Purigen Seachem  4/24/10
Hi crew,
<Hi Pat>
I've been reading good things about Purigen Seachem. Have any of you had any experience with this product?
<Yes. This is a popular product and many, including on here, endorse it's use. However, I found it awkward to re-charge (using the bleach) and it did seem to turn permanently brown quite quickly. I don't bother now, and just stick with carbon which seems to work just fine. If you want something fancy then I do think the Poly-Filters are better products, although they are just one use>.
Thanks,
<No worries. Have a read through here for some more, mostly different, views: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/filtrant.htm>
Pat
<Simon> 

Chemical Filtration  1/5/07 Hello, I am planning on implementing Purigen in my filtration, <PO4 reduction is good...> however, I currently use Stresscoat and have heard of negative product interactions resulting in possible fish death.   <If you are referring to Aquarium Pharm. Stresscoat, then the "reports" partly true. SC is anime-based and thusly will bond with the resin. If you don't plan to regenerate the Purigen, then this is not a problem. However, if/when you do try regeneration, chlorine will combine with the amines and make a bigger, toxic word: chloramine.> Do you have any recommendations on a substitute for it that would not cause negative effects, and how long should I wait from the last time I used stresscoat until implementing the Purigen?   <If you go to Purigen's site: http://seachem.com/support/FAQs/Purigen_faq.html You'll see more on this topic and their idea of an alternative for you. Stresscoat isn't very long-lasting, but if you want to be sure of complete removal, use some fresh carbon and wait a week or more.> Also in my filtration system I plan on running Super Activated Carbon and ROWAphos.  Any comments would be greatly appreciated. <I have no experience with ROWAphos, BUT everything I read/hear is very good. The "older" methods of PO4 removal always leech back into your system eventually, but ROWAphos is a "never-leech" product. Use it!> Also, It is a 30gal reef tank with a few LPSs and sps corals, currently running all PCs soon to be 175w 14k MH with  PC dual actinic. <That is a lot of light! Do your corals seem to need that? I just think you might find a smaller solution without the waste heat.> Thanks, Jason <You're welcome, Jason. Remember, actinic is for looks, not growth. You can try a swap with a 10k and save up front and long term over the HID. -Graham T.>

Purigen and Chem- clean, Better Cleaning Through Chemistry?  12/1/05 Hi, Bob, or whoever is there tonight!  <James here bright and early in the am.>  I'm inquiring about 2 products.. although they appear in the search engine, I couldn't find much: My LFS (a marine biologist in the making who has several successful marine tanks) recommended two products to me this evening. He said he no longer uses carbon and recommends Purigen instead....what do you think of this product and using it on a regular basis? My nitrates run 20 in all my tanks....0 nitrites, 0 ammonia, ph 8.2 to 8.4 all tanks FOWLR. By the way, no nitrates in the water source...it's from my well, goes through a water softener and tests fine. Also, I've been battling a little Cyano in my 46 gallon tank for a few months now, tank is 2 years old. Light tank load (pygmy angel, 2 percula clowns, black line & bicolor blenny, clown goby, 2 cleaner shrimp) He recommends Chem- clean...says it clears up Cyano in a few days...any thoughts?  <It may very well clear it up but it is just a band aid. You have to remove the source of the problem.>  I've scrubbed the LR that was affected and have been vacuuming portions of the substrate every couple of days, changing 10% of the water in the tank. The LR has been okay, but it reappears in the substrate every day, very frustrating. I'm running a powerhead, AquaClear 300, and Knop skimmer.  <Lisa, yes it is very frustrating. I would start by making sure you have at least 450/500 gallons per hour water movement in your tank. I believe you are probably not at that mark. Are your 10% water changes done weekly? Watch your feeding habits, only feed what the fish will consume. Most women are very soft- hearted and feel sorry for the fish thinking they are not getting enough food. Excess nutrients in this regard just adds to the problem.  The Purigen is a good product and improves water clarity and increases redox potential but we still need to eliminate the food source for the Cyano. As for the Chem Clean product, I haven't heard enough about it to comment. Read here for more information. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/bluegralgae.htm.  Good luck, James (Salty Dog)> Thanks!  Lisa  <You're welcome>

