# recharging purigen



## lasutaku (Jun 15, 2007)

Hi guys,

I tried recharging my purigen, did the 1:1 water and bleach for 24 hours.

I took a look at the purigen today, but it's not all white like it was initially, it's a salt and pepper (black and white). 

Is it supposed to be like that? Or is it supposed to get back to it's clean form before use?

I just made another batch of 1:1 bleach water and left it in there for now.

Thanks


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## MChambers (May 26, 2009)

*recharge*



lasutaku said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> I tried recharging my purigen, did the 1:1 water and bleach for 24 hours.
> 
> ...


 it should be back to its clean form. I find that sometimes I have to soak it in bleach twice.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I often go heavier on the bleach ratio (as much as 3:1) and sometimes need to bleach mine 2x, too.


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## paulrw (Apr 14, 2009)

slap on some rubber gloves and knead the bag while it's in the bleach. I've noticed if i just let the bag sit in the bleach it doesn't get to every grain thats were you get the salt and pepper look. if i knead the bag every 10 min or so i can get it down to about an hour before it's sparkling white!


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

I just bob it like a tea bag.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Make sure to dechlorinate it a couple of days really good and then dry it for a bit after wards, make certain there's no remaining Chlorine smell at all.

I killed some fish once not allowing this to take it's sweet old time and added a lotof Bleach, swirled, then rinsed real good, then dechlorinated good........then rinsed again, and thought I'd gotten it all.

Nope. Killed a lot of fish as a result but did save a few after removing it quick.


Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## kingfisherfleshy (Jun 4, 2010)

paulrw said:


> slap on some rubber gloves and knead the bag while it's in the bleach. I've noticed if i just let the bag sit in the bleach it doesn't get to every grain thats were you get the salt and pepper look. if i knead the bag every 10 min or so i can get it down to about an hour before it's sparkling white!


It does need some agitation while in the bleach water. You will notice afterwords a fine dust settles out on the bottom of whatever sort of container you are using to recharge it. 

Be careful that your dechlorinator doesnt have any slime coat stuff in it, I find that most of them do. 

Have any of you guys recharged, and then let the purigen dry out completely? It sort of shrivels up...I dont think that I can use it again now...but I did probably get a year and a half good use out of $9 of media so who is complaining.


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## lasutaku (Jun 15, 2007)

ahh, thanks guys. I have it going on its second run right now, so later today, I'll go ahead and knead it for a bit. I'll be using a prime soak after.

Thanks again~


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## stewardwildcat (Feb 24, 2010)

plantbrain said:


> Make sure to dechlorinate it a couple of days really good and then dry it for a bit after wards, make certain there's no remaining Chlorine smell at all.
> 
> Regards,
> Tom Barr


I second the dechlorination, you don't want to kill any fish. However, I have read on here a number of times that you do not want the purigen to dry out or it will be rendered ineffective. Is there truth to this? I do know it comes damp in the package.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I put my satchel of purigen in a glass and let sit in the 50/50 mixture for a few days. Then I take it out, rinse it off really good and repeat the process for another couple days. Then I take it out, rinse it like crazy with tap water and put it back in the glass with a full cap of Prime. I do this another time then put it in the tank and I have had no issues thus far.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I read a Seachem rep thread where they said that the Purigen grains will shrink and become brittle when dried. They risk breaking and coming out of the bag.

I take about a day on each step- a day in bleach (and I also shake the bags periodically to make sure all the beads are exposed to the bleach), a day in a mild Prime/RO water mix, and then I store the bags either in RO water-filled containers on my kitchen counter between use, or in ziploc bags in the refrigerator to keep them moist. 

I also own several more bags than I have filters, so I can always slap a fresh bag in each time I clean my filters, and I have plenty of time to regenerate the dirty bag.

My oldest bags are going on about 3 years old at this point, and seem to be working just as well as they did when I first got them, other than it typically does take 2 bleachings to get them clean.


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## nchmi28 (Feb 8, 2015)

I just used Purigen for the first time in a tank that, from the wood, had water the color of weak coffee. After a week with the Purigen the water is clear. I bleached the Purigen and while it was soaking ran to Pet Supplies Plus for dechlorinator I asked if they had any w\o the "slime coat" and long story short the employee, by insisting and assuring, talked me into walking out with Aqueon water conditioner. I used it, and now I'm thinking it was a mistake. Does anyone know the answer to this question: 


agentkhiem said:


> I also heard that slime coating will affect it. I wonder if that applies to adding slime coating to water changes also.


Since using the water conditioner I've rinsed the bag, several times, in filtered water, and it's soaking in it right now. I'm not planning on putting it back in the tank, unless the tannins are still leaching in large quantities. Does anyone have any advice about if this bag will still be safe and/or effective if I need it for future use?


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

To answer the above question, a number of water conditioners (de-chlorinators) also contain a slime coat enhancer that is amine-based which, when it bonds with the Purigen polymers, results in chlorine being re-formed into very toxic chloramines. Some conditioners may have the slime coat protective agents which are not amine-based, and are therefore ok. Use Seachem Prime as your conditioner for re-charging Purigen, and you'll be sure to have no problem.


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## nchmi28 (Feb 8, 2015)

discuspaul said:


> To answer the above question, a number of water conditioners (de-chlorinators) also contain a slime coat enhancer that is amine-based which, when it bonds with the Purigen polymers, results in chlorine being re-formed into very toxic chloramines. Some conditioners may have the slime coat protective agents which are not amine-based, and are therefore ok. Use Seachem Prime as your conditioner for re-charging Purigen, and you'll be sure to have no problem.


So should I bleach it again, and then use Seachem Prime? Or have I ruined it?


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

No need to re-bleach it. Just give it a good strong dose of Prime, which should remove any chloramines that may have formed.
(e.g. a capful of prime to approx. a gallon or less of rinse water).

Incidentally, does the Aqueon conditioner container have any ingredients listing to show whether or not the product is amine-based ?
(contains amines).


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## alcimedes (Dec 7, 2014)

Just don't make the mistake I did. I got what I thought was regular bleach that said something about "less splashing".

I thought they'd modified the pour spout or something. Nope. They added surfactants to it to lower the surface tension. That bag just about killed a tank full of fish, I pulled it within minutes after noticing weird bubbles starting to form on the water surface.


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## nchmi28 (Feb 8, 2015)

discuspaul said:


> Incidentally, does the Aqueon conditioner container have any ingredients listing to show whether or not the product is amine-based ?
> (contains amines).


The ingredients listed are: Sodium thiosulfate, disodium EDTA, sodium carbonate, polyvinylpyrollidones. My chemistry knowledge is quite limited, and mostly centered around to tank keeping, so I'm not sure what each of those ingredients do.


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

nchmi28 said:


> The ingredients listed are: Sodium thiosulfate, disodium EDTA, sodium carbonate, polyvinylpyrollidones. My chemistry knowledge is quite limited, and mostly centered around to tank keeping, so I'm not sure what each of those ingredients do.



Neither am I - LOL
So let's just use Prime all the time to be on the same side.
I've used nothing but Prime exclusively for at least 5 years now.


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