# Seachem Matrix and Purigen in a canister



## spinsheet (Feb 7, 2016)

I have an Aquatop CF500 UV canister filter on a 75 gallon tank and was thinking about adding Seachem Matrix and Purigen to the trays. What are other's thoughts about using those two in a planted tank?

In the first tray I have a course, medium, then a fine filter pad topped with floss. I was planning on putting the Purigen in the second tray and then Matrix in the final two trays. Or maybe Matrix in tray three and then a medium filter pad in tray four just to trap any 'gunk' that may break loose from the Matrix. Perhaps I'm overthinking that and the filter pad in the top tray is just me being paranoid 

If I were to go that route would 500 ml of Purigen be sufficient for this? And if so, would just one of their 5 x 10 mesh bags hold it or should I get two? I would plan on just leaving the Matrix unbagged.


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## CrypticLifeStyle (Jan 16, 2013)

Is there a specific reason you want to use purigen or just using cause ?

As far as setup goes, personally i always did pillow stuffing on the bottom, and matrix on the upper 2 levels not in any type of bag as you don't want to restrict flow.


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## spinsheet (Feb 7, 2016)

I was considering the Purigen simply because my water just doesn't seem as clear as it could be. I wouldn't call it cloudy by any means but I just feel it could be better. My last tank was a 29 so this 75 is quite a bit larger. Not sure if the added depth is giving it a slightly cloudy appearance (as I'm looking through more water) or if there's more to it. I figured if it didn't hurt anything, and others have had good experience with it clearing their water, I would give it a try.


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## CrypticLifeStyle (Jan 16, 2013)

Well you should narrow down the reason behind the cloudiness of the water. The usual cause is usually only a few possibility's. 
Purigen isn't what i would consider a fine water filter, or polisher. Just a absorber of "impurity's". 
There's good, and bad impurity's. Your cause could be something else. 
Narrow that down first by giving information about the tank etc etc, pictures are always a faster way of describing


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## patfat (Oct 23, 2015)

spinsheet said:


> I was considering the Purigen simply because my water just doesn't seem as clear as it could be. I wouldn't call it cloudy by any means but I just feel it could be better. My last tank was a 29 so this 75 is quite a bit larger. Not sure if the added depth is giving it a slightly cloudy appearance (as I'm looking through more water) or if there's more to it. I figured if it didn't hurt anything, and others have had good experience with it clearing their water, I would give it a try.


 
never going to hurt if your throw a bag of purigen in your filter and the water restriction is super super low so I wouldn't worry about that..trust me I got 2 bags in my AC70 with a sponge carbon bag "which ill be replace I was treating tank with med" and bio media then my two bags on top..and things are looking great in my tank!


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## melmel (Aug 23, 2013)

I always use purigen even in my reef tank, it's basically works like carbon but way more efficient due to its micropores I believe 
It's rated for a 100gal per bag
Use it in last or second to last chamber before return the cleaner you keep it the less often you change it....

Ps get 2 bags to switch out when recharging periodically 

Bump: Just noticed you were asking about the loose version, I'm referring to the pre bagged ...


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## spinsheet (Feb 7, 2016)

I bought the 500 ml of Purigen with two mesh bags and put about 150 ml in each bag and threw those on my top tray. I'll get some more bags and bag up the rest so I'll have some extra when it's time to regenerate. I also added 2 L of matrix in one of the lower trays.


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## spinsheet (Feb 7, 2016)

I must say, the day after adding the Purigen the tank water is clearer. I'm not talking 'fish floating in air' clear, but there is certainly a difference. Again, I'm also not saying that my water was what would be called cloudy, I just felt it could be a bit clearer. I'm happy with the product.

I added the Matrix also but I would have to guess that the Matrix would not have made any difference in one day as I'm sure it will take a while for that to get colonized.

After adding both the Matrix and the Purigen I checked the water parameters (the next day) and while both ammonia and nitrite were still at 0 the nitrate dropped from 10 to 5 ppm.


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## zerodameaon (Dec 2, 2014)

Seachem Matrix is great media, I use it in place of the media that comes with other filters as it is cheap enough and does the job quite well.


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