# Other Aquarium Forums > Equipment and Accessories >  TWINSTAR NANO for inhibition of algae

## TS168

check this out.

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## wongce

interesting, is it available locally?

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## TS168

there a wesite http://twinstarnano.com/lang_en/
but i notice that taiwan selling it cheaper. maybe see who going taiwan can check it out.

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## TS168

> interesting, is it available locally?


Hi Wongce, have not seen it locally.

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## Shadow

interesting, how does it work? ultrasonic?

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## AQMS

Interesting... i will definitely get this....

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## AQMS

> interesting, how does it work? ultrasonic?


There is nothing on the website or the internet explaining how the product work..and it annoyed me
and it is damn expensive.
Anyway here is a thread from uk aquatic plant society about the product.
http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/t...t-is-it.28335/

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## limz_777

> There is nothing on the website or the internet explaining how the product work..and it annoyed me
> and it is damn expensive.
> Anyway here is a thread from uk aquatic plant society about the product.
> http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/t...t-is-it.28335/



nice find , had a good laugh after seeing this  :Laughing:  , suppose to on it 24/7 ?

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## Shadow

Yeah me too, picture tell thousand word  :Laughing: . There are lots of discussion, in the US forum as well and most of them considered it as snake oil because no one know how it work and the company does not willing to share the info.

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## AQMS

> Yeah me too, picture tell thousand word . There are lots of discussion, in the US forum as well and most of them considered it as snake oil because no one know how it work and the company does not willing to share the info.


Agreed. Picture tell a thousand words. I already email the UK supplier about my concern but the respond is disappointing.
Basically his respond is "for more information you also can check on the official web site."

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## TS168

yeah i not sure if it really work, maybe someone who has try can advise.

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## AQMS

Finally got some answers from one of the supplier...
here are the question and answer.

1. what kind of technology is this device using?
There are five factors of mechanism including plant ecology but we can't tell you because of company's secret.

2. Do i have to turn it on for 24/7?
Yes is works automatically itself

3. Does this device have effect on fertilizer like KH2PO4,K2SO4 ,MgSO4,NaHCO3 and KNO3?
No is not, is just helps to stop algae bacteria to grow.

4. Does this device change the water perimeter and temperature?
No. is sterilizing water in the tank.

He also said these..
"Please consider the "ion generation apparatus using plasma" is working principle of twin star. For example, what was the application of plasma technology in the air, nano and Purazumaku Yes Yes Yes Publisher star-flops which is mounted on the air cleaner and air conditioning - is famous for such as sanitization. Now it became to a "sterilize and remove mold and bacteria and viruses in the air", to hit an explosive. Mechanism of decontamination and sterilization is this, from the fact that to generate oxygen and active hydrogen, which is called ion exchange (atoms or molecules with an unpaired electron) radical in the plasma discharge.
It's based on the idea in other words to TWINSTAR, that kill and (decomposition or oxidation) destroy the protein on the surface this is adhered to, such as fungi and spores of moss. In fact, we are strongly sterilization and mold and bacteria Aeromonas bacteria by the action of (not able to be described in detail for each patent-pending now) special ion is in TWINSTAR. The TWINSTAR is the breakthrough product that you use in water plasma ion technology for the first time in the world.
※ It is a technology that "plasma ion technology" is scientifically proven, established worldwide. It does not matter at all with no substantiation at all with "negative ions", please be careful.

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## qool

Will be going to hongkong next week. Sure recee this system from the local distributor there.  :Smile:  When a system
cannot work as expected factor in 60% user problem into equation  :Razz:

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## BFG

I have a few question to follow up as well.

1) The plate thingy that provide the mist, does it need replacement? I suspect there are metal plates which react when an electrical pulse is delivered to it at certain frequency, hence the non moving parts. Previous technology like the Carbo Plus which introduce co2 in the tank water uses the metal plate and electricity to provide co2 in the tank but reports of tank side where the metal plate is located end up scaling like the inside of a kettle after prolong use of boiling water. I cannot verify the report, read it somewhere long time ago.

2) If it does not need replacement, that means whatever in the plate thingy doesn't decrease in size that it would be useless after a length of time. If it does need replacement after a period of time, the electricity + water + plate thingy is causing a chemical reaction similar to Carbo plus but different methodology.

