purigen bags

[revolutionhope]

hey all i was wondering what people use for bagging purigen - the propietary ones are quite expensive - has anyone come up with an alternative that has worked well for them over the longterm and of course is not a total rip off? (ie stands up to bleach / regeneration and does not deteriorate?)

 

in my case i want to get 10x100ml items but it seems it is cheaper to buy the individual 100ml packages which include the bag than it is for me to buy a litre and buy 10 bags seperately -

 

do any of our wonderful sponsors stock purigen?

 

love n peace

 

will

[kizshrimp]

Macropore is the same thing for much cheaper, the Tech Den have it for a really good price. I've got some but haven't felt the need to use any yet. 

 

A nylon stocking works fine as a media bag. Cut a leg into lengths to make tubes, then tie off one end of a tube. Fill it with media and tie off the other end if you'll be submerging it in a high-flow area. I choose to leave one end open and support it above the sump in an aquarium net with a water pipe directed through. 

[fishmosy]

I've used the nylon stockings as well. Works a treat.

[revolutionhope]

Thanks guys ! im just cautious - when i googled it i found aomeone on another forum saying that their stockings degraded when they bleached it though?

wish I knew about the macropore at techden before! just made an order from them on monday.. oh well how unfortunate.. seems I'll have an excuse to get some other stuff I wanted :-p

[jayc]

Thanks guys ! im just cautious - when i googled it i found aomeone on another forum saying that their stockings degraded when they bleached it though?

 

Just don't bleach the stocking when you are recharging the purigen/macropore.

Any cloth material will degrade in undiluted bleach, let alone the thin material stockings are made of.

 

+1 to Macropore as well.

 

Using bags or stockings or old socks for purigen/macropore is of course the cheap way of doing it. You can alternatively splash out on a fluidbed filter to do the job. Tech Den has a cheapish Otto fluidbed filter at $89. Bonus of a fluidbed filter is that it is portable and can be used on other tanks, if you have more than one. Pair it with a powerhead pump, and you can move it from one tank to another.

Edited April 22, 2015 by jayc

[keego]

Just don't bleach the stocking when you are recharging the purigen/macropore.

Any cloth material will degrade in undiluted bleach, let alone the thin material stockings are made of.

 

 

 

Hi guys handy topic, & great timing. I need to recharge macropore for the 1st time. Whats the best method

 

Cheers

[jayc]

Unscented Bleach.

Cant think of anything else.

Edited April 22, 2015 by jayc

[inverted]

Just noticed there is also a bag for purigen/macro pore at the techden for $4

[revolutionhope]

can anyone offer a quick explanation how does it work? wouldn't it reduce the availability of nutrients for biofilm and plants etc?

[keego]

Unscented Bleach.

Cant think of anything else.

Hi Jayc, do you soak it in a bowl of bleach until its clean & then I take it you would need to raise the bleach out 

[2OFUS]

You soak it in bleach Then the

bleach has to be rinsed very well

Also overdose the water with prime !

Soak it for a day or 2 in primed water

Change the water Afew times per day

That's what I do

Edited April 22, 2015 by 2OFUS

[keego]

Thanks 2OFUS

[Squiggle]

The best explanation of how it works is on the Seachem website, this is a cut & paste of the website.

Purigen

Product Description

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 others 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.

Why It's Different

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 filter bag. Each 1 L treats up to 4,000 L (1,000 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 tablespoon 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.

[revolutionhope]

thanks for that squiggle!

i guess i dont understand the science well enough but I know there must be drawbacks to using it instead of letting the various bacterias do their business?

[revolutionhope]

my concern specifically...

won't such a product reduce the nutrient source for microflora to populate the tank and result in less feed for shrimplets?

[fishmosy]

my concern specifically...

won't such a product reduce the nutrient source for microflora to populate the tank and result in less feed for shrimplets?

Short answer is no, but kind of.

My view is that you should only run the purigen or macropore for a specific reason e.g. High nitrates. In this case, yes the macropore/purigen will suck up nitrates that could be used by microflora BUT if you have high nitrates you are more likely to get nasty algae growing anyway moreso than beneficial algae. In reality, the microflora that shrimp feed on only require tiny amounts of nutrients to grow on. And macropore/purigen wont suck up 100% of anything.

[revolutionhope]

Thanks ben i may well just use it while im in the process of lowering my nitrates from the present high leveless and remove it later. still haven't 100% convinced myself it is a good idea yet though but im almost there! :-)