Purigen

in my opinion you can save your money and not use it at all. a functional biofilter will convert ammonia and nitrite to nitrate and water changes will dilute nitrate to insignificant levels. why use a chemical to do what your tank and your maintainance program will do naturally?

liv2padl said:

in my opinion you can save your money and not use it at all. a functional biofilter will convert ammonia and nitrite to nitrate and water changes will dilute nitrate to insignificant levels. why use a chemical to do what your tank and your maintainance program will do naturally?

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Purigen does not chemically remove any ammonia, nitrites or nitrates. It is designed to get rid of any dissovled organic compounds such as pheremones, rotting food (in between gravel vacuums), phenols etc. That normally accumulate in your tank. It binds them much like activated carbon; just wears out in a much longer time and is custom made for organics and therefore more effective on them. This will reduce your nitrate production as the bacteria don't have the organics to break down into ammonia thus becomming nitrates because you have a good biofilter.

IceH2O, I use the 100 gallon pouch in all my takes ranging from 10 gallons up to 55 gallons. Works just well in both of them though it works the best in my cansister filter where the water gets forced directly through it. It still does an acceptable job in my penguin biowheel 200. Don't split the bag as the beads are extremely small and will just spill all over the place. This media works extremely well but is not a replacement for good maintenance practices.

Purigen does not chemically remove any ammonia, nitrites or nitrates

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really? Seachem will be very surprised to hear that. read this taken from their site:

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.

liv2padl said:

Purigen™ controls ammonia, nitrites and nitrates by removing nitrogenous organic waste that would otherwise release these harmful compounds.

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Right there it explains it all. They say that it controls nitrogenous wastes by removing the precursor product to it. It also mentions that it does not have any ion exchange resins to remove the waste directly.

IceH2O said:

.I also have it in a Penguin,I put it between the fiber and outflow of water,is this the best spot? I figure let the big stuff get caught by the fiber and then whats left to be filtered thru the Purigen.

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Exact place I keep mine.

wait a minute ... i see the difference now. Purigen removes the organic waste that would otherwise release these harmful compounds. well, i still feel it's an unnecessary component of filtration. a sufficient program of water changes would accomplish the same thing. i've been keeping and breeding cichlids for nearly 40 years and have never used carbon, resins, and blah and blah ... just change 50% of my water weekly.

wait a minute ... i see the difference now

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ya beat me to my own thought. ;-)