# Purigen... Anyone know how to properly regenerate?



## ccbeauch (Jul 29, 2012)

So I bought some Purigen and within two days it needed to be Regenerated. I left it in the filter anyway for a few days more and now it is time to clean it up. I bought some bleach and some prime and some ph buffer. the two are seachem products. 

Says soak for 24 hours in bleach, then 8 in prime, then 4 more in buffer. Is that what anyone else does or is there a better way to do it?

Thanks


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## deeda (Jun 28, 2005)

I'd just follow the regeneration instructions from Seachem, as follows,

Regeneration: Soak in a 1:1 bleach:water solution for 24 hours in a non-metalic container in a well ventilated area and away from children. 
Rinse well, then soak for 8 hours with a solution containing 2 tablespoons of ChlorGuard™, Prime®, or equivalent dechlorinator per cup of water. 
Rinse well. 
Original color and full activity should now be restored and Purigen® is ready for reuse.


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## ccbeauch (Jul 29, 2012)

Do I need to soak it in the final step for freshwater use as it says to put it in ph regulator for 4 hours? that was where I wasn't sure to use prime or to do the other thing or both.


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## deeda (Jun 28, 2005)

According to the discussion forum on Seachem's website, they are no longer recommending using the pH regulator or buffer solution when recharging Purigen.

Here is a Link to the discussion.


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## In.a.Box (Dec 8, 2011)

No need to go full 24 hr bleach soak.
10hr is fine or till its white again.

I like to let it air dry save prime.
I keep 2 per canister this way when one is being soak I pop the other one in.
The cycle go on n on.


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Soak it in a 50/50 bleach-water solution for 24 hours, or as long as it takes to return the Purigen particles to their original white coloration. 
Then rinse with fresh water several times, and let it sit in fresh 'conditioned' water until you're ready to use it again - no need for the buffer or any other steps.


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## Java Moss (Jan 17, 2011)

The instructions provided or the suggestions above will work just fine. I keep it in my son's lo-tech 20L inside an Aquaclear 50 all the time. Plants do just fine, fish are happy, ZERO ALGAE and water is like glass. Have to regenerate maybe once every six months once all the beads get dark brown/black. 

Great stuff.


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## ccbeauch (Jul 29, 2012)

thanks for this. Mine stunk of bleech and that worried me so I tossed it. Figured 16$ wasn't worth the death of all my discus...


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

ccbeauch said:


> thanks for this. Mine stunk of bleech and that worried me so I tossed it. Figured 16$ wasn't worth the death of all my discus...


Sorry that it worked out that way for you. Don't know why or how.
I've kept discus for many years in planted tank environments, and have been using Purigen 24/7 in my discus tanks for several years straight.
Have re-charged Purigen up to 15 times with no ill effects, or no real loss of clarification & purification effectiveness.
Once the particles have returned to their normal white coloration after 24 hours in a 50/50 water/bleach solution, you simply have to rinse it well and let it sit in de-chlorinated tap water until you're ready to use it again - no problem. 
Please do try it again.


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## mitchfish9 (Apr 30, 2012)

I am also attempting to recharge purigen right now but I am so paranoid that I still smell bleach even though I have rinsed it for days. Are the seachem directions 100% safe?


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## CoffeeLove (Oct 31, 2012)

Me personally, I soak in bleach until i decide it's white enough then i rinse in hot water then i soak it in water mixed with 3 caps of prime for a couple hours then i rinse and put it back into my filter. 

---
I give my fish coffee


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

mitchfish9 said:


> I am also attempting to recharge purigen right now but I am so paranoid that I still smell bleach even though I have rinsed it for days. Are the seachem directions 100% safe?


It should be absolutely no problem, Mitch.
If you've rinsed it for days, and you still smell bleach - then you have a superbly sensitive sense of smell - however, there should be no problem whatsoever.
The Seachem directions are certainly reliable. Don't worry about it.


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## CoffeeLove (Oct 31, 2012)

discuspaul said:


> It should be absolutely no problem, Mitch.
> If you've rinsed it for days, and you still smell bleach - then you have a superbly sensitive sense of smell - however, there should be no problem whatsoever.
> The Seachem directions are certainly reliable. Don't worry about it.


Especially if you're using prime

---
I give my fish coffee


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

CoffeeLove said:


> Especially if you're using prime
> 
> ---
> I give my fish coffee


Exactly ! I Love it !


