# Using purigen in a sponge filter



## Cokers (Aug 15, 2011)

So I've been having a nitrate problem, and I want use some purigen to get rid of it. What I'm planning to do is buying a small 20ml packet of purigen on Ebay and them pouting that into my sponge filter's tube and then plugging it with some filter floss.


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## fishwater (May 31, 2012)

Hmm, Nitrate problem= water change.


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## musician71604 (May 5, 2012)

I'm afraid the purigen would go right through the filter floss. It's incredibly small.


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## Cokers (Aug 15, 2011)

Trust me, I've done water changes and the next day it's right back up to 30ppm and the next day around 40ppm. It comes out the tap at 10-20ppm and my RCS haven't been doing too well.

Is there any kind of small bag I could put it in?


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## fishwater (May 31, 2012)

There are fine mesh bag that would probably work for that, or even possibly panty hose.


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## Cokers (Aug 15, 2011)

Look at all that unused space in there!


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## devilduck (May 9, 2012)

The 100ml packet of purigen comes with its own bag. You should be able to shove it into that space.


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## Cokers (Aug 15, 2011)

It's a 5.5 gallon btw, so I feel 100ml is a bit overkill.

Is there a filter media that actively absorbs or removes nitrates? I've read that purigen just removes the source of nitrate, but not the nitrates themselves.


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

Your tank probably has not finished it's cycle. Be patient, don't throw chemicals at your problems. Purigen doesn't remove nitrates anyways.


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## Bandit1200 (Dec 11, 2010)

Shoving anything in there will restrict your waterflow. If this is an air powered sponge filter it will likely stop your filter from working completely.


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## Lia (Aug 2, 2007)

I use either Chemi-pure, purigen or polyfilter pads on different tanks .

Either way I think for a sponge filter , A polyfilter pad might be what you are looking for . I have found that current does NOT have to go through it , in order for it to work but there has to be some water circulation in the immediate area and sponge will work.

You just cut the pad into small pieces and change when it turns dark brown .


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## pgaron (Oct 25, 2013)

Cokers said:


> So I've been having a nitrate problem.


Buy some elodia aka armchairs, it eats through nitrates and is an easy grow and it grows floating


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

I would guess the sponge filter IS the problem. Its probably not enough filtration for your bioload and you would be better off with a HOB filter, even if its a small one.


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## Terminalance (Oct 31, 2013)

Get rid of the sponge filter and use the Azoo nano HOB. It's the same thing as the Red Sea deco art nano filter (now discontinued). I use this on a 2.5 gallon and it works great, absolutely tiny and the water flow is adjustable. Besides you can buy yourself a purigen packet, cut it to size, then staple it shut. I believe most staples are stainless steel, so it wont harm your water.


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## Terminalance (Oct 31, 2013)

And did I mention CHEAP?? I got mine from Amazon for I think 15$ including shipping.


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## Cokers (Aug 15, 2011)

Bandit1200 said:


> Shoving anything in there will restrict your waterflow. If this is an air powered sponge filter it will likely stop your filter from working completely.


It's driven by a 50 gph powerhead.



pgaron said:


> Buy some elodia aka armchairs, it eats through nitrates and is an easy grow and it grows floating


I'm gonna assume you mean elodea aka anacharish, and yes, I do have that in there, as well at watersprite and frogbit.



chad320 said:


> I would guess the sponge filter IS the problem. Its probably not enough filtration for your bioload and you would be better off with a HOB filter, even if its a small one.


All I have in the tank are 5 pygmy cories, 8 RCS, and 1 bamboo shrimp.

I suspect the cause of my high nitrates is from the osmocote+ I have placed in the substrate, perhaps I placed too much or not deep enough and it is leaching some stuff into the water.


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## Cokers (Aug 15, 2011)

So after some more reading, it turns out that purigen only removes the organic source of ammonia and nitrogen. Would the Deep Blue Professional Nitrate pads absorb nitrates?


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## devilduck (May 9, 2012)

You can try nitri-zorb, but that just trades nitrates for sodium. I've also added too many o+ tablets and had a nitrate spike that lasted four months. You can wait it out, replace the substrate, or add a ton of plants, or increase water changes.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk 4


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Probably would. 

I would approach the problem this way:

Step 1: Remove nitrates from the tap water, or use a water that has none. This is a small tank, it will not blow the budget to buy RO or distilled water for it. Use tap water ONLY if it is proven that the plants are capable of handling the nitrate load. 

Step 2: Redo the tank, removing the substrate (and its overload of Osmocote). 

By removing two of the three sources of NO3 you are left with the protein in the food as the main source, and every fish/shrimp keeper deals with that. A good assortment of plants ought to be able to cope with that much nitrogen. 

Comment to two of the people who posted on page one:
Excess NO3 is not a lack of or incomplete nitrogen cycle. 
If there is no other source of NO3, then high NO3 is a sign that the cycle IS complete. 
Seeing ammonia or nitrite (NO2) are signs that the nitrogen cycle is not complete. 

In this specific case the OP said the tap water tested positive for NO3, and later posted about Osmocote in the substrate.


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

Diana said:


> Probably would.
> 
> I would approach the problem this way:
> 
> ...


OP indicated quickly rising no3 levels, his tank is little over one month old. He had said nothing about the o+ before my post. O+ or not, I stand by my original estimation that his cycle is incomplete.


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## Cokers (Aug 15, 2011)

My tank has been running since September and I have placed 3 O+ tabs in my tank. What I will probably do is to take a cup and scoop up the substrate where I have placed the tabs and try to remove the O+ pellets by hand. I will also continue to monitor my nitrates to see how fast it rises over the following days. After today's 40% water change, it is a 10-20ppm.


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