What exactly is Purigen and how does it work?
- Thread starter roger saltwaters
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stravo71
Community Member
escription
Purigen® is a premium synthetic adsorbent that is unlike any other filtration product. It is not a mixture of ion exchangers or adsorbents, but a unique macro-porous synthetic polymer that removes soluble and insoluble impurities from water at a rate and capacity that exceeds all other competing products by over 500%. Purigen® controls ammonia, nitrites and nitrates by removing nitrogenous organic waste that would otherwise release these harmful compounds. Purigen’s impact on trace elements is minimal. It significantly raises redox. It polishes water to unparalleled clarity. Purigen® darkens progressively as it exhausts, and is easily renewed by treating with bleach. Purigen® is designed for both marine and freshwater use.
Selectivity: Purigen® is the highest capacity organic filtration resin on the market. No other products can compare to its ability to clear haziness and polish water to unparalleled clarity. Unlike other products on the market which are simple ion-exchange resins, Purigen® is specifically designed to be an organic scavenging resin. When ion-exchange resins are filled to capacity by metals and other contaminants, Purigen® has barely begun to reach its potential. Purigen® generally ignores simple elemental compounds, having an extreme affinity for nitrogenous organics. The primary source of nitrogenous compounds in an aquarium is waste. Fish, corals, even plants produce nitrogenous waste. Purigen® removes that waste faster and more completely than anything else on the market.
Capacity: Purigen’s™ possesses enhanced capacity owing to its vast surface area. All other resins on the market are purely spherical extruded beads. These beads remain smooth even under a microscope. Purigen® is both spherical and macroreticular. It has microscopic pores that increase its usable surface area to many times that of a purely spherical resin.
Regeneration: Purigen® can also be regenerated. As it adsorbs waste products, Purigen® will change color from a pale blonde to a dark brown, almost black. Once it is exhausted, it can be regenerated with a solution of bleach and water. The bleach will literally “burn off” the organics that have been removed from the tank. Watch out for products that claim to be regenerable with a brine solution. That is the regeneration procedure for ion-exchange purposes. A brine solution will not remove organics. While such resins have a limited capacity for organic adsorption, a brine regeneration process only replaces removed ionic compounds. It does not destroy large organic molecules that were removed, which is the primary function of organic adsorption resins.
Directions
Rinse before use. Use in a fine mesh (180 micron or less) filter bag such as Seachem’s The Bag™. Each 250 mL treats up to 1,000 L (250 US gallons) for up to six months. Exhaustion is indicated by a pronounced discoloration of the beads to dark brown or black.
REGENERATION: Soak in a 1:1 bleach:water solution for 24 hours in a non-metallic container in a well ventilated area and away from children. Use regular 8.25% hypochlorite household bleach (non-scented, no dyes, do not use a splash-less bleach). Rinse well, then soak for 8 hours with a solution containing 4 tablespoons of Prime®, or equivalent dechlorinator per cup of water. Rinse well. For freshwater use, soak for 4 hours with a solution containing 2 tablespoons of buffer per cup of water (Discus Buffer®, Neutral Regulator®). Original color and full activity should now be restored and Purigen® is ready for reuse. Caution: some slime coat products may permanently foul Purigen® and render regeneration difficult. Do not reuse if odor of bleach/chlorine is detectable. In case of doubt, soak beads in small quantity of water and test for residual chlorine with a chlorine test kit
Purigen® is a premium synthetic adsorbent that is unlike any other filtration product. It is not a mixture of ion exchangers or adsorbents, but a unique macro-porous synthetic polymer that removes soluble and insoluble impurities from water at a rate and capacity that exceeds all other competing products by over 500%. Purigen® controls ammonia, nitrites and nitrates by removing nitrogenous organic waste that would otherwise release these harmful compounds. Purigen’s impact on trace elements is minimal. It significantly raises redox. It polishes water to unparalleled clarity. Purigen® darkens progressively as it exhausts, and is easily renewed by treating with bleach. Purigen® is designed for both marine and freshwater use.
Selectivity: Purigen® is the highest capacity organic filtration resin on the market. No other products can compare to its ability to clear haziness and polish water to unparalleled clarity. Unlike other products on the market which are simple ion-exchange resins, Purigen® is specifically designed to be an organic scavenging resin. When ion-exchange resins are filled to capacity by metals and other contaminants, Purigen® has barely begun to reach its potential. Purigen® generally ignores simple elemental compounds, having an extreme affinity for nitrogenous organics. The primary source of nitrogenous compounds in an aquarium is waste. Fish, corals, even plants produce nitrogenous waste. Purigen® removes that waste faster and more completely than anything else on the market.
