NitrAte Spike after Purigen....Weird

[jonboyb]

My parameters have been very steady since setup:

Ammonia - 0
NitrIte - 0
Nitrate - 5 +/-
PO - 0

My last readings were just a few days ago when I did a 20% PWC and added a 100ml bag of Purigen to test it's claim of "polishes water to unparalled clarity" ...LOL. Took a reading today and showed nitrAtes of 15. Doing another PWC right now (tested at 0 NitrAtes, I use RO/DI) but this just doesn't make sense. My feeding schedules have been the same for months. Is there any possible way in this universe that adding Purigen (which claims to control ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates) could have produced this spike?

 

[blind1993]

could it be your water?

 

[jamescook]

doubtful. It works like charcoal
I just recharged mine and replaced them, so i'll take another reading tomorrow and see if my trates rise

 

[jonboyb]

I have an API and Tetra test, both confirmed raised nitrAtes. I have an in-house RO/DI filter that tests 0 for fresh and my mix tests 0 as well. I've confirmed all critters are still alive and kickin Finished my PWC and levels are down, going to do another tomorrow. I don't even like 5ppm, but I've never gotten it any lower than that. With this small tank and no real sump, there's not a great skimmer I can use so 5ppm is probably as low as it'll get.

The only thing I can think of is I got a GBTA from MvM a couple weeks ago and I've been feeding it every couple days to get it back to health. It's eaten everything I've given it, but I guess it's been expelling whatever it didn't want when I wasn't watching. I have a heafty CUC, but feeding the BTA about has to be the culprit. The BTA looks great now and I've stopped feedings so hopefully everything will stabilize now. I only have 2 small damsels so bioload shouldn't be the issue.

 

[dannybradley]

Purigen is a porous plastic ball. It works like better than carbon because it is specifically macroporous and because of that has no impact on trace elements, which are captured in micropores found on carbon along with macropores.

Organic molecules are larger than trace elements, which is why they get stuck in purigen. Bleach is an oxidizer, and burns up all the organics in purigen, this making it able to capture again.

Purigen is inert, and in no way would leach anything if left unaltered. It would take a very strong acid or extreme heat to cause a reaction with purigen.

 

[jonboyb]

For everyone that's using Purigen, just how good is it at reducing NO2, NO3, NH3/4 and "polishing the water"? It's seemed like a cheap upgrade for me and I had an empty chamber in the overflow for it.

 

[dannybradley]

It won't make a dent in a high NO3 level. It will probably only drop it less than 1ppm, depending on the amount used. It's purpose is to clarify water, not reduce total nitrogen. If you want crystal clear water, purigen is a great alternative to carbon.

 

[jonboyb]

That's the reason I threw it in. Wanted to see just how sparking I could get my water, but feared carbon depleting trace.

 

[stickx911]

I went from averaging around 30ppm to 10-15 after adding purigen. I know it's still not great, but without a skimmer, thats not too bad either IMO

 

[dannybradley]

stickx911;256287 wrote: I went from averaging around 30ppm to 10-15 after adding purigen. I know it's still not great, but without a skimmer, thats not too bad either IMO

When did you see the actual drop in NO3? And what water volume are we talking about? 30ppm/100 gallons is a 10 times higher amount of NO3 than 30ppm/10gallons.

I would think that if purigen captured from the water what was causing 15-20ppm of NO3, it would still be in the system until removed for bleaching.

 

[stickx911]

DannyBradley;256327 wrote: When did you see the actual drop in NO3? And what water volume are we talking about? 30ppm/100 gallons is a 10 times higher amount of NO3 than 30ppm/10gallons.

I would think that if purigen captured from the water what was causing 15-20ppm of NO3, it would still be in the system until removed for bleaching.

After about a week in the system. 55g tank