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Q: When is Purigen®exhausted and how do I regenerate it?
A: Purigen will turn from its normal color to a deep brown when it is exhausted. Purigen can easily be regenerated by soaking it in a solution of hyperchlorite (generic) bleach overnight. The Purigen®will return to its original color. Then rinse well and dechlorinate using Prime®or Safe™to remove any chlorine. For freshwater, use a buffer to adjust the pH as needed due to bleach’s high pH.
Q: Will Purigen®reduce GH (general hardness; calcium/magnesium ion levels)? Is it meant to be a substitute for activated carbon or should it be used with carbon?
A: No, Purigen®will not impact calcium/magnesium hardness. It is superior to carbon in removing organics and not having negative impacts, but it is also compatible with carbon. The use of carbon with Purigen®will extend the useful life of Purigen.
Q: On some of the Purigen® documentation I have read it says that some slime coat products can contaminate Purigen® and render it toxic. Can you identify these products ?
A: Only certain slime coat products will cause Purigen® to become toxic; the products that do this are amine based. Prime® and Safe™ are not amine based and so will not cause this problem. If you're curious, what happens is that the amine compounds can strongly bind to the resin, then when they (the amines) come into contact with any chlorine they will form chloramines which are highly toxic. We offer a stress coat product, StressGuard™, which is not amine based and so can be used in conjunction with Purigen.™
Q: I recently just regenerated the Purigen product. In the end, I used your neutral buffering product for the final process rather than the Discus or acid bufferer like suggested. It was under my rational that the reason we use the buffer was that the regeneratory process basically renders the product as at one extreme end of the PH scale. We are basically just preventing it from affecting our overall PH by buffering it. Since I strive to keep my aquarium at a PH of 7.0 was this a correct action on my behalf ?
A: This was a correct assumption and I do not see a problem with your action. As a precaution, I would test it in a cup of water (preferably RO or DI). If putting the fully regenerated product in DI water results in the pH of the DI water rising above 8.0, I would reintroduce the resin to a solution of Neutral Regulator for a few hours.
Q: Does AP Stress Coat foul/ruin your Purigen product?
A: If they use an amine based polymer it will not foul the resin but will render it non-regenerable. What amine based polymers will do is bond not just to Purigen but to any organic scavenging resin as well as any ion exchange resin and when you attempt to regenerate the resin they will then bond with the chlorine to form chloramine which can be released into the aquarium. This is not just an issue with Purigen but with all resins being sold in the pet trade. The problem only occurs when one attempts to regenerate the resin, there is no problem unless you wish to regenerate the resin you are using. Seachem products do not contain amine based polymers and are safe to be used in conjunction with not only our resins but also with other companies resins.