3) When that thing is in operation, is it safe to us if we accidentally touch it? The green color enclosure might be preventing us from getting shock if we accidentally touch it?

Hmm, I'm thinking, is it possible to create cavitation underwater with metal plate to produce ion inducing air bubble mist without any moving parts? The control box might be where the electrical pulse is being generated at a frequency. These are just my own guesstimate.

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## BFG

Oops, I ish double tap.

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## AQMS

i was told that the shelf life of the product is 1 year.
about replacement parts, not too sure about that.
Actually the enclosure is white in colour, it turn green because of algae.

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## qool

Came back from Hongkong but didn't see any shops using this product. Seems our local Green chapter will be bringing them in: TWINSTAR Mini and TWINSTAR Nano, anyone game to try?  :Wink:

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## felix_fx2

you trying?

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## qool

Likely ...... just need to know the Plate replacement issue and replacement cost. Whack first think later ... :Razz:

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## AQMS

> Likely ...... just need to know the Plate replacement issue and replacement cost. Whack first think later ...


You can get it here 
http://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/TWINSTAR-...item19e07ea651

But last for a year is very expensive.

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## qool

I think that price is for a whole set? Since replacement is needed maybe it is just the plate.

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## AQMS

> I think that price is for a whole set? Since replacement is needed maybe it is just the plate.


Yes,it is the price of the whole set.
What i was told is that the plate need to be change yearly, but i have no idea how much.

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## Navanod

Is it similar to the "plasma cluster" ion generator in air purifier?

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## Shadow

that what the rumor said

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## AQMS

Yup,that what i heard too,they never actually reveal what the technology is.

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## qool

Green chapter folks are trying them out in their display tank. IF this actually works the BBA algae over in their second tank should be minimized.... time will tell.

Currently no stock yet only testing sets, but they are taking pre-orders. The question of the plate replacement is real ... a yearly affair but no disclosure of pricing yet.

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## limz_777

[QUOTE=qool;738325]Green chapter folks are trying them out in their display tank. IF this actually works the BBA algae over in their second tank should be minimized.... time will tell.

Currently no stock yet only testing sets, but they are taking pre-orders. The question of the plate replacement is real ... a yearly affair but no disclosure of pricing yet.[/QU

Think already stated in website it doesn't work on bba

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## Berny

hair algae and bba not affectes

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 4

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## qool

My bad did not see the bba part. But nevertheless based on the website hair algae is suppose to be include in the affected listing.

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## genes

How to see if it really works... Use it in a tank of green water. If the tank clears to crystal clear. It works! Currently I'm using uv light and its a bitch when it comes to changing the blown uv lamps. Filter got to stop, got to unplug uv light and so on...becomes a watery mess. This will be a good alternative if it works like the uv light. Simple and easy to maintain.

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## AQMS

> How to see if it really works... Use it in a tank of green water. If the tank clears to crystal clear. It works! Currently I'm using uv light and its a bitch when it comes to changing the blown uv lamps. Filter got to stop, got to unplug uv light and so on...becomes a watery mess. This will be a good alternative if it works like the uv light. Simple and easy to maintain.


Agreed.... David if you are reading this,go for it.. :Grin: 
about your UV light,you should run a bypass hose connecting to the Uv light with throttle valve control switch.
So if you need the UV,just the on the valve and the water will flow through the UV set,turn the valve off and the flow switch back to normal
so no need to stop running filter to change the light bulb. I hope you get what i mean. I have that set up in my cabinet.

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## genes

Yup. Understand what you're saying. I didn't use throttle valve. Mine is just the valves to disconnect the uv. So got to stop my filter. Throttle valve sounds good.

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## Berny

http://www.twinstarnano.com/lang_en/...roduct_1_2.jpg

It doesnt have effect on green waterproduct_1_2.jpg

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## genes

There are effects on hair algae, BGA and green spot. The 3 most irritating algae for a planted tank in my opinion.

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## greenie

Any updates on testing by GC? Really like getting this or/and ozonizer and seneye.

