Chemi-pure E, Purigen, and a diy rack. Opinions wanted!

[DaltoniousMax]

So this is for a 24 gal nano. I just finished a diy filter media rack based off of the InTank racks I have seen online. In retrospect, unless you have the fancy equipment for cutting/finishing acrylic then the ~$50 I once scoffed at now seems like a steal. The InTank products are beautiful, and although mine is functional it does not compare. Good thing it's not going to be seen by anyone but me:/
Anyway...
Currently cycling. This round of tank setup, I am determined to have:
1- patience
2- more patience
3- a community of more experienced reefers of whom I can ask advice. (Insert reef2reef)

So, my questions are:
- Does the placement of the Chemi-pure Elite (CPE) and the Purigen matter (relative to each other)?
This question seems foolish to me, because although widely implemented the two together seem like redundant filters. The CPE seems to do everything (+) compared to the Purigen. I like to err on the side of safety, and have ordered both and I'm curious how they relate to each other.

- would the placement of one over the other prolong the effectiveness the latter? Purigen is rechargeable, If it can make my CPE last longer that would be awesome.

My guess is that the result is ultimately negligible, in which case I am curious how everyone with successful tanks running similar filter racks are set up. Filter floss/CPE/Purigen? Filter floss/Purigen/CPE?

-Finally (and probably most important) I am a the latter end of my cycle (~4 weeks- abundant diatoms). I am about to start adding a few snails (no crabs... yet). Should these filter solutions be implemented before my CUC is introduced? I imagine I should make everything as close to how I plan to run my normal setup, but I don't want to short-change my CUC from getting a good foothold with the diatom-buffet currently available. So...

Opinions wanted! Thank you!

 

[ChronicRage]

Following along. I recently put CPE and Purigen in my setup so I'm curious as well. This stuff didn't exist when i used to have a reef tank 10+ years ago. lol
I have filter floss, then chemi-pure, and purigen on the bottom rack. I was told to put it in that order but wasn't told why. lol

 

[wkscott]

Floss always first to remove large particulate matter. CPE second , primarily to bind/remove phosphate, third Purigen to polish the water.

 

[DipSpit]

Personally I do not like CPE - it is basically made up of a removal polymer, bad charcoal, and some GFO. All of those things are better to be used alone as they have different expiration times and capacities. On the flip side - I do know people that use it and have great tanks, but I am sure that it would be cheaper and better optimized to prioritize.

One of the biggest things I see, and a lesson I have learned the hard way, is using filter media just because it is available, not because I need it.

Do you NEED those filter medias? do you NEED the GFO in the CPE to deal with phosphates? Do you have a phosphate issue? What are these doing that a regular water change schedule cannot accomplish?

Personally I use 90% simple bio media (matrix and marinepure) and sometimes if I am feeding heavy I will use carbon for a few days to keep water clear and some Purigen as a safeguard. Then afterwards I remove them.

Just my .02

 

[ChronicRage]

Doesn't my live rock do the same thing as Matrix does?

 

[DipSpit]

Doesn't my live rock do the same thing as Matrix does?

Yep!

I don't think you can ever "overuse" bio media. I usually at least double the recommended amount of bio media, but not in live rock as I appreciate a clean display tank without the classic "wall of rock" look. I I use less than average rock in the display but more than make up for it in the sump via marinepure, matrix, etc.

 

[ChronicRage]

That's a good substitute though tp help even things out, so to sneak. I didn't think of it that way. I'll have to keep Matrix in the back of my mind for my next build

 

[DipSpit]

That's a good substitute though tp help even things out, so to sneak. I didn't think of it that way. I'll have to keep Matrix in the back of my mind for my next build

I know how great Marines are at logic and critical thinking - but to me there is no downside. The media is always there to be populated even if there is not enough to sustain bacteria that would colonize the media. I believe the nitrifying bacteria will reproduce in direct proportions to the amount of ammonia being produced - why not give them some wiggle room? Oorah?

 

[ChronicRage]

The hardest part of my day is figuring out which color crayon to eat first. So yeah, not big on critically thinking.

 

[ChronicRage]

Semper Kill

 

[wkscott]

Many of you here may be missing the OP's questions in this thread . He has an AIO nano cube without a sump. This is why he is asking about CHEMICAL filtrstion, NOT biological filtration.

