Purigen, Chemi-pure, or carbon?

[trmiv]

I want to get something to polish my water a bit. Of course reef grade carbon works, but what about chemi-pure or purigen? I've heard good things about purigen, and some good things about chemi-pure. What are some experiences with these products, and which would you recommend?

[rkplucker]

Just carbon would be my recommendation. Stay away from chemicals if at possible.

[Aiptasia]

Purigen isn't a chemical. It's a molecular adsorbtion resin that selectively pulls dissolved organic matter out of the water, much in the same way reef carbon does. It will pull out ammonia, nitrite and nitrates whereas reef carbon can't actively pull these substances out of the water.

 

Reef carbon pulls out a certain amount of DOC (dissolved organic compounds) before it can reach the nitrogen cycle. It's highly porous, which means nitrogen cycle bacteria love it (they grow in it). Reef carbon does have a limit as far as how much it can absorb, and needs to be changed often (monthly) to prevent it from leaking these DOC's back into the water. The problem is, even though they are saturated with DOC, the grains of carbon will continue to try and pull more out and displace the DOC they've already absorbed for new compounds.

 

Purigen changes colors as it exhausts, from a tan white color to dark brown/black, so you know exactly when to change it. Purigen can also be re-charged with a little bleach and fresh water bath.

 

I like to use both as I use a lot of macro-algaes to pull nitrates out of my tanks. These algaes can sometimes secrete substances of their own that can inhibit coral growth, so it's a good idea to use a little reef carbon with them.

 

Dick Boyd's Chemi-Pure pouches have been around since the 1970's. I don't think they've ever updated the formula. I've always been suspicious of it because in all these years, i've never seen a scientific report on what it actually removes from aquarium water. I'm not even sure what it contains inside the pouch. The old instructions for recharging the puuch said "for freshwater, soak in saltwater 24 hours. For saltwater, soak in freshwater for 24 hours." Huh? I think P.T. Barnum was right

 

At least I can go to kent marine's site or seachem's site and request the scientific literature on what their carbon and adsorbers pull out of the water.

 

Carbon? good idea. Purigen? yes or no depending on what's in your tank. Chemi-pure? looks good on the shelf of my LFS.

[trmiv]

hmm, maybe i'll pick up some carbon, and some purigen. kent reef carbon is pretty good isn't it?

[Aiptasia]

Oh yeah. Kent's is fine. Some carbons can leach phosphates back into the water but Kent's and Two Little Fishies carbon is the shizzle my nizzle.

[MrKrispy]

if you are running purigen don't bother with the carbon. Purigen won't leach stuff off it unless you rinse it in FW or soak it in bleach.

[trmiv]

I needed some Joe's Juice, so I added some purigen to the order, should be here friday. we'll see how it works.

[GSXR1000]

I only use chemi-pure. I run it 24/7 my water is crystal clear. Chemi-pure is meant for saltwater and reef tanks. WHere as other carbon is for fresh and salt. I guess if its activated carbon its just as good.

[jaguilar]

chemi-pure is the real deal. this stuff really works. not only is the water crystal clear, but the nitrates and phosphates were brought down to undetectable levels. i only tried this stuff to see if it would help with the cyano and diatom outbreaks that i was battling weekly, and it kicked a$$. no more red slime!!! i'm too lazy to post a link, but if you look this product up on marinedepot or even drfostersmith, they have extensive information on exactly how this stuff works. and it's highly recommended by both sites.(and me, and gsxr1k)

[Chronicles]

Purigen all the way, I hope you got the premade bag, cause it works great. It doesn't change to browns or greens like the filter bags you buy at the LFS, and it's not a bag bag either, it's a sealed pouch. I've only had to refresh my pouch 1 time in the past year which only takes 24hrs.

[1fish2fish]

I'm using chemipure as well. My water is nice and clear and my animals are happy. Chemipure is made of research grade activated carbon and a exchange resin. I do like the sound of purigen though and may actually switch over. I think that if you go with chemipure or purigen you will be happy with either.

 

Goodluck.

[Aiptasia]

Chemi-pure is a bag of reef carbon and some ammonia scavenging resins. I've never seen a breakdown of how well chemi-pure works in all these years, nor have seen exactly what it's supposed to pull from water with hard scientific data (unlike Kent Marine and Seachem products).

 

At least with purigen and good quality reef carbon, I know what it removes and in what proportions, as well as knowing when it's exhausted. That's useful information to know.

[DitchPlains]

My preference is Black Diamond Activated Carbon in a long knee high filter sock, and 500ml of Purgien that combined with regular water changes keeps my Nano Cube safe and sound. Plus changing my one filter sponge ever two or three weeks once icky brown stuff bulds up. Anywyas you should try a few methods to which works best with your tank setup and Bio-load, but nothing beats a good weekly water change of 15-25% :teehee:

[trmiv]

I went with the purigen. I might try some carbon in there too. I do 2 gallon water changes every week, so 12.5% (16 gallon tank)

[MrKrispy]

like i said, don't bother with the carbon. If your purigen is overloaded in a few days, then run some carbon. Otherwise, why waste the money. Plus, make sure you get reef quality carbon or hellooooooooooooooooooo hair algae.

[trmiv]

Yea, I'm going to go with the purigen for awhile alone and see how that goes. If that isn't enough, I'll get some Black Diamond or Kent carbon.

[jaguilar]

for all you doubters of chemi-pure(aiptasia esp.), check this out. it's a bit lengthy, but very informative. the only part that i am skeptical about is where they talk about tanks that have not had any water changes in over five years. i would never try that, but maybe i'd go as far as once a month.

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp...dproduct=BE1113

[DitchPlains]

I really like Purigen I think it works well as an organic remover, and water polisher, but I will have to err on the side that its still Integral to do weekly water changes. I think if you stick to the Berlin system of reef keeping then additives like Purigen will only make your reef keeping experience easier.

[gmy]

Sea Chem's Sea gel (changed monthly) with weekly water changes. The ratio between the carbon and other resins are in the right proportions to offset leaching of phosphate from the spent carbon. I usually have very crystal clear water.

[mag0070]

why don't you guys post pics of your tanks and let the pictures sell the product you use.

[Steve973]

Interesting posts! my 18 gal tank finished cycling a couple of weeks ago, and I have been noticing some hair algae growing mostly on the glass, and some red-purple slime growing on some of the rocks. I attributed this mostly to byproducts of the cycle, but I realized that I threw the bag of carbon that came with my AC500 into the filter at the end of the cycle to pull out what it could, but I forgot to take it out after a couple of days. So I think it has been leaching stuff back into the water and contributing to the fuzzy slimy stuff.

 

I picked up a good mixture of snails (2 nassarius, 2 bumblebee, 4 cerith, 2 astrea) but I don't see them eating the green hair algae. Is there a variety that can clean this stuff off the glass, rather than veer around it? Thanks.

[KansasCoral-Nu-B]

my purigen is useless. no change in nitrates or ammonia since i added it 3 weeks ago. thats my opinion of it.