Matrix And Purigen Questions ?

I added a couple driftwood plant pieces a few days ago and got the yellow water because of it. I added purigen 2 days ago and did a water change. Water turned crystal clear over night. But then this morning water was yellow and cloudy again. So I did the water change and put new purigen in the bag and water is clear again. Also did a nitrate test and for the first time got a zero nitrate reading. Question was the purigen only supposed to last 2 days and how long does the driftwood take before it stops yellowing the water ?

I also want to add matrix . I have 2 bio ring bags in now. Would it be safe to remove one of them and replace with the matrix media ?

 

The purigen will last until the organic compounds exaust it.
Therefore you recharge it and replace as desired. I wouldn't be concerned about the nitrates being zero, it doesn't mean you lost your cycle.

The drift wood will leach tannin on the same principal.
Depends on size type of wood etc..

And yes that will work to replace your media.
Do you have a sponge filter in too ?

 

Purigen will turn a dark brow colour when it needs to be recharged. How much purigen did youb7se and how big is the tank. 2x100ml bags last for about 6 months in my 110g before I need to recharge it

 

I use a sponge then purigen bag then 2 bio bags. I was wondering if it will be ok to swap one bio bag for matrix. Wondering how long it takes for the matrix to start working.
I had a 100ml pre done bag I bought. I have a 10 gallon tank. So I Took half out of the bag the whole thing would not fit my ac20 hob filter. Water cleared in like a couple hours but only lasted for a couple days. The drift wood that I received is really making the water yellow.

 

You could take the driftwood out and boil it to get the tannins out.

I think your purigen is doing it’s job but getting full.

 

You could take the driftwood out and boil it to get the tannins out.

I think your purigen is doing it’s job but getting full.

The driftwood already has plants growing on them. When I purchased online the place said they had already been boiled. But apparently not. I figured maybe the purigen didnt last long because of the small amount that I could fit and the severe tannins in the water.

How can you tell what type of driftwood ?

Sorry one more. Will tannins stain a acrylic tank ?

 

Matrix is great you can use it. Ive also read that you can boil the driftwood before putting it in to stop / lessen the water discoloration. But that will remove all the tannins which actually are beneficial to some degree.. Your choice either way.

 

Take the bag of purigen out, shake it around so the resin beads get mixed around.

Rinse it off and put back in the filter.

That will ensure the water hits the surface of all the resin beads.

As smee82 said, it will turn brown when it needs to be recharged.

 

Take the bag of purigen out, shake it around so the resin beads get mixed around.

Rinse it off and put back in the filter.

That will ensure the water hits the surface of all the resin beads.

As smee82 said, it will turn brown when it needs to be recharged.

They sell a big jar of it so I think I will just put fresh purigen in rather than hassling with bleach and recharging it. When I put it in bag I don't pack it in there so that I am pretty sure it flows water through easy.

 

It's actually very easy.

Any problems I have read online with recharging generally involves user error.

Throw the bag in a 50/50 bleach - water solution and let sit for a day. Agitate it around every once in awhile. It will become all white again.

I then throughly rinse the container and bags of Purigen and let it soak again in freshwater with a large dose of Prime.

Agitate it again a few times.

Let sit for at least 8 hours.

Its brand new again!

I have recharged mine many times with zero problems. The smell of bleach is gone but Purigen will still have an organic or fishy smell to it. That is completely normal.

Seachem still has instructions about letting it soak in their Buffer, though many people have posted screenshots of seachem customer service (either in a chat session or email) stating the step with the soak in Buffer is no longer a required step.

I have never soaked it in Buffer.

If you still want to remove and replace it with fresh product, then that is also 100% acceptable.

Just mail me the bags and I will recharge it for myself! Ha

 

It's actually very easy.

Any problems I have read online with recharging generally involves user error.

Throw the bag in a 50/50 beach - water solution and let sit for a day. Agitate it around every once in awhile. It will become all white again.

I then throughly rinse the container and bags of Purigen and let it soak again in freshwater with a large dose of Prime.

Agitate it again a few times.

Let sit for at least 8 hours.

Its brand new again!

I have recharged mine many times with zero problems. The smell of bleach is gone but Purigen will still have an organic or fishy smell to it. That is completely normal.

Seachem still has instructions about letting it soak in their Buffer, though many people have posted screenshots of seachem customer service (either in a chat session or email) stating the step with the soak in Buffer is no longer a required step.

I have never soaked it in Buffer.

If you still want to remove and replace it with fresh product, then that is also 100% acceptable.

Just mail me the bags and I will recharge it for myself! Ha

Good info thanks. I just don't have a lot of time work usually 6 days a week so just replacing is much easier even though it might cost a few bucks. But I can't fit a lot in my filter anyways. Thought about getting another hob and just running purigen. Not a fan of the yellow water and coming home tonight I notice the color change after only 1 day.