 

[USMC4Life]

So this is for a 24 gal nano. I just finished a diy filter media rack based off of the InTank racks I have seen online. In retrospect, unless you have the fancy equipment for cutting/finishing acrylic then the ~$50 I once scoffed at now seems like a steal. The InTank products are beautiful, and although mine is functional it does not compare. Good thing it's not going to be seen by anyone but me:/
Anyway...
Currently cycling. This round of tank setup, I am determined to have:
1- patience
2- more patience
3- a community of more experienced reefers of whom I can ask advice. (Insert reef2reef)

So, my questions are:
- Does the placement of the Chemi-pure Elite (CPE) and the Purigen matter (relative to each other)?
This question seems foolish to me, because although widely implemented the two together seem like redundant filters. The CPE seems to do everything (+) compared to the Purigen. I like to err on the side of safety, and have ordered both and I'm curious how they relate to each other.

- would the placement of one over the other prolong the effectiveness the latter? Purigen is rechargeable, If it can make my CPE last longer that would be awesome.

My guess is that the result is ultimately negligible, in which case I am curious how everyone with successful tanks running similar filter racks are set up. Filter floss/CPE/Purigen? Filter floss/Purigen/CPE?

-Finally (and probably most important) I am a the latter end of my cycle (~4 weeks- abundant diatoms). I am about to start adding a few snails (no crabs... yet). Should these filter solutions be implemented before my CUC is introduced? I imagine I should make everything as close to how I plan to run my normal setup, but I don't want to short-change my CUC from getting a good foothold with the diatom-buffet currently available. So...

Opinions wanted! Thank you!

I use all of it. I have it in a sump and in reactor. It works better when you have it all together because (and this is only my opinion) the load is spread and each item can be removed when needed so there is no big change chemistry of the tank.

 

[DipSpit]

Many of you here may be missing the OP's questions in this thread . He has an AIO nano cube without a sump. This is why he is asking about CHEMICAL filtrstion, NOT biological filtration.

I don't see anywhere that it is an AIO? Even if it was clarified it doesn't mean he's not using an over the side reactor. I was simply questioning the need for chemicals in the first place. If he doesn't need them , why use them?

 

[DaltoniousMax]

Thanks for the responses! I appreciate the discussion even if it's not answering my question directly. Great stuff to know/consider
Just to add some info, it is an AIO, th jbj nano cube. No HOB equipment yet, no sump, I'm trying to bring my setup "up to date" and then add that stuff. I think better options for how to use the back chambers have developed since jbj designed this tank 10 years ago. I just got the tank setup for saltwater and ditched most of the original filter media. Like ChronicRage said earlier, a lot of products available now didn't exist my last go-around!

 

[wkscott]

I don't see anywhere that it is an AIO? Even if it was clarified it doesn't mean he's not using an over the side reactor. I was simply questioning the need for chemicals in the first place. If he doesn't need them , why use them?

Not sure of your tank size but he has a 24g nano. When he speaks of the InTank product, he means the media baskets specifically designed for AIO nano cubes.If he has reactors this wouldn't even be an issue. AIO nano tanks made by both Coralife and JBJ use the same basic type of media basket and recommend chemical filtration for these small tanks. Almost every nano tank forum recommends that these media baskets should contain Chemipure Elite and Purigen.

 

[wkscott]

So this is for a 24 gal nano. I just finished a diy filter media rack based off of the InTank racks I have seen online. In retrospect, unless you have the fancy equipment for cutting/finishing acrylic then the ~$50 I once scoffed at now seems like a steal. The InTank products are beautiful, and although mine is functional it does not compare. Good thing it's not going to be seen by anyone but me:/
Anyway...
Currently cycling. This round of tank setup, I am determined to have:
1- patience
2- more patience
3- a community of more experienced reefers of whom I can ask advice. (Insert reef2reef)

So, my questions are:
- Does the placement of the Chemi-pure Elite (CPE) and the Purigen matter (relative to each other)?
This question seems foolish to me, because although widely implemented the two together seem like redundant filters. The CPE seems to do everything (+) compared to the Purigen. I like to err on the side of safety, and have ordered both and I'm curious how they relate to each other.

- would the placement of one over the other prolong the effectiveness the latter? Purigen is rechargeable, If it can make my CPE last longer that would be awesome.

My guess is that the result is ultimately negligible, in which case I am curious how everyone with successful tanks running similar filter racks are set up. Filter floss/CPE/Purigen? Filter floss/Purigen/CPE?

-Finally (and probably most important) I am a the latter end of my cycle (~4 weeks- abundant diatoms). I am about to start adding a few snails (no crabs... yet). Should these filter solutions be implemented before my CUC is introduced? I imagine I should make everything as close to how I plan to run my normal setup, but I don't want to short-change my CUC from getting a good foothold with the diatom-buffet currently available. So...

Opinions wanted! Thank you!

I mentioned earlier the order of placement of the media. Chemipure and Purigen use different resins so using both will most likely give a better clean.Your media basket with resins should be run at tank start up. If nothing undesirable is in the water, nothing will be removed and the resins will not exhaust.