Purigen Reactor for sump

[Ryan925]

I am not convinced. I have 100g bags of purigen in two lowly canister filters and my water is crystal clear in an hour after a waterchange. With a 125 gallon tank @ 35gph, it would take almost 4 hours just to flow the entire volume of the tank through once. If you are changing 50-80% a day I just don't see how the reactor can compete. I think following the KISS principle makes the most sense on this one, but different strokes for different folks!

When I first started my tank I had a lot of tannin staining of water. Wcs were no help. Put one bag of purigen in my canister and water was crystal clear over night

[Neptune]

I am not convinced. I have 100g bags of purigen in two lowly canister filters and my water is crystal clear in an hour after a waterchange. With a 125 gallon tank @ 35gph, it would take almost 4 hours just to flow the entire volume of the tank through once. If you are changing 50-80% a day I just don't see how the reactor can compete. I think following the KISS principle makes the most sense on this one, but different strokes for different folks!

I have/do run bags in another aquarium and I have run bags in my external overflow box on my discus tank.
The bags themselves clog up with detritus and affect the flow in a week or two's time. No detritus buildup in the reactor. And so far the 1/2 liter of Purigen in the reactor takes more time to turn dark versus the 100ml in the bag.
So I would have to open the canister every other week to regen the bag.

Maybe its the lower flow rate, or maybe it's the much larger quantity but the Purigen in the reactor takes longer to darken.
This is just me, but its much easier to dump the reactor contents into a bucket and regen every month VS. pulling bags out of the canister on a much more frequent basis.
I in no means want to argue I'm just saying for me KISS involves a reactor.

[Clawhammer]

I have/do run bags in another aquarium and I have run bags in my external overflow box on my discus tank.
The bags themselves clog up with detritus and affect the flow in a week or two's time. No detritus buildup in the reactor. And so far the 1/2 liter of Purigen in the reactor takes more time to turn dark versus the 100ml in the bag.
So I would have to open the canister every other week to regen the bag.

Maybe its the lower flow rate, or maybe it's the much larger quantity but the Purigen in the reactor takes longer to darken.
This is just me, but its much easier to dump the reactor contents into a bucket and regen every month VS. pulling bags out of the canister on a much more frequent basis.
I in no means want to argue I'm just saying for me KISS involves a reactor.

Not an argument, just a little debate! I am kind of playing devil's advocate....

1.) I maintenance my filters weekly so no extra work in opening up the filters. I rinse my bags to remove any buildup as part of the weekly maintenance.
2.) If the same amount of purigen gets darker quicker, doesn't that indicate that its been more effective? (ie pulled out more doc's)

[Neptune]

Not an argument, just a little debate! I am kind of playing devil's advocate....

1.) I maintenance my filters weekly so no extra work in opening up the filters. I rinse my bags to remove any buildup as part of the weekly maintenance.
2.) If the same amount of purigen gets darker quicker, doesn't that indicate that its been more effective? (ie pulled out more doc's)

Well that's what I'm trying to figure out but..now granted totally a math exercise but..

100 parts of Nitrate per 100ml is 1 part N per 1 mL
100 parts of Nitrate per 500mL is .2 parts per 1 mL

I have no idea if Purigen really does that or if it really works like that. But it warms my heart to see those little beads tumbling and making me believe they are doing magic! LOL..

[pitdogg2]

Purigen does nothing to/for nitrate so the math stops there

now granted if the math involves the precursors then OK

[adrian31@outlook.com]

Thanks for all the posts guys, learning a lot here.

Handling the precursors seems good to me. My purigen bags in the FX6 turn medium brown in ~4 weeks. Have about 30lbs of driftwood in tank but water stays clear.

If there's another better filter media, or others that work in conjunction with Purigen, please let me know. Otherwise I think I'll use this miracle media to the fullest. However I did try out Seachem Pristine, dosed my tank twice, three weeks apart. Not sure if it had any affect since there's no visible waste/excess food left after my tank cleanings.

[Neptune]

Purigen does nothing to/for nitrate so the math stops there

now granted if the math involves the precursors then OK

I was just picking something for the math exercise! LOL..Substitute poop/organics for the Nitrate! LOL..
It was more of a volume to X exercise.

The point I'm trying to make is that if you evenly distribute the organic load throughout a volume of Purigen the adsorption will be evenly distributed through the Purigen bed.
If the bed is larger there is more distribution and the color changes slower.

I believe a reactor can do a much better job of even distribution of water through the bed than a bag can.
That combined with a larger quantity means less maintenance.
That's all....I certainly could be wrong but seems logical to me.

[pitdogg2]

I'm in agreement with the logic. Mr. Neptune

[Clawhammer]

When I pack up Purigen into a bag, I ensure that it is packed loosely and when I place it in my canister, I ensure that there is room for it to tumble/shift around. Wouldn't Purigen packed loosely in a bag behave similarly to a reactor (given the the flow is equal)?

[Neptune]

When I pack up Purigen into a bag, I ensure that it is packed loosely and when I place it in my canister, I ensure that there is room for it to tumble/shift around. Wouldn't Purigen packed loosely in a bag behave similarly to a reactor (given the the flow is equal)?

Theoretically--and I mean theoretically--- it can't. Any bead resting on the bag, touching another bead etc., is lost adsorption surface area. More beads are suspended and totally surrounded by water for more adsorption surface area in a reactor.
Theoretically!!

Can you tell I'm bored at work!!!

[gators111]

Sorry about the delay. Anyways, my MR20 is very easily cross threaded when putting the top back on. So I can see why a lot of people would have leaks. The cylinder doesn't flex at all, but overall the plastic is on the cheap side.