chemicure or purigen or both

j86miu · 12/14/2011, 09:43 AM

For my 14g biocube (FOWLR) - I have plenty of live rock and sand for my biological filtration. I have filter floss (replaceable) and a sponge (reusable) for my mechanical filtration. I have purigen for my chemical filtration.

But everywhere I look, people are using chemipure also - should I use chemipure with my purigen or just one of them will suffice?

Urchinhead · 12/14/2011, 12:03 PM

You can do either. Chemipure is a active carbon and Chemipure Elite is active carbon with GFO added to take up phosphates. They will compliment each other if you use them both but if you were to only use one then use Chemipure Elite if that is the route you take.

zeeter · 12/14/2011, 12:25 PM

Purigen is synthetic. When it has absorbed all of the bad stuff it will leach it back out into the tank. Chemipure - to my knowledge - is not synthetic and therefore will not leach. Once it absorbs all it can it just won't work anymore.

My rule of thumb is that if it is white then it's synthetic so I don't use it (unless it's naturally white, of course).

As Urchinhead indicated, the elite is better. I'd pay a few extra dollars for it.

Also - make sure you rinse it in fresh water before using it in the tank. On a water volume as small as yours you probably want to rinse it in RO/DI.

Randy Holmes-Farley · 12/14/2011, 01:27 PM

is not synthetic and therefore will not leach.

Why do you think being synthetic relates to reversibility of absorption?

My rule of thumb is that if it is white then it's synthetic so I don't use it

Why? Just some gut instinct that natural stuff is better, even if it is dead rat hair?

Back to the original question, Purigen and activated carbon may bind slightly different organics, and so may be complimentary but both can work if the goal is binding some of the organic matter in tank water. IMO, I would not limit my choice to these two products. There are some excellent and possibly less expensive choices, such as ROX GAC.

12/14/2011, 09:43 AM	#1
j86miu Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Queens NY Posts: 114	chemicure or purigen or both For my 14g biocube (FOWLR) - I have plenty of live rock and sand for my biological filtration. I have filter floss (replaceable) and a sponge (reusable) for my mechanical filtration. I have purigen for my chemical filtration. But everywhere I look, people are using chemipure also - should I use chemipure with my purigen or just one of them will suffice?

12/14/2011, 01:27 PM	#4
Randy Holmes-Farley Reef Chemist Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Arlington, Massachusetts Posts: 86,233	is not synthetic and therefore will not leach. Why do you think being synthetic relates to reversibility of absorption? My rule of thumb is that if it is white then it's synthetic so I don't use it Why? Just some gut instinct that natural stuff is better, even if it is dead rat hair? Back to the original question, Purigen and activated carbon may bind slightly different organics, and so may be complimentary but both can work if the goal is binding some of the organic matter in tank water. IMO, I would not limit my choice to these two products. There are some excellent and possibly less expensive choices, such as ROX GAC. __________________ Randy Holmes-Farley Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
When to change purigen? How dark do you let purigen get?	samstersam	The Reef Chemistry Forum	6	08/30/2010 09:37 AM

12/14/2011, 12:03 PM	#2
Urchinhead Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: San Gabriel, California Posts: 681	You can do either. Chemipure is a active carbon and Chemipure Elite is active carbon with GFO added to take up phosphates. They will compliment each other if you use them both but if you were to only use one then use Chemipure Elite if that is the route you take.

12/14/2011, 12:25 PM	#3
zeeter Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 386	Purigen is synthetic. When it has absorbed all of the bad stuff it will leach it back out into the tank. Chemipure - to my knowledge - is not synthetic and therefore will not leach. Once it absorbs all it can it just won't work anymore. My rule of thumb is that if it is white then it's synthetic so I don't use it (unless it's naturally white, of course). As Urchinhead indicated, the elite is better. I'd pay a few extra dollars for it. Also - make sure you rinse it in fresh water before using it in the tank. On a water volume as small as yours you probably want to rinse it in RO/DI.