Purigen  9/12/05 Hi.  I was looking at a catalog today, and see that ChemiPure is put   out by Boyd, so it must have been the Purigen that I had tried when   all my fish died.  I also see from the catalog that the Purigen is small, amber beads, <Yes... ion-exchange resin> and the ChemiPure looks black. <Yes, mostly carbon...> The product we   used had small amber beads in a bag, so it was the Purigen (this was   about 12 years ago).   At least now I know why all my fish died   suddenly back then.  I may try ChemiPure in the future, since it is   not put out by the same makers of Purigen.  I just don't trust a   company that is not upfront with its warnings.  All they have to do,   is put on the label, "warning: may be lethal if not used solely with   other SeaChem products."  Maybe I was the first one back then who   experienced the toxicity problem when used on a tank that had been   conditioned with StressCoat.  At any rate, I'm glad to know 12 years   later, why my fish all died in five minutes, but it still upsets me   to know that this will continue to occur to other hobbyists who think   that reading a product label will give them all the information they   need for safe usage of a SeaChem product. <Sorry for your losses... but am not sure as to the cause here. Bob Fenner>

Seachem and Toxicity?  9/12/05 About 10-12 years ago, I bought a Seachem product, it was either   Chemipure or Purigen, and immediately upon putting it into my   freshwater tank, and I mean seconds, the fish were all madly dashing   about the tank, trying to jump out.  Within five minutes every one of   my fish was dead.  It was like I had poured poison into the tank and   it was awful watching the fish in such agony. <Does sound like a case of "carbon shock"... too much too soon a change in water quality> I was very upset, and   contacted Seachem.  They denied that it was their product, did nothing to refund the cost of the product <Not likely> or of all the lost fish,  and said that they never had anyone report any problem like that.    Now, after reading this board, I learn that Purigen creates   chloramine when used in conjunction with StressGuard. <Really? Would you point me to this reference... perhaps the reactions involved?>   Well I know   for a fact that we were using StressGuard, because we always use that   product.  StressGuard is a very popular product and many people   commonly use it.  I think it is negligence on Seachem's part, to not   put a warning on their Purigen product label.  People should not have   to go to Seachem's website to find out that using Purigen could   potentially  kill all of their fish. <Mmmm... I think you've got your facts a bit wrong... StressGuard is made by SeaChem... maybe you mean Stresscoat... it is not "amine based"... and the complaint with its use and Purigen is the loss of capacity at regeneration: http://seachem.com/support/FAQs/Purigen_faq.html Not something you would do in the tank...>   I have heard a lot of positive things about ChemiPure on this   board, but am very reluctant to try it as I don't want to learn the   hard way if it is going to react with something and kill all of my   expensive fish. <Is a fine product... I have used many, many units... but with all carbon based filtration products, one has to "match" use with the volume, quality of water being treated... it sounds like you induced too sudden a change... even the possibility of a disastrous removal of dissolved oxygen...> I have not used any SeaChem products since that   episode. What are your thoughts on this? <Both Boyd and SeaChem are ethical companies that have fine, time and lab-tested products of consistency, utility... Bob Fenner> Re: Seachem and Toxicity?  9/13/05 <Mmmm... I think you've got your facts a bit wrong... Stresscoat is not "amine based"... and the complaint with its use and Purigen is the loss of capacity at regeneration: http://seachem.com/support/FAQs/ Purigen_faq.html Not something you would do in the tank...> I'm not referring to regeneration.  I'm referring to the toxicity   that's mentioned on Wetweb and on SeaChem's website. <<This bit above is from SeaChem's website... Neither their StressGuard, which is what you mentioned, nor AP's Stresscoat, which is what I assumed you meant... are amine-based... trouble when using Purigen>> I've pasted in part of the Wetweb board below and bolded the part I   was referring to.  Whether StressCoat is amine based or PVP based,   the end result when used with Purigen appears to be that chloramines   are created and fish die. <<Only in the presence of chlorine... if the water to be used is pre-treated (outside the tank) with whatever conditioner, this shouldn't be an issue>> If Purigen can become toxic (as stated on   SeaChem's website) when used with another commonly used product such   as StressCoat, I think that the public should be made directly aware   of this on the product package label.  As far as I know, this is not   the case here.  After all, if the product a person used would kill   him  if he used it when eating wheat products, don't you think he   would want to know on the product label itself?   You outlined your   thoughts on this as follows:  Some water-conditioning products (e.g.   Novalek's Amquel, Aquarium Pharmaceutical's StressCoat) contain PVP   (polyvinyl pyrolidone)... and I suspect this is the source of   chloramines that the folks at SeaChem are referring to. Unfortunately we didn't have the Internet to refer to when we lost   our fish, but even if we'd had it then, we still probably wouldn't   have gone looking ahead of time to see if there might be interactions   between the resin product and other chemicals.  Maybe this is being   naive, but I trust that the manufacturer is including instructions   for safe usage on the product label, especially when there is a known   interaction. Quotes begin: > http://seachem.com/support/FAQs/Purigen_faq.html: Q: On some of the Purigen™ documentation I have read it says that some   slime coat products can contaminate Purigen™ and render it toxic. Can you identify these products ? A: Only certain slime coat products will cause Purigen™ to become   toxic; the products that do this are amine based. Prime™ and Safe™   are not amine based and so will not cause this problem. If you're   curious, what happens is that the amine compounds can strongly bind   to the resin, then when they (the amines) come into contact with any   chlorine they will form chloramines which are highly toxic. We offer   a stress coat product, StressGuard™, which is not amine based and so   can be used in conjunction with Purigen.™ > your site, http://www.wetwebmedia.com/rofaq3.htm (emphasis added): Question about Purigen and its interaction with other water conditioners Hello, <Hi there> First, thank you and congratulations for your site which provides   plenty of information for new aquarium hobbyists as I! <Delighted> I would like to ask you a question about Purigen . I have bought a   100ml of Purigen , but I am reluctant to use it, as I found this text   on Seachem's website, saying that Purigen may become toxic with some amine based slime coating products : "Only certain slime coat products will cause Purigen (tm) to become   toxic; the products that do this are amine based. Prime (tm) and Safe   (tm) are not amine based and so will not cause this problem. If   you're curious, what happens is that the amine compounds can strongly   bind to the resin, then when they (the amines) come into contact with   any chlorine they will form chloramines which are highly toxic. We   offer a stress coat product, StressGuard (tm), which is not amine   based and so can be used in conjunction with Purigen .(tm)" The problem is that it's impossible for me to figure out if a product   contains amines or not from reading from the ingredients. Right now I   am using Tetra Aquasafe to condition the water of my aquarium, and   sometimes I also use a bit of JBL Acclimatol as an anti-stress. Tetra   Aquasafe says it provides slime coating for the fishes, as well as   some vitamin B1. But I have no idea if Aquasafe is compatible with   Purigen , and I am wondering if vitamin B1 contains amines which   could interact with the resins in Purigen , as in vitamin there is   "amine" (?). Could you give me advices regarding this issue ? <It is my opinion that you are safe using the B1 vitamin (and all   other vitamins) together with the Purigen... I would not use Tetra   AquaSafe in saltwater... or the JBL product, but instead adopt/adapt   a pre-mix and storage protocol for water changes. Please see here:   http://www.wetwebmedia.com/water4maruse.htm Some water-conditioning products (e.g. Novalek's Amquel, Aquarium   Pharmaceutical's StressCoat) contain PVP (polyvinyl pyrolidone)...   and I suspect this is the source of chloramines that the folks at   SeaChem are referring to. If you're insistent on utilizing water   conditioners, I'd switch to all of one brand (like all Seachem's).   Bob Fenner> Thank you very much for your attention. <<Am not a fan of using "in-place" resin filter media in biological systems period... obviously there are problems, confusion re. Bob Fenner>> Ocean's Blend Phosphate remover 8/19/05 Is this NON synthetic Ferric Oxide media safe to use on reef tanks? I can't find anything bad about it on the Internet and some people have had good experiences.  My concern is that it is real Ferric Oxide.  I found this definition: A dark red compound, Fe2O3, occurring naturally as hematite ore and rust and used in pigments and metal polishes and on magnetic tapes. And from it I'm a bit concerned about the rust part.  The product essentially looks like rust.  I know synthetic products like Rowaphos and Phosban have received much praise for their effectiveness and "safeness" but the Ocean's Blend product is about 1/2 the price and can be purchased @ my LFS.  Any advise would be greatly appreciated. <Raul, I did some checking on the company and as far as I can see, I would feel comfortable trying this product.  Their products are tried in their own aquariums and they welcome feedback for continuous improvement.  James (Salty Dog)>