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## David

@ Genes...what kind of UV are you using? most external UVs you need not have to turn off filter nor create a water mess? Unless you are using a chiller internal UV?

@ Zero...Nope...I will not try this because I don't buy their concept. to my understanding, the only way to stop algae or cyanobacteria type of algae is the destruction of the cell nucleus and/or its DNA and the only proven way is through UVC and/or perhaps the use of chemicals. As with such method, its like a wide spectrum antibiotic...it does not differentiate what to kill and what not to kill....it kills all in its path.

The fact that it has no effect on green water, BBA and hair algae leaves a lot of question marks.

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## 32103940

the process is electrolysis. it uses electricity to break down water into hydrogen and oxygen gas. the latter will increase your aquarium O2 levels which will definitely help the fish/shrimp. some small amount of ozone will be produced also, so this device will increase your ORP above normal--slightly higher than a healthy tank with oxygen at saturation. the high ORP is what will kill simple organisms like algae spores. the high price is probably due to use of platinum mesh for the electrodes..it is possible to clean them either by flushing or dumping in pure water and reversing the polarity........

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## qool

I brought system and tested it from my humble opinon it is not worth it. 

Cons:
Algae does not seem to be cut down after using it. If your tank is one that has very and I mean very little algae in first place the effect might be better. Which is why I think this product is more for a new tank. If yours is like mine which has algae but manual clean up before setting up the system the effect you see is kind of disappointing.

The plate which is suppose to be clean become covered with algae makes you lose faith in the system but I was prepared to see this.

Pros:
But the effect of misting is cool  :Smile:  the fishes seems to love it.... so much my hastasus make it a point to investigate the plate each time it does the misting.

so far thats my review.

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## dhmy2kgto

Bought one unit to try, been 2 weeks since I planted my 2 feet tank. 2 sets of Pro-Z lights on 6 hours a day with CO2 at about 6 bps at 7 hours a day (activated 1 hour before lights switched on). From personal observation, plants seems to be growing well and not a single spot of algae so far. Will be increasing the timing for lighting to 8 hours once the plants are better established and will update again. One thing I noticed is that the bubbles when released do not dissolved in the water immediately and left on the surface of the water.

Agree with qool that this product is meant more for new tanks rather than mature tanks that already have algae problems.

Hope this helps. Wonder if Green Chapter will bring in the replacement parts in future.

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## greenie

I think many would like to see if the product can minimize those algae already infesting the tank. I think new tank should be ok but the test is on mature tank with chronic algae infestation due to certain conditions is
what consumers really like to see.

I will get this item and use it on my tank which have persistent hair algae problem even with wc, EI dosing and 24/7 inline UV sterilizer. Partly due to my deep tank of 2.5ft and high lighting to penetrate to foreground plants deep below.
Anyway I get hold of it first soon and try it for myself, you all have to wait for the results.

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## dhmy2kgto

As advised from Green Chapter, we have to clear the existing algae problem in our mature tanks first as the device only serves to break down the algae spores and not the algae itself.

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## Shadow

if you are looking to breakdown algae spores, you can use UV sterilizer which is much cheaper.

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## dhmy2kgto

> if you are looking to breakdown algae spores, you can use UV sterilizer which is much cheaper.


I agree with you bro Shadow. However, bentificial bacteria will be killed off by the UV sterilizer as well which might do more harm than good. 

Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk

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## Shadow

no will not, those beneficial bacteria that colonized your filter media, substrate or rocks will not be effected.

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## dhmy2kgto

> no will not, those beneficial bacteria that colonized your filter media, substrate or rocks will not be effected.


Oh ok, learnt something new today again. Well maybe I'll try UV sterilizer out when my Twinstar fails on me (hopefully not so soon). Haha 

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## David

As mentioned before, the only way to rid algae is to destroy them at cellular level and the only way know so far is the use of UVC.

That being said, UV sterilization is dependent on the wattage of the bulb aas well as the flow rate. Effectively speaking, it only treats the symptom and not the root or cause of an algae infestation.

It is effective against Green Water and free floating spores. However what is in the tank reminds in the tank.

I cannot stress more the importance of knowing how to control water perimeters, lighting and nutrients.

