# Purigen



## Chappy (Apr 21, 2010)

I know you CAN regenerate Purigen using bleach and water, but does anyone actually do that or do you just replace it?

I put two bags into bleach and water about an hour ago and it's AMAZING how the bleach burns off everything so that the Purigen is almost white again, but now I'm worried about how long to run the bags under running water to get all the bleach out.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Don't worry about it Shelley. I do it all the time. I have 2 filters with them, and 3 "the Bag" from Seachem, so I always have one regenerating. I don't even follow the instructions because I found it too slow. I use 100% bleach (lots of people on other forums say it works better this way, and in my experience it does). Then I rinse thoroughly in water several times, shaking the bag around to get full exposure. After that I soak in a double dose of dechlorinator and then rinse 24 hours later. If I smell bleach, I treat with dechlorinator again, but that has only happened once in my experience, and it was because I didn't agitate the bag. I found it to last > 10 times for my use before having to throw it out.


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## punchbuggy (Apr 21, 2010)

yup for sure 100% bleach is great. i like doing it not in the bag since i find it easier to swirl the beads. there is a smell of urine after bleaching so i usually do it outside or in the washroom.


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## pacific (Apr 21, 2010)

I've been regenerating purigen on a couple of tanks for a couple years too, works well. I went with the loose bulk bottles, not "the bag". Although I find that problematic, since its hard to get a media bag fine enough to hold the tiny purigen particles inside. The bags I'm using aren't quite fine enough, so I lose a bit each time. 

The instructions also say that as a last step (after the bleach an dechlorinator) you're supposed to soak it in water with an acid buffer, so I've been doing that step too. I'm not sure why they say that step is necessary.

If other people are skipping that third step, or have any insight into whether it is necessary, it would be interesting to know. I guess a person should do a cost comparison between just tossing the purigen and buying new VS. the cost of the bleach, dechlorinator, and acid buffer.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

pacific said:


> The bags I'm using aren't quite fine enough, so I lose a bit each time.


That's why I use "the Bag" by Seachem. I buy 1 L jars of Purigen and "the Bag" separately and when the Purigen can no longer be regen'ed, I throw both out. So far, 1L has last me about 24 months (Just finished my first jar) for a 15 gallon and a 125 gallon.


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## Chappy (Apr 21, 2010)

Gary, are you using an acid buffer as a last step and if so, what?


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

An acid buffer after regeneration? Nope. Just the dechlorator and rinse and straight into the tank. One of the tanks (the 125) is injected with CO2 though, so has naturally lower pH.


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

From Seachem FAQ:

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

_Q: I recently just regenerated the Purigen product. In the end, I used your neutral buffering product for the final process rather than the Discus or acid bufferer like suggested. It was under my rational that the reason we use the buffer was that the regeneratory process basically renders the product as at one extreme end of the PH scale. We are basically just preventing it from affecting our overall PH by buffering it. Since I strive to keep my aquarium at a PH of 7.0 was this a correct action on my behalf ?

A: This was a correct assumption and I do not see a problem with your action. As a precaution, I would test it in a cup of water (preferably RO or DI). If putting the fully regenerated product in DI water results in the pH of the DI water rising above 8.0, I would reintroduce the resin to a solution of Neutral Regulator for a few hours._


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

I always threw it away just because I didn't want to risk screwing it up... I'll buy some dechlorinator next time... Purigen isn't cheap.

Good information guys\gals! I learned something very valuable $$$.


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## WCL (Apr 26, 2010)

Do you (or can you) use your water change water conditioner as the dechlorinator or do you buy Seachem's Prime specifically to use only as part of this process with the Purigen?
I use something other than Prime as the water conditioner but maybe Prime could kill two birds with one stone. Water conditioner and Purigen dechlorinator.
If a person was going to use some Purigen that is.
I know you may need to read that again.

I was told the white film on the surface of my water is organic waste or something. Will Purigen help to remove that film? it bothers me to see it all the time.

How often are people typically having to regenerate the Purigen in your filters?


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