SeaChem's Purigen Hello, <Howdy> I unfortunately don't have the ability to have a protein skimmer due to noise restrictions where my tank is situated. How familiar are you with SeaChem's Purigen product to be used in a canister filter to remove proteins and a broad spectrum of organics as they claim? <A very good product...> Thanks in advance for your answer. ...Andrew Greenblatt <I would still investigate other makes, models of skimmers... perhaps a small hang on variety like an Aqua-C Remora... or an in-sump (if you should add one)... Bob Fenner, whispering>  Fluval question -Please help James or anyone,  <James, here>  I read that you use a canister with Chemi Pure. I plan on using a canister filter for chemical filtration in addition to my sump (former wet/dry) and skimmer. I am wondering what is the recommended media to be used for chemical filtration apart from ChemiPure e.g. something to manage phosphates etc.  <Your choice, either Sea Chem or Kent Marine phosphate removers would be my choice.> Secondly should I be running the recommended chemical filtration (via my Fluval) during my cycling phase?  <I wouldn't use it during cycling.> Finally I was going to use the canister for mechanical filtration but was told this could be a nitrate trap. I would like to change/clean my canister media monthly.  <Monthly changes will be a nitrate factory. I clean my filter weekly and my nitrates never exceed 5ppm, then again I do 10% water changes weekly. James (Salty Dog)> 