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## Shadow

David, you can stress it 1000 times but whenever there is new product that promise to get rid of algae every one will flock in, taking shortcut is a human instinct  :Laughing:

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## felix_fx2

don't 100% depend on products like this and UV.

keep and mantain a healthy tank, you can use supplements but don't depend on them solely. you need healthy plants and well maintained ecosystem inside the tank.

just like a healthy person can't depend solely on supplement to keep healthy. need to exercise regularly. thou it cannot stop him or her from minor flu from occuring but helps to reduce occurrence and recovery.

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## David

110% agree with you Shadow..... :Grin:

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## milk_vanilla

So many gears in our tank these days, are we planting or gearing ? I feel this just an another way for aquarist to find a way in to their balance. 

It's not 100% successful, in the end you still control light amount, co2, ferts, pruning, water change etc. 

And please note hearing from other neighbor forum, this should be replaced every 6 months / year. And this not cheap!

So be wise before purchase.


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## Urban Aquaria

I've been following the Twinstar system for a while too... not sure if you guys have seen this but just to share, the manufacturer did some tests using 2 planted tanks with the exact same setups, but one is equipped with the twinstar system and one without (this is the best way to do a test comparison for such equipment, rather than just based on single tank tests, since everyone's setup is different):

http://www.twinstarnano.com/iqvbbs/b..._user&wr_id=24

From the test results, it seems to work in inhibiting initial algae growth and allowing the plants to better out-compete algae, but this is with a new setup that starts with the Twinstar system from the beginning and with all the proper conditions made to avoid algae (not in tanks with existing algae, which probably already have underlying issues that need to be solved first).

They even did another test with 2 more tanks, but this time they set them up with the worst conditions to purposely encourage algae growth... by using mostly slower growing plants, low plant mass, too much light and lots of fertilizers:

http://www.twinstarnano.com/iqvbbs/b..._user&wr_id=15

Interestingly those tank conditions look very similar to what new aquarists would usually do when setting up a "simple" iwugami tank with just HC or glosso.  :Grin: 

In those conditions, algae still grows like crazy in both tanks (which demonstrates that its not a "magic bullet" to totally eliminate algae)... just that in the twinstar equipped tank the algae takes more time to appear and blooms less aggressively.

So i guess those tests describe the Twinstar system as a tool to help reduce or slow down algae growth, allowing users to have a slightly wider margin of error (ie. if they happen to slack a week in maintenance, or overstock or overfeed abit too much)... but for it to work effectively, fundamental conditions in the tank still needs to be kept in balance or else algae will still grow.

Btw, i'm not promoting Twinstar, i'm just a potential customer who is also considering the product and doing my research too.  :Smile:

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## greenie

For me, I look it this way. I would like to enjoy sitting down watching my tank for hours. Yes EI method works, provided I strictly adhere to the dosing and water change regime. 

Unlike Amano with his legions of assistant, I'm a one man army. Like anyone else, we can't be pre-occupied only with this strict regime, our daily lives need to move on too. I know, on ocassions when we slack in maintenance, we have to work triple hard to get things back to normal.

I don't mind spend some on technology which can help me maintain some of the things that I need to do manually, really I don't mind. I like to enjoy fish/plant keeping and not labour too much while basic water change, dosing and testing is still a must.

So let's not shun gears or new technology or what not. Would you prefer to second guess your tank pH or manually shut of C02 everday? 

I would like to try this product as my tank is a tall tank and require high lighting to penetrate light to my HC. Stop of buying a PAR meter (another gear), I guess I'll try this first. Lighting is the problem for my setup (too much) and the combination of difficult plants (low + high light requirements) with varying nutrient uptake.

Everybody's tank is different, so what remedy that works 100% for one might not work 100% for others. Anyway, once I start using it, I'll share the results here. Should be interesting and not disappointing I hope.

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## AQMS

Hi, i've been doing researched too on Twinstar and what i found is more or less of what Urban had said.
It is not the holy grail to vanish all algae forever. There will be algae,you can even see it on the twinstar nano plate holder.
The best is to have a balance of all element in an aquatic tank and with the amount spend,IMHO i would rather spend it on my 
2 lt of seachem excel which is going to last me quite sometime to finish it.