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## mitchfish9 (Apr 30, 2012)

Ok thanks discuspaul and coffeelove. I feel better now. I dont even know if bleach is what Im smelling lol


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## seuadr (Feb 20, 2013)

it does give off an odor until it is completely dry.. i got paranoid about mine and have soaked it in 3 capfuls of prime in a cup, then air dried it and re-soaked it, because it still smelled..

then i realized it was the prime i was smelling. :redface:


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## rusty1760 (Oct 4, 2011)

I soak in a glass 1 gal jar ( 1 - 1 mix ) and place an open airline into the bottom to keep the purogen suspended, takes an hour or two and its back to being white, I then rinse with fresh water 4 or 5 times and on the last two rinses add prime maybe 2 teaspoons. I then re rinse and put it straight back in the tank, so far the discus and cherry shrimp have had no problems.


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## steveo (May 25, 2012)

seuadr said:


> it does give off an odor until it is completely dry.. i got paranoid about mine and have soaked it in 3 capfuls of prime in a cup, then air dried it and re-soaked it, because it still smelled..
> 
> then i realized it was the prime i was smelling. :redface:


On the phone with Seachem technical support today. After regenerating the Purigen you are not supposed to ever let it dry out or it can crack. Using it then could leave a precipitate type dust in your tank. I'm believe this is what happened with my tank. Used Seachem Clarrity and hung a Marineland Hot Magnum with a micron filter on my tank and it cleared up. 

Discus Paul posted earlier that after regenerating it let it soak in de-chlorinated water until you are ready to use it again. It would be a good idea if Seachem noted the need to keep wet after regenerating on the product label.


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## ccbeauch (Jul 29, 2012)

Since all of you know so much about this product, is there anyway any of you know about this type of algae? I know one guy said H2O2 for the cure but that scares me with my discus being in there... any suggestions?

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=278482&highlight=


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

So to resurrect this back from a slight hiatus, how do you know when your Purigen needs to be recharged? Is it when it turns all brown?


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Yes, but don't leave it till it gets very dark brown/blackish. It will then have already begun to lose it's effectiveness to adsorb undesirable material if you do, it will take longer to fully re-generate properly, and I expect it would have a shorter useful lifespan overall. 
Re-charge after it gets light/medium brown. Depending on the size of tank and the water conditions & quality, that could be anywhere from approx. 3 to 6 weeks as an average.
I re-charge mine after 2-3 weeks.


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## tetra73 (Aug 2, 2011)

gus6464 said:


> So to resurrect this back from a slight hiatus, how do you know when your Purigen needs to be recharged? Is it when it turns all brown?



I generally give it a 2 months period. Like most of our planted tanks, the bio load is huge. You can do 3 months. After that, I don't even bother to regenerate anymore. I just use a new portion. A 250ml bottle can last me over 6 months with my 40g high tech tank. Why would I want to go through the hassles and the "dangers" to regenerate them...


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## isellcars (Mar 4, 2012)

ccbeauch said:


> So I bought some Purigen and within two days it needed to be Regenerated. I left it in the filter anyway for a few days more and now it is time to clean it up. I bought some bleach and some prime and some ph buffer. the two are seachem products.
> 
> Says soak for 24 hours in bleach, then 8 in prime, then 4 more in buffer. Is that what anyone else does or is there a better way to do it?
> 
> Thanks


There is no way it needed to be recharged after 2 days. It will start to turn brownish but that doesn't mean you need to recharge it or that it needs to be. It just means its working.


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## chan0482 (Sep 30, 2011)

Nice thread that answered many of my questions (just bought some purigen a week ago) thanks!

I have a couple more questions:

Is there an average amount of time to wait between recharges (other than its color, something like once a month rule for carbon?)

What is the life span of purigen? Does it ever reach a state where it is no longer rechargeable?


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

ime using purigen 24/7 over several years, to me color is still the best indicator of when to re-charge. Do it before it turns very dark brown, whether that takes 3 weeks or 4 weeks, or 6 weeks or more, in your particular tank.

As I mentioned earlier, I re-charge mine about every 3 weeks, and have re-charged many bags up to as many as 12 to 15 times before I get the sense that is has outlived its useful, effective life, then replacing with new. 
So a 250 ml jar can & does do me for 4-6 months, using the full jar of beads spread among 4 bags, 2 of which are in use in both of my AC filters, while the other 2 are being re-charged, and then allowed to sit in conditioned water awaiting their next usage.

The evidence of the efficacy of that routine, is that my tank water remains crystal clear all the time.


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