Seachem Purigen

Description

Purigen® is a premium synthetic adsorbent that is unlike any other filtration product. It is not a mixture of ion exchangers or adsorbents, but a unique macro-porous synthetic polymer that removes soluble and insoluble impurities from water at a rate and capacity that exceeds all other competing products by over 500%. Purigen® controls ammonia, nitrites and nitrates by removing nitrogenous organic waste that would otherwise release these harmful compounds. Purigen’s impact on trace elements is minimal. It significantly raises redox. It polishes water to unparalleled clarity. Purigen® darkens progressively as it exhausts, and is easily renewed by treating with bleach. Purigen® is designed for both marine and freshwater use.
Selectivity
Purigen® is the highest capacity organic filtration resin on the market. No other products can compare to its ability to clear haziness and polish water to unparalleled clarity. Unlike other products on the market which are simple ion-exchange resins, Purigen® is specifically designed to be an organic scavenging resin. When ion-exchange resins are filled to capacity by metals and other contaminants, Purigen® has barely begun to reach its potential. Purigen® generally ignores simple elemental compounds, having an extreme affinity for nitrogenous organics. The primary source of nitrogenous compounds in an aquarium is waste. Fish, corals, even plants produce nitrogenous waste. Purigen® removes that waste faster and more completely than anything else on the market.

Capacity
Purigen’s® possesses enhanced capacity owing to its vast surface area. All other resins on the market are purely spherical extruded beads. These beads remain smooth even under a microscope. Purigen® is both spherical and macroreticular. It has microscopic pores that increase its usable surface area to many times that of a purely spherical resin.

Regneration
Purigen® can also be regenerated. As it adsorbs waste products, Purigen® will change color from a pale blonde to a dark brown, almost black. Once it is exhausted, it can be regenerated with a solution of bleach and water. The bleach will literally “burn off” the organics that have been removed from the tank. Watch out for products that claim to be regenerable with a brine solution. That is the regeneration procedure for ion-exchange purposes. A brine solution will not remove organics. While such resins have a limited capacity for organic adsorption, a brine regeneration process only replaces removed ionic compounds. It does not destroy large organic molecules that were removed, which is the primary function of organic adsorption resins.

Rinse before use. Use in a fine mesh (180 micron or less) filter bag such as Seachem’s The Bag™. For best results, Purigen® should be placed so as to maximize the flow of water through it. It may be used in a canister filter, media chamber, box filter, or any high flow area of a trickle filter. Each 250 mL treats up to 1,000 L (250 US gallons) for up to six months. Exhaustion is indicated by a pronounced discoloration of the beads to dark brown or black.
Regeneration

Soak in a 1:1 bleach:water solution for 24 hours in a non-metallic container in a well ventilated area and away from children. Use regular 8.25% hypochlorite household bleach (non-scented, no dyes, do not use a splash-less bleach). Rinse well, then soak for 8 hours with a solution containing 4 tablespoons of Prime®, or equivalent dechlorinator per cup of water. Rinse well. For freshwater use, soak for 4 hours with a solution containing 2 tablespoons of buffer per cup of water (Discus Buffer®, Neutral Regulator®). Original color and full activity should now be restored and Purigen® is ready for reuse. Caution: some slime coat products may permanently foul Purigen® and render regeneration difficult. Do not reuse if odor of bleach/chlorine is detectable. In case of doubt, soak beads in small quantity of water and test for residual chlorine with a chlorine test kit.

Seachem Purigen for crystal-clear Singapore tanks

Purigen is the polish step many of our customers reach for when they want water that looks like glass. We bag it and tuck it into the canister flow after mechanical media, where it pulls dissolved organics out before they break down into ammonia and colour the water. In a planted or shrimp display photographed under bright LED, that gin-clear result really shows, and it pairs well with the tannin tint that driftwood and botanicals give SG blackwater setups.

The bead resin exhausts as it darkens from off-white to brown, and the genuine appeal here is that you can soak it in dilute bleach, rinse and dechlorinate it, then reuse the same bag many times. Keep it well away from any medication dosing, since it will strip those out too. Always re-rinse thoroughly with a Seachem-grade conditioner before it goes back in.

Explore the wider filter media range, and see how to use Purigen in an aquarium plus our notes on running it in a planted tank for dosing and regeneration steps.