Reuse your Sachem purigen?

psycho

Member
Hi everyone.... My lfs told me today that you can bleach your seachem purigen filter media and reuse it today.... I did my weekly water change and did what he said ... But when I got out of the shower and looked at my tank all my fish were laying on there sides... :cry: I got some of my stored ro saltwater and tried to save them, by putting them in a bucket with the water but it was to late, ... That was the only thing I did different, and I made sure I washed the media very very good.... Has anyone else ever washed there seachem purigen media filter before??? Im trying configure out what happened. All my perimeters are fine I just checked them. Ph 8.2. Ammonia 0.0 nitrite 0.0 nitrate 0.0 .... :cry:
 

meowzer

Moderator
read this
It is from the seachem site.....I had bought this before, BUT decided not to try it
Soak in a 1:1 bleach:water solution for 24 hours in a non-metalic container in a well ventilated area and away from children. Rinse well, then soak for 8 hours with a solution containing 2 tablespoons of ChlorGuard™, Prime®, or equivalent dechlorinator per cup of water. Rinse well.
As long as you rinse the media well after the dechlorination step and there is no sign of residual chlorine/bleach, the Purigen should be ready for use
 

mproctor4

Member
WOW....sorry to hear that. I have been thinking of doing this, just hadn't gotten around to it yet. I think I will just forget about it and buy some new.
 

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
I constantly bleach and reuse mine -- I have 4 Purigen pillows. At any given time I have 2 pillows in the filter and 2 regenerating. Follow the bleaching instructions, and don't forget the step about soaking in a de-chlorinating solution! I have found that dechlorinators lose their kick after a while, so keep that in mind.
Usually I run them for a month and swap them out. I also let my "clean" pillows soak in fresh water for a week or so after the regeneration process. Finally, I've learned that the regeneration trick only works 2 or 3 times...after that I doubt you're getting as much adsorption from the pillows.
Oh, and.......HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY!!!
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Acrylic51...Sorry we missed it...Happy belated Birthday.
I posted on the other thread about what went wrong..... Psycho didn't follow directions and I also asked a few questions that went unanswered.
I know all the fish have died, but do you still have the inverts, CUC and such?
I'm not sure if the live rock is still alive after such an incident. Can anyone comment on those areas, does Psycho need to do some major clean up because of dead bristle worms and other critters in the sand and rock?
 

mrdc

Active Member
I reuse mine all the time but my method of renewing is probably overkill. I have several bags in the canister filters, several ready to be used and several soaking. I basically just stick a used bag of purigen into a cup fill with water and bleach. I let it sit for a few days and then take it out, run it under water and stick it back in a fresh cup of water and add some prime. I let that sit for a few days and finally I will take it out, rinse it and let dry and it will sit there until it is time to be used.
Kent has their version of purigen out now where you renew it via pickling lime or something like that. It was something someone told be but I forgot the name of the product so I have not been able to do any online research.
 
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