Capacity: Purigen’s™ possesses enhanced capacity owing to its vast surface area. All other resins on the market are purely spherical extruded beads. These beads remain smooth even under a microscope. Purigen® is both spherical and macroreticular. It has microscopic pores that increase its usable surface area to many times that of a purely spherical resin.
Regeneration: Purigen® can also be regenerated. As it adsorbs waste products, Purigen® will change color from a pale blonde to a dark brown, almost black. Once it is exhausted, it can be regenerated with a solution of bleach and water. The bleach will literally “burn off” the organics that have been removed from the tank. Watch out for products that claim to be regenerable with a brine solution. That is the regeneration procedure for ion-exchange purposes. A brine solution will not remove organics. While such resins have a limited capacity for organic adsorption, a brine regeneration process only replaces removed ionic compounds. It does not destroy large organic molecules that were removed, which is the primary function of organic adsorption resins.
Directions
Rinse before use. Use in a fine mesh (180 micron or less) filter bag such as Seachem’s The Bag™. Each 250 mL treats up to 1,000 L (250 US gallons) for up to six months. Exhaustion is indicated by a pronounced discoloration of the beads to dark brown or black.
REGENERATION: Soak in a 1:1 bleach:water solution for 24 hours in a non-metallic container in a well ventilated area and away from children. Use regular 8.25% hypochlorite household bleach (non-scented, no dyes, do not use a splash-less bleach). Rinse well, then soak for 8 hours with a solution containing 4 tablespoons of Prime®, or equivalent dechlorinator per cup of water. Rinse well. For freshwater use, soak for 4 hours with a solution containing 2 tablespoons of buffer per cup of water (Discus Buffer®, Neutral Regulator®). Original color and full activity should now be restored and Purigen® is ready for reuse. Caution: some slime coat products may permanently foul Purigen® and render regeneration difficult. Do not reuse if odor of bleach/chlorine is detectable. In case of doubt, soak beads in small quantity of water and test for residual chlorine with a chlorine test kit
stravo71
Community Member
Previous post of mine is straight from seachem website.
Right, it says that ion exchange resins are worn out by metals, implying that purigen does not absorb any metals. Furthermore it says that it ignores simple elements, having negligible effect on trace minerals. The way I read that, it does not absorb elements, it attracts almost exclusively organic compounds. That may be a good thing, but that's not what everyone is saying. Anyone else read it like I am?
stravo71
Community Member
That's how I read it also. But I know a seachem rep and he swears up and down it will bind and remove some metals. That's what will eventually clog purigen. When you bleach purigen it only burns off the organic material. That's what I was told. I might ha en to email them to find out. You have me curious now. Gonna get some answers. Will keep you informed
Right, if a triton test said there were bad metals, I could see using an ion exchange resin specifically for heavy metals, but I wouldn't probably use purigen for that purpose. I think the main benefit is a rechargeable activated carbon like material. Any ancillary benefits are great.
Does activated carbon also raise redox? Does it have any negative characteristics that this product does not? Just trying to compare/contrast as they seem to have some similar properties of absorbtion.
stravo71
Community Member
That's the main reason why I use purigen. It replaced carbon completely in my system. I think it works better and doesn't have the problem side effects as carbon. Plus I ha en some rather expensive tangs. And carbon has been linked to head and lateral line erosion.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blo...ted-in-inducing-head-and-lateral-line-erosion
Here's a link to an article regarding lateral line disease and carbon. Though I haven't read it, and am not up to date on the argument for/against.
What other side effects of carbon are there? I wasn't aware of any?
john.m.cole3
cyclOps
such as? are you referring to macro algae?
Carbon causing hlle in tangs is not true. I have 8 tangs in 2 systems always run a reactor full of carbon. Never have had a tang get hlle in either system. Both systems have repaired a yt with hlle though. Copper can absolutely cause it, as well as bad nutrition. It is possible that your switch to purigen caused something else to be removed from your water that carbon was not previously removing, which resulted in hlle going away or not happening at all. Just my experience with it.
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Here's what a meant, if nutrients go in, nutrients must come out. In order my favorite ways to export nutrients
1) don't put them in, always the best solution as doesn't require any export
2) feed them to fish/snails/algae (biological export), you're growing something, unlimited (doesn't need to be purchased/refilled)
3) physical removal, skimming and filter socks etc... easily reused, cheap, doesn't require usually any purchasing, pretty straight forward chemistry
4) chemical filtration, carbon, GFO, purigen etc... requires repurchase, re-filling, monitoring for exhaustion etc... tedious
I always aim for nutrient export in that order.
