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Twinstar..what is it?

George Farmer said:
Could it be a fancy version of this from the 1970s?

Patent US3891535 - Aquarium water treatment apparatus - Google Patents
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could well be, it's essentially electrolysis: from the inventor "
A related object of the present invention is to provide the apparatus for aerating water while sterilizing the water.
A further object of this present invention is to provide electrolysis equipment for use in sterilizing water, wherein the electrolysis equipment is resistant to residual insulation.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide electrolysis equipment, wherein such equipment utilizes a change of polarity to prevent residual insulation.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide an aerating and circulating pump with no moving parts for use on fish ponds or aquariums.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide low voltage, low current flow electrolysis equipment that can be used to both aerate and sterilize water to overcome pollution"

I wonder if twinstar is aware of the patent....:shh:
 
...the reverse aspect is to stop it crustin up over time
 
oh...more than a bit aware...could they now own the patent! definitely something has happened regarding interest in the invention...who are Qian Hu? I feel like Tin Tin
US5958196 * 22 Jan 1997 28 Sep 1999 Upscale Water Technologies, Inc. Planar carbon fiber and noble metal oxide electrodes and methods of making the same
WO2012161656A1 * 18 May 2012 29 Nov 2012 Qian Hu Corporation Limited Apparatus for purifying water in an aquarium
 
i have just notice that Freshwater shrimps are now selling these, £135 for mini version, another expensive bit of kit but very temped if it dose everything it claims to do, particularly if your a bit lazy with tank maintenance like i am😛

Not just inhabiting green algae growth, also improved plant growth by up to 50% and help prevents or kill fish disease, as advertise on their website.
 
On Freshwater shrimp it suggest the mini will accommodate up to 90l but on the twinstar website (user guide section) it suggest a mini will accommodate between 90l-120l?

Apologies, it is only the s model that prevents and kills fish disease.
 
steveno said:
On Freshwater shrimp it suggest the mini will accommodate up to 90l but on the twinstar website (user guide section) it suggest a mini will accommodate between 90l-120l?

Apologies, it is only the s model that prevents and kills fish disease.
Click to expand...

I'd wait and see what comes out in the wash before you commit that amount of money to a Gimmick.
 
Hi all,
dw1305 said:
The mechanism of action is that it produces chlorine from a chloride source (usually NaCl - dissociated as Na+ Cl- ions, but they can be at low concentrations) via a platinum electrode set. You can also produce ozone, oxygen and hydrogen peroxide via electrolysis.
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It doesn't need to produce ozone (O3), the bubbles may well be oxygen (O2). If you have a look at Viktor's photo, as he says you can see filamentous green algae beginning to grow on the edge of the unit, and I just can't see how it can work against green algae. If it is producing oxygen, fine, but low oxygen levels aren't a problem that many planted tank keepers struggle with.
10713134585_87a190ff96_b.jpg

cheers Darrel
 
Either way, amongst a thinking community like ours all this cloak and dagger stuff is perhaps more than a little counter productive...since most of us are quite rightly cautious about what we introduce to our aquariums for obvious reasons.
Quite evidently it's got to the stage where we need to know exactly what it is and how it works before we take it completely seriously and consider purchasing it. It could be as revolutionary as the manufacturers claim but we're not going to know for sure until - like George says - someone reverse engineers it or the manufacturers come clean. Until then I'll continue to treat it with a healthy dose of cynicism/scepticism...I don't invest in blind faith.
Just as an aside...I'm sure ozone is an odourless and colourless gas, so smell is not really a reliable diagnostic test...
 
Troi said:
Either way, amongst a thinking community like ours all this cloak and dagger stuff is perhaps more than a little counter productive...since most of us are quite rightly cautious about what we introduce to our aquariums for obvious reasons.
Quite evidently it's got to the stage where we need to know exactly what it is and how it works before we take it completely seriously and consider purchasing it. It could be as revolutionary as the manufacturers claim but we're not going to know for sure until - like George says - someone reverse engineers it or the manufacturers come clean. Until then I'll continue to treat it with a healthy dose of cynicism/scepticism...I don't invest in blind faith.
Just as an aside...I'm sure ozone is an odourless and colourless gas, so smell is not really a reliable diagnostic test...
Click to expand...

Being sceptical is always good. But just keep saying it is an ozone generator without having any evidence is useless. Ozone has a distinct smell and is not odourless, it is clear to light blue, so easily analysed just by smelling or collecting the gas and analyzing it. A company can choose to give little information about the product, but they already stated it is no ozone generator. They would be really stupid to lie, and no company would risk that if it is that easy to prove wrong.

I know the results are the same as ozone, but so is H2O2 and so is UV, does this make it an UV unit? H2O2 is most likely IMO. Produced by electrolysis. This makes sense with what they told about plasma technology. Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation would be very plausible with all experiences so far IMO.
 
Hi Yo-han, OK fair one with regards the smell and colour, as per usual I had another blond moment. But aside from my initial opinion - which may well be wrong - I'm just curious to know how it works before I consider buying one...as I am sure many others are too...
As for the modus operandi of the manufacturers that's a completely different matter and I'm afraid I don't share your faith.
 
At the risk of appearing even blonder..I'm not sure whether its the process of O3 generation that causes the colour and the smell rather than the actual gas itself?
 
TwinStar works by eliminating micro algae spores ...
The device uses technology to create micro-bubbles that destroy the cell wall of the algae in the end they can not grow. This technology is non-toxic and harmless for aerobic bacteria.
The device is effective against, thread, brown, Xenia, blue-green ... But does not help in the fight with a beard and algal blooms.
Use only in freshwater aquariums.
 
Hi all,
Yo-han said:
Why only freshwater?
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Assuming it is electrolysis I think it is probably to do with the conductivity of the solution.
alanyusupov said:
The device uses technology to create micro-bubbles that destroy the cell wall of the algae in the end they can not grow. This technology is non-toxic and harmless for aerobic bacteria. The device is effective against, thread, brown, Xenia, blue-green ... But does not help in the fight with a beard and algal blooms.
Click to expand...
OK there is quite a lot of scientific work on micro and nano bubbles ("Principle and applications of microbubble and nanobubble technology for water treatment" < Principle and applications of microbubble and nanobubble technology for water treatment >). That would also account for the high cost of the unit, and why it wears out, in both cases because of the erosion of the platinum/palladium electrode set.

I still can't see why you would want it, but I can't see the point of purigen either, so may be it is just me.

cheers Darrel
 
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