consider anything above 8ppm(mg/L) the highest level measured to where you definitely need a change. Maybe you meant <4ppm? Either way bud it seems like you would simply be better off getting better filtration, IMO. Ammonia is only found in excess when your biological filter in your aquarium can not keep up with the amount being released into your tank. Purigen is a nice additive to have in a overstocked stank (14 cichlids in a 44 gal) but it will not take care of the clarity of the tank and you are going to have to start worrying about ammonium build up. No need to be doing 50% water changes (max 30%) if your biological filter is keeping up with what you have stocked. Specially not weekly. Not trying to say what your doing is wrong, i do think you could make your life a lot easier by simply taking care of your filtration and you would not have to worry about this other stuff.
My two cents. Good luck!
Albino Sick Led
Aquarium Advice Regular
Terrance I agree with most of what you're saying, I wrote that in response to what phine replied.
calfishguy
Aquarium Advice Addict
I believe we are talking about nitrates here not ammonia when it comes to the 40 ppm. And 30% won't really do much to bring nitrates down. 50%+ is really the way to go IMO.
Albino Sick Led
Aquarium Advice Regular
Nitrites oxidizes the water(by oxidizing i mean a chemical reduction in molecule saturation, not the injection of oxygen). This process can lead to generalized lack of oxygen. Nitrites convert to ammonia, if there is more nitrite than can be converted, the fish slowly suffers from a lack of oxygen. Again it goes back to filtration though. You take care if the filtration in your water and have a good biological filter, this takes care if itself and there would be no need for Seachem Purigen. If a 50% change in water is needed weekly something is wrong with the parameters of the water. Maybe a 50% change in a severe emergency not regularly though.
Did a PWC this morning and the water has a bit of very light tea color cause of the wood. I think a few more water change and it wont be so bad. With the big filter I'm using It can handle their bio-load and im not worry about it. When doing the fishless cycle it was eating 5ppm of ammonia in less then 24hrs. With 21 cichlids it's doing very well.
Now, I know you can reuse the purigen; just how many more times can you keep reusing it when you clean it?
Now, I know you can reuse the purigen; just how many more times can you keep reusing it when you clean it?
thomasina
Aquarium Advice Freak
I have a 20g. My numbers are great, do 50% water changes every week, do liquid CO2, don't feed once a week, etc. Within a day after the change, my water gets a yellow ting. I have tried putting a litt in a white cup and yes, it is yellow. Will Purigan help this with a pack of poly floss? I have dumped the carbon because its been in there for 6 mo. Thanks!
Both Purgen and Carbon will remove coloring from water. The main difference tho is Purgen will/can last much longer, up to 6ish months depending on the amount of organics it pulls from the water, whereas carbon IMO losses it effectiveness within a couple weeks. You can tell when Purgen needs regenerating due to the beads changing to a dark brown color indicating it is full. Poly floss won't help remove the coloring in the water. Is it from tannins?
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