Such as? This is an ongoing issue for me, that i can't seem to find the cause.
Do you have a heavy metal issue or just in general an algae issue? I haven't looked into the heavy metal ion exchange resins for reef tanks, honestly haven't dug into it but I know they exist for water treatment. I thought poly filters worked?
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4335
If you're just having a general algae issue, see order of above, chemical filtration is my last resort because it requires usually more maintenance and/or cost compared to the other export methods, it also may be the least effective in removing nutrients compared to other methods. The issue is a large part of the nutrients can be organic and aren't easily detectable or removeable (except by biological or physical removal), there's no bullet proof solution, only following guidelines which include tilting the playing field such that it doesn't support nuisance algae. It can take a long time to tilt the playing field towards no algae in a tank, especially if you have a large tank, even if you're doing everything right.
I have a low fish load, tons of live rock, some chaeto and plenty of critters, an over sized skimmer, and finally a BRS carbon/GFO canister. I just rely on those filters, in that order of importance to keep my tank clean. I had some nuisance algae and cyano in the beginning, but going on 7 months old I'm free of algae. Nitrates undetectable and Phosphates below .08. It certainly doesn't hurt to try purigen, but I wouldn't rely on it as my first line of defense.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4335
If you're just having a general algae issue, see order of above, chemical filtration is my last resort because it requires usually more maintenance and/or cost compared to the other export methods, it also may be the least effective in removing nutrients compared to other methods. The issue is a large part of the nutrients can be organic and aren't easily detectable or removeable (except by biological or physical removal), there's no bullet proof solution, only following guidelines which include tilting the playing field such that it doesn't support nuisance algae. It can take a long time to tilt the playing field towards no algae in a tank, especially if you have a large tank, even if you're doing everything right.
I have a low fish load, tons of live rock, some chaeto and plenty of critters, an over sized skimmer, and finally a BRS carbon/GFO canister. I just rely on those filters, in that order of importance to keep my tank clean. I had some nuisance algae and cyano in the beginning, but going on 7 months old I'm free of algae. Nitrates undetectable and Phosphates below .08. It certainly doesn't hurt to try purigen, but I wouldn't rely on it as my first line of defense.
stravo71
Community Member
It is true and there is scientific study to prove it. It's not the carbon itself that causes it. It's the dust that lazy people do not rinse away and Cheap carbon that is processed poorly also causes it. Just because it hasn't happened to your fish doesn't make it not true.
The only thing that strikes me about the study about carbon causing HLLE, is that they didn't dig specifically as to the cause, ie the dust was a hypothesis, but I didn't see them do an analysis of washing vs. Not washing, and different types. But I think the take away supports being cautious about any carbon long term, and others have gotten by without it successfully.
Stravo, do you ever see any yellowing of the water? Do you have other methods of removing organic compounds besides carbon like ozone? I think at least cosmetically removing yellowing compounds is important for our enjoyment, but not sure if skimming alone will take care of it.
I'm in the chemical filtration as a crutch camp, and it sounds like purigen may help with the yellowing, but I doubt that it's been studied whether it causes HLLE as it's not used as frequently.
Stravo, do you ever see any yellowing of the water? Do you have other methods of removing organic compounds besides carbon like ozone? I think at least cosmetically removing yellowing compounds is important for our enjoyment, but not sure if skimming alone will take care of it.
I'm in the chemical filtration as a crutch camp, and it sounds like purigen may help with the yellowing, but I doubt that it's been studied whether it causes HLLE as it's not used as frequently.
stravo71
Community Member
I run gfo. Bio pellets and Purigen. A skimmer that is way overkill. Filter socks on overflow. Haven't had any issue with yellow water. Tank is a 150 display with a 40 breeder sump. About 250 lbs of live rock combined between the 2. I have a 30 hex filled with macro algae and seahorses that is also plumbed into the system. Only reason I believe the whole carbon thing is friends that have had the issue and then removed carbon and it went away rather rapidly. Then upon reading a couple articles about it made me a full believer. Some get lucky and some dont. Just depends on your system. But it requires other issues to have hlle but carbon to my understanding doesn't help the cause. Purigen is basically a synthetic man made carbon. Removes (binds) organics and some metals just like carbon. But carbon after a while has to be trashed while Purigen can be re charged. Hope that helps
Yup, but just to reiterate from their site which we discussed earlier in the thread, it doesn't claim that it binds heavy metals, and it says it only binds nitrogenous organics, not phosphates. Which is fine, but just to point out to people that gfo in addition like you are doing, is a good idea. I'll have to take a look after my carbon is used up next week. Thanks
