Purigen placement in sump?

[Crazyfish88]

Where would be the best place to place purigen in a sump? My sump design is 3 chambers. 1st chamber where water drains into filtersocks, middle chamber is full of bio balls from bottom to top, 3rd chamber is the return. 1st chamber and 3rd chamber would have room for the bags of purigen.

[tony1928]

Probably somewhere which has good flow but also after the mechanical filtration. Sounds like first would be fine but third probably okay too.

[Crazyfish88]

Probably somewhere which has good flow but also after the mechanical filtration. Sounds like first would be fine but third probably okay too.

My 1st chamber still gets gunk in it even with the filter socks. I have foam media in between the 1st and 2nd bubble trap/baffles. My 3rd/return chamber has high flow going through it. Would purigen still work ok with high flowrates?

[2wheelsx2]

High flow is fine as long as the flow is going through it and not around it. This is the main reason some people have started using Purigen in media reactors. The bagged Purigen is effective in canisters filters because the bypass path is quiet small, depending on the size of the canister. So how effective it is will depend on how much bypass is available to the water flow.

[discuspaul]

High flow is fine as long as the flow is going through it and not around it. This is the main reason some people have started using Purigen in media reactors. The bagged Purigen is effective in canisters filters because the bypass path is quiet small, depending on the size of the canister. So how effective it is will depend on how much bypass is available to the water flow.

Yes. Ideally, your Purigen container bag should be large enough to cover the entire area of the chamber, or as much of it as is possible. Third chamber would seem to the best one to trap all the fine particulate that makes it through the rest of the sump.

[Crazyfish88]

High flow is fine as long as the flow is going through it and not around it. This is the main reason some people have started using Purigen in media reactors. The bagged Purigen is effective in canisters filters because the bypass path is quiet small, depending on the size of the canister. So how effective it is will depend on how much bypass is available to the water flow.

Yes. Ideally, your Purigen container bag should be large enough to cover the entire area of the chamber, or as much of it as is possible. Third chamber would seem to the best one to trap all the fine particulate that makes it through the rest of the sump.

Thanks for the info guys. Very helpful. My media bag doesn't cover the whole 3rd chamber. I'm using the Seachem bag filled with purigen and I placed it in between the last air bubble trap/baffle for more even flow through it. I don't know if this is the right way but giving it a try.

[tony1928]

My Purigen is in an FX5 so the flowrates are probably pretty darn high. As the others have said, it will work as long as you give the water the chance to contact the purigen and not go around it. That would be the ideal scenario. If you have some bypass, it will probably still work just fine, just not ideal. If you can place the bag in some way that would force the water to go through it, that would be great.

My 1st chamber still gets gunk in it even with the filter socks. I have foam media in between the 1st and 2nd bubble trap/baffles. My 3rd/return chamber has high flow going through it. Would purigen still work ok with high flowrates?

[Crazyfish88]

My Purigen is in an FX5 so the flowrates are probably pretty darn high. As the others have said, it will work as long as you give the water the chance to contact the purigen and not go around it. That would be the ideal scenario. If you have some bypass, it will probably still work just fine, just not ideal. If you can place the bag in some way that would force the water to go through it, that would be great.

Thanks for the advice. I placed 2 x 500ml bags in my last bubble trap where water has to travel up and over towards the return chamber. It's been 4 days since I placed it in there and it seems to be working. The water was more clearer and my nitrate levels were reduced. The beads are also turning brown already.