# Alllrighttt... Twinstar/Chihiros "water sterilizer