Tinted Water from driftwood tannins- Results Seachem Purigen

4776 Views 9 Replies 5 Participants Last post by PlantedRich, Apr 4, 2017

Thehobbyhobbyist

Discussion Starter · Apr 3, 2017

Hello everyone,

I am newer to the hobby and the forums and just recently I posted a thread about my yellow/brown tinted water. As many of you probably know, and from the title of this post, this was caused by tannins in the water from the driftwood in my aquarium. I was assured that tannins do not impose a threat to my tank and that the issue is simply cosmetic. After my research I found this to be true, but ultimately the cosmetic problem was a problem for me as the tinted water did not fit my vision for my tank. I was directed to use Seachem's Purigen in my filter along with a small water change and that this should resolve the water color issue. Well after 48 hours my water is now just about crystal clear, my water parameters are healthy and stable, and my tank has never looked better. I have attached a before and after photo below as a reference. I will update this thread after a month, with the status of my tank (parameters, fish (loss or not), plant (overall health), and if the water remains clear. So far everything is all Aces.

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Mark Brown

· #2 · Apr 3, 2017

purigen saved my giant mopani too!!
can't sat enough good about that stuff

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KayakJimW

· #3 · Apr 3, 2017

How long did it take for the Purigen to clear up the water?

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PlantedRich

· #4 · Apr 3, 2017

I think I see an indication of less than 24 hours. But then it would seem to follow that the time would depend on how much color versus how much Purigen and how often the water gets run through the filter? Looks like a pretty good result when color is a problem.
Nice to see a report that includes most of the really important little details like letting us actually SEE the difference. Thanks for the info.
I've not used Purigen but it's always nice to have things like that in mind for occasions when I might want it.

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Thehobbyhobbyist

Discussion Starter · #5 · Apr 3, 2017

KayakJimW said:
How long did it take for the Purigen to clear up the water?

The "after" picture was taken 48 hours after, but I saw visible results as early as 24 hours after.

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Seattle_Aquarist

· #6 · Apr 3, 2017

Thehobbyhobbyist said:
I will update this thread after a month, with the status of my tank (parameters, fish (loss or not), plant (overall health), and if the water remains clear. So far everything is all Aces.

Hi Thehobbyhobbyist,

The Purigen will continue to work until it doesn't; once the resin has become saturated with organics it will cease working and you will notice the yellow coloration start to return. That is the indication to 'recharge' the Purigen. At first I had to regenerate my Purigen often but as the amount of tannins my Malaysian driftwood put our deceased over time the interval between recharges dropped substantially. To recharge just follow the directions on the Seachem website by removing the resin from your filter and soaking it in the bleach solution for 24 to 48 hours. Two things to be aware of, use cheap everyday bleach not 'double strength' or 'splash proof' that contain additives. and the second thing is when it comes to using a chlorine neutralizer to remove the residual chlorine after removing the Purigen from the bleach solution - use Seachem Prime or Seachem Safe - do not use amine based water conditioners which will fail to properly remove the chlorine residue and will ruin the Purigen requiring it to be replaced.

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Thehobbyhobbyist

Discussion Starter · #7 · Apr 3, 2017

Seattle_Aquarist said:
Hi Thehobbyhobbyist,

The Purigen will continue to work until it doesn't; once the resin has become saturated with organics it will cease working and you will notice the yellow coloration start to return. That is the indication to 'recharge' the Purigen. At first I had to regenerate my Purigen often but as the amount of tannins my Malaysian driftwood put our deceased over time the interval between recharges dropped substantially. To recharge just follow the directions on the Seachem website by removing the resin from your filter and soaking it in the bleach solution for 24 to 48 hours. Two things to be aware of, use cheap everyday bleach not 'double strength' or 'splash proof' that contain additives. and the second thing is when it comes to using a chlorine neutralizer to remove the residual chlorine after removing the Purigen from the bleach solution - use Seachem Prime or Seachem Safe - do not use amine based water conditioners which will fail to properly remove the chlorine residue and will ruin the Purigen requiring it to be replaced.

Thank you for this information, I was reading on the purigen instructions and I read about "recharging" and I was concerned about using bleach even as a solution. From your experience, how long would the 100ml package last in a 20 gallon tank? can I recharge Purigen indefinitely? I understand if you don't know, best guess is all I am looking for.

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PlantedRich

· #8 · Apr 3, 2017

Quote:
do not use amine based water conditioners

Could you give us folks who are less familiar with the chemical side, some info on this and how to tell one product from the preferred type? I often find I do not use Prime as I have a "house brand" which has always done what I wanted. I do have Prime and safe at various locations but have never really gotten past what would seem to be the same work but with differing amounts used.

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Seattle_Aquarist

· #9 · Apr 4, 2017

Hi PlantedRich,

I just Googled and there are several articles on the net about dechlorinators, and amine vs redox conditiioners. One thing I failed to add, if you are using Purigen in your filter you should not use an amine water conditioner, even for weekly water changes. This is per Seachem:

Basically, amine based Polymers cannot be used with Purigen if you plan on regenerating it. If you have no intention of regenerating, you can use any water conditioner. I would imagine that most other water conditioners do not contain amines, but since we cannot know this for sure, the safe bet is to use Prime. I would definitely recommend trying to contact the manufacturer of whatever water conditioner you plan on using to see if they can provide information on whether or not they use amines. If not, then it should be of no issue.

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PlantedRich

· #10 · Apr 4, 2017

Seattle_Aquarist said:
Hi PlantedRich,

I just Googled and there are several articles on the net about dechlorinators, and amine vs redox conditiioners. One thing I failed to add, if you are using Purigen in your filter you should not use an amine water conditioner, even for weekly water changes. This is per Seachem:

Thanks for the info, Roy. I'm still not sure at all what the one I now use but I guess it is not a real problem to continue using it as long as I don't use Purigen. Possible two things that will both go hand in hand or cancel when needed. The jug I currently use has zero info on the bottle for content.

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Tinted Water from driftwood tannins- Results Seachem Purigen

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