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## Sleepy_lancs

I was in Hong Kong 3 weeks back and saw a few tank with this device. BBA existed on all tanks. The owner is an Aquascaping award winner  :Smile: . The price is rather high. Most of us tend to have BBA issues rather than any other algae I think which this device don't seem to have an effect on.

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## milk_vanilla

My bet we see mostly bba in LFS because, sometime they share filters and co2 among couple tanks, as efficient as possible

or else they end up with high operational expenditure, and slash the revenue


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## milk_vanilla

ok giving up my obstinate,

Get Nano from our good retail friend, plugged them in last night. Will review what happen next, if it screw i will rescape.

Hopefully could be my cleaner assistant, 

Amano keep jumping out of the tank, i hate to keep them purchased, and Winter is not their breed seasonal too.

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## dhmy2kgto

> Bought one unit to try, been 2 weeks since I planted my 2 feet tank. 2 sets of Pro-Z lights on 6 hours a day with CO2 at about 6 bps at 7 hours a day (activated 1 hour before lights switched on). From personal observation, plants seems to be growing well and not a single spot of algae so far. Will be increasing the timing for lighting to 8 hours once the plants are better established and will update again. One thing I noticed is that the bubbles when released do not dissolved in the water immediately and left on the surface of the water.
> 
> Agree with qool that this product is meant more for new tanks rather than mature tanks that already have algae problems.
> 
> Hope this helps. Wonder if Green Chapter will bring in the replacement parts in future.


Just a quick update to share. Brown algae has invaded my tank despite Twinstar being in there... Gotten algae crew to clean up as much as possible. My conclusion..... Twinstar or no Twinstar, at the end of the day, algae will still appear and algae cleaning crew is still a necessity. Maybe I am doing something wrong, not too sure... :/ 

Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk

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## milk_vanilla

6 bps for 2 feet is a lot, if you get BBA still, check flow and light intensity.

Mine is 3 feet, 1 year+ tank, 3-4 Bps, 8x Filter flow capacity, never hit by any BBA.

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## milk_vanilla

applogize, yours is brown algae. Not BBA

Correction,

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## dhmy2kgto

> applogize, yours is brown algae. Not BBA
> 
> Correction,


Hi milk_vanilla, I have lowered the CO2 to 3bps since noticing the emergence of some green hair algae. Hope I would never have to face BBA, gonna be a pain if that happened.... 

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## TS168

from all the feedback from hobbyist/users around the world, we can see that this gadget only help slow down algae growth in new setup.

As a planted hobbyist still need to put in effort and learn how to setup a better environment to allow your plant grow well and beautifully.
For me i will not go for such gadget as it not worth it if i can control it via learning how to ...

No1 algae cause is temperature, then is nitrate from too much fish, which cause poor water quality. If one can maintain a clean water via good filtration and schedule water change, it will help alot to keep algae to the minimum.

Mang planted hobbyist like to add alot of fish into their tank, this is nice if only you can control the quality of the water.

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## greenie

> No1 algae cause is temperature, then is nitrate from too much fish, which cause poor water quality. If one can maintain a clean water via good filtration and schedule water change, it will help alot to keep algae to the minimum.


Wish that's true but single reason for algae outbreak is poor or inadequate knowlegde. I can set temp to 25C constant and 10-30ppm nitrate but still get very bad hair algae outbreak. It's more than that...

Having gizmos like this is only helping in reducing mistakes or lapses in doing planted tanks maintenance. Some other gizmos helps in reducing the chores of monitoring or dosing or water changing.

There's always going to be some sort of technology coming up in the future, useful or worthless.

I always like to try any gadget that can help reduce my workload in keeping my tank. Of course, some manual labour is still required, if not why I bother keep a planted aquarium in the first place.

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## Shadow

some patent on Twinstar. Very detail info on how it mate, the material, grid, separation, etc. Basically it is just oxygenator  :Grin: .
https://www.google.com/patents/EP265...cl=en&hl=pt-BR
https://www.google.com/patents/US200...c_location=ufi
https://www.google.com/patents/US20040118701

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## Shrimplicity

Hi guys, since H2 is know to be produced, would lighting a flame above an operating twinstar result in a fire?

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