Safestart and purigen

[jaws7777]

Does the purigen have to be removed when using safestart ?

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[MilitantPotato]

If you're doing a fish-in cycle, I wouldn't use purigen. It's useful for some things (removing tannins) but part of a mature bio-filter is the ability to process the ammonia produced from organic breakdown, along with fish waste, food degrading, overfeeding, and the occasional dead fish.

That said, you don't have to remove it.

I'm a fan of running carbon in a brand new tank for the first month or two, then removing it completely.

 

[jaws7777]

Its a new tank with existing media that for some reason isnt producing nitrates not sure if I lost the cycle but its a 150 with an oscar, yellow acara, and hrp

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[MilitantPotato]

Nitrate tests go bad pretty quickly. The best way to see if you're cycled is to test ammonia and nitrite, if it's been a couple days, and those both read 0, you're good.

 

[jaws7777]

The ammonia looked to be slightly above 0 I thought of the test going bad but my other tank tested fine.... I took the purigen out and threw in some safestart so we'll see

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[ragin_cajun]

My ammonia test ALWAYS reads "slightly above 0", always has. 0 Nitrite. Nitrate anywhere from 5ppm to 80ppm. I use a API liquid test kit.

 

[jaws7777]

I use the same....I removed the purigen it was already brown (am recharging it now) must be tannins from the wood. Will test again tomorrow

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[MilitantPotato]

Unless I've just fed or done a water change (we have chloramine) my water tests as yellow as it gets. A little ammonia isn't immediately fatal, but long term exposure to even a tiny bit, is bad.
If you've adequate filtration there should be no measurable ammonia.

 

[ragin_cajun]

I think it's inaccuracy in the test. My LFS tests my water, they say it reads 0.


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[jaws7777]

So added the safestart yesterday added my oscar and removed the purigen...have nitrates today. Fish must not have been producing enough ammonia 3 small fish in a 150 using established media from another tank.

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