Aquarium - Purigen help

[Marco]

I've been using purigen for about 2 years. It's a wonderful product and keep my freshwater tank crystal clear, no haze what so ever. When there is a haze thats when I know I have to change the bag. I would recommend using purigen with caution. I read somewhere that using a slime coat additive with purigen might potentially be very bad for the fish.

I have two, one in the tank and one going through a regeneration process while the other is being used.

Well unfortunately, I lost the instructions and I can't find it online (Even on the seachem website). I'm past the bleaching (50/50 bleach/water) and Dechlornating (1 tbsp dechloronator per cup water) stages.

Now I have to soak the bag in a neutral buffer solution. I have the powder form of neutral regulator by seachem. I'm just not sure what the mix is supposed to be. I think it's 1 tbsp buffer per cup water.

If anyone can confirm that would be great. I know i can always email seachem but I wanted to ask here first.

Thanks

 

[Ernie]

If you're relying on Purigen to keep your tank clear, you might need to reconsider your routine maintenance regimen, filtration system, or stocking density. Not being mean, just sayin'.

Please elaborate on the "haze".

If it's water cloudiness, usually that means the nitrifying bacteria are blooming to keep up with demand. Maybe a huge water change knocked them out or an overfeeding event occurred?

I do 20-30% weekly water changes on our tanks using a gravel cleaning siphon and almost never use any chemical filtration (carbon, zeolite, Purigen, etc), just mechanical and biological. I like power filters with foam blocks (AquaClear) or bags (Whisper, Penguin/Emperor)(again, I don't usually use carbon) along with reverse flow undergravel using a powerhead and prefilter. A canister filter feeding its output into a u/g filter (for reverse flow) works well too.

Live plants will help keep down your nitrates as will water changes (nitrosomonas and nitrobacter in your biological filter should knock out all of your ammonia and nitrite). I love java moss and java fern because they grow well and don't require lots of light like most other aquatic plants.

Sorry don't have the Purigen instructions and haven't heard of it "reacting" with slime coat enhancers. Curious about this now if you find more info.

 

[Marco]

Ernie,

I appreciate the input. No meanness at all.

The cloudyness occurs predominantly in the morning. I have a feeling the pleco wafers I leave overnight for the catfish is the culprit. During the day the water is clear. I have two plants in my tank an anubius nana and another plant. Unfortunately, my tank is a bit over stocked. I will not be able to do an upgrade for another year or so. so I have to make due for the time being. I have a 40 gallon tank running with an aquaclear 70. I choose a larger filter because of the catfish with both biological and mechanical filters. I do a water change almost every week.

Following is a link about the slime coat.

http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Purigen.html

Please refer to the third question