Thanks, do they actually work?? Also is the twinstar one better than the chiros one? There is a fair price difference in the 2?
Will they get rid of BBA spores? BBA is really the only type of algae I get here and there.
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You won't get a straightforward answer to this question, people have vastly different opinions on them. Personally I think they are a bad investment, especially for beginners to the planted tank scene, who should be focusing on the basics to get rid of algae - not too much light, adequate flow, unlimited ferts and CO2. From what I've seen online, any slight perceived positive results could easily just be due to the placebo effect and from my understanding of how they work, any slight negative effect on algae would also be slightly detrimental to bacteria/shrimp/fish. So
even if they did work as advertised, I'd still think they are a bad idea if you care about livestock health more than eradicating algae. Those that have spent the money on them already are often quick to try defend them, but I haven't actually seen any evidence they have a significant effect.
It's a product with great marketing, but no explanation of exactly how it works from the manufacturer, leaving us to guess and deduce what it is from similar products. If you are really interested in what they do and how they work, have a skim and read the important posts in this very long thread:
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/twinstar-what-is-it.28335/
If you have lots of spare cash and all of your other aquarium equipment is perfect already, they don't
seem to cause any visible harm, I'd just rather not risk the comfort of my animals and waste my cash for the sake of
maybe slightly reducing algae. Also, it would be a big ugly white thing in your tank
.
There are much more useful things to spend your money on to combat algae. No it will not get rid of BBA spores, you will always have BBA spores. If the tank environment is right and the plants are healthy BBA wont grow much or at all though.