Purigen for Nitrate Issues? >Was wondering if you knew anything more about Purigen?   >>Sorry, never heard of it, shall Google. >I currently have a 55 gallon fish only system.  My nitrates are through the roof, anywhere between 80ppm to 160 ppm.  I change 10 gallons of water about every other week.   >>Well, you won't see results using that method.  Do a 75% w/c (do test the makeup water both before and after you mix the salts for nitrate), then retest.  Then, address initial nutrient export and conversion issues. >I bought Algone to see if that would help with the problem, I've only had Algone in the filter for about a week now.  Does Algone even work?   >>HIGHLY doubtful, tossing in one chemical to remove another when we can utilize naturally occurring microbes doesn't make much financial sense to me, my friend.  Consider a deep sand bed (for its denitrification abilities using anaerobic bacteria to convert nitrate to nitrogen gasses and other components), as well as a refugium for initial nutrient export issues that are leading to such high nitrate readings in the first place. >I figured I would buy it cause for 8 dollars where could I go wrong.    >>I'm an exceedingly frugal woman, Scott, and you'll be hard-pressed to get me to throw away $8!  It makes more sense, in the long run, to address these concerns (have you skimmate?  If so, is it efficient?) via other methods, and in the short term do at LEAST one 75% w/c.  You very well may have to do two, back to back, in this situation, but honestly, if you're gonna toss the money into the Algone, it's better spent on fresh water for your wards.  Just Googled it, it's a Seachem product, and I DO like Seachem, but again, it makes MUCH more sense to address these issues from the get-go, rather than go to such a product.  However, being Seachem, I would expect it to do as purported. >Thank you again for your time.  Scott >>You're welcome.  Marina

Question about Purigen and its interaction with other water conditioners Hello, <Hi there> First, thank you and congratulations for your site which provides plenty of information for new aquarium hobbyists as I! <Delighted> I would like to ask you a question about Purigen . I have bought a 100ml of Purigen , but I am reluctant to use it, as I found this text on Seachem's website, saying that Purigen may become toxic with some amine based slime coating products : "Only certain slime coat products will cause Purigen (tm) to become toxic; the products that do this are amine based. Prime (tm) and Safe (tm) are not amine based and so will not cause this problem. If you're curious, what happens is that the amine compounds can strongly bind to the resin, then when they (the amines) come into contact with any chlorine they will form chloramines which are highly toxic. We offer a stress coat product, StressGuard (tm), which is not amine based and so can be used in conjunction with Purigen .(tm)" The problem is that it's impossible for me to figure out if a product contains amines or not from reading from the ingredients. Right now I am using Tetra Aquasafe to condition the water of my aquarium, and sometimes I also use a bit of JBL Acclimatol as an anti-stress. Tetra Aquasafe says it provides slime coating for the fishes, as well as some vitamin B1. But I have no idea if Aquasafe is compatible with Purigen , and I am wondering if vitamin B1 contains amines which could interact with the resins in Purigen , as in vitamin there is "amine" (?). Could you give me advices regarding this issue ? <It is my opinion that you are safe using the B1 vitamin (and all other vitamins) together with the Purigen... I would not use Tetra AquaSafe in saltwater... or the JBL product, but instead adopt/adapt a pre-mix and storage protocol for water changes. Please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/water4maruse.htm Some water-conditioning products (e.g. Novalek's Amquel, Aquarium Pharmaceutical's StressCoat) contain PVP (polyvinyl pyrolidone)... and I suspect this is the source of chloramines that the folks at SeaChem are referring to. If you're insistent on utilizing water conditioners, I'd switch to all of one brand (like all Seachem's). Bob Fenner> Thank you very much for your attention.

Purigen use Hi, I recently started my first salt tank. I have had several people swear by Purigen. Pleading ignorance of what is best, I have placed a bag of it in a HOB Millennium filter (it is a small tank and I am using some addition filtration) in place of the carbon that was there. I was told repeatedly that this would be a good idea. What is your opinion of this practice? <I have never used the product, but I looked it up on the Seachem webpage. It had a very interesting ad. I would follow your friends recommendations. It sounds just fine.> Love your site! Thanks for you time and information, Andy Weaver <You are welcome. -Steven Pro>