How To Use Purigen? (Steps + Hob, Internal, Sponge Filters Etc.)

Place Purigen in the aquarium filter to clean the tank water. Place it in an area where there’s a strong water current. The water in the filter should pass through the Purigen just before it returns to the tank. Purigen will dissolve in the water and eliminate the nitrogenous waste to make it safe.

Let’s talk about this in detail now.

Why Should You Use Purigen In Your Tank?

All types of chemical, biological, and mechanical filter media are available in the market.

So, you may wonder how Purigen compares with all of them and why it is highly recommended.

Well, Purigen is a specially formulated synthetic polymer.

It has excellent abilities to eliminate organic nitrogenous waste.

You can use this product to clean saltwater and freshwater aquariums.

Now, you may know that your aquatic pets and plants produce organic waste with high nitrogen content.

This organic waste disintegrates and releases harmful ammonia and nitrites into the water.

This causes the nitrogen level of the tank to increase over time.

It not only affects the water chemistry but also makes the tank smelly and cloudy.

The filter media in your tank filter will act on this waste and prevent it from polluting the water.

However, Purigen is more effective than most media because it acts quickly and efficiently.

It reduces the need for frequent water changes.

An additional benefit of Purigen is that it clears discolorations and polishes the water.

Purigen will also eliminate foul odors and keep the tank smelling fresh.

Additionally, Purigen does not destroy the micronutrients in the water. It acts only on nitrogenous waste.

So, the water quality is not adversely affected.

Your pets can still derive the trace elements they need from their surrounding water.

Now, all filter media become ineffective and useless over time. Purigen too turns brown or black when used for a long time.

However, Purigen has a unique ability to regenerate itself.

When Purigen changes color, you can use chlorine bleach to regenerate it and reuse it again.

Steps To Use Purigen In Your Tank

You should wait until the tank is fully cycled and the biological filter is working to use Purigen.

The filter media should have enough bacteria to handle the biological purification process.

Adding Purigen before the bacteria establish their colony will impede their growth and affect their organic activity.

Look at the size of your tank to decide how much Purigen you will need.

Here’s a handy table showing Purigen dosages for various water volumes.

When your tank is ready; and the filter is functioning properly, you can add Purigen into the tank filter.

Purigen works with almost all types of aquarium filters — internal filters, hob filters, sponge filters, and canister filters.

Although you can place Purigen anywhere inside the filter, it is ideal if the water passes through it at the end of the filtration process.

If your filter has a large outlet towards the tank, you may have to use mesh bags to hold the Purigen in place.

A higher flow will increase its effectiveness.

So, place it at the last point through which the water passes through the filter before it returns to the tank.

Now, let us look at how to use Purigen in different types of filters.

How To Use Purigen In A Hob Filter?

When placing Purigen inside a hob filter, ensure that it is the last layer that the water passes through before it reaches the tank. You can place it after the filter pads to ensure this.

If your hob filter contains carbon, you can replace it with Purigen or use both together.

Fiddle around with the arrangement inside the filter to make space for Purigen, and it will enhance the efficiency of the existing filtration system.

How To Use Purigen In Internal Filters?

The main concern with internal filters is their small size. Nonetheless, you can still use Purigen in them.

Squish it into the inside compartment with the rest of the filter media.

Most of the time, you should be able to sandwich it between the sponge layer, and it will work fine.

You can also place it in a mesh bag and add it to the filter.

How To Use Purigen With A Sponge Filter?

When using Purigen with a sponge filter, Purigen will most likely go right through the filter floss because of its small size.

To prevent it from flowing out into the water, you can place the Purigen in a small mesh bag and then put the bag inside the filter.

With this option, the Purigen will stay in one place.

How To Use Purigen In A Canister Filter?

The ideal spot to put Purigen is where it has maximum contact with water and where the flow is highest.

Nevertheless, if your filter design does not allow this, just make sure you add it to a place where it comes into touch with the water before it returns to the tank.

You can arrange the different levels of filter media in a canister filter in various ways.

However, it makes sense to place the different filter media so that the mechanical gunk is removed first.

By doing this, you can prevent unnecessary clogging of the subsequent stages of biological filtration and chemical filtration.

So, it makes sense to place Purigen at the final stage of the filter.

It will remove any remaining nitrogenous waste after the mechanical and chemical filters.

How Long To Use Purigen?

Purigen begins working on the waste in your tank as soon as it enters your filtration system.

The amount needed will depend on the size of your filter and the capacity of your tank.

A clean tank with few fish and plants will be able to use Purigen for much longer than a fully stocked tank.

So, the same quantity of Purigen may last for just a month in a heavily stocked tank while it may hold up for more than three months in a tank with fewer inhabitants.

But how do you know when it is time to replace Purigen? Look at its color.

As Purigen continues to work on the organic waste, it will change color to brown.

When the entire stock becomes brown, it is time to remove it from the filter. It will no longer have any filtration ability.

You can now restore the Purigen to its original form by regenerating it and then return it to the filter.

How To Recharge Purigen?

When Purigen turns brown, it is no longer useful. You should now regenerate it for reuse.

Given below are the steps to recharge Purigen:

1. First, remove Purigen from the filter and soak it in a 1:1 bleach-water solution in a non-metallic container for an entire day. Then rinse with clean water.
2. Next, prepare a solution of 2 tablespoons of de-chlorinator like Chlorguard or Prime in one cup of water.
3. Soak the Purigen in this solution for eight hours. Purigen will regain its original color and quality.
4. You can now rinse it in clear water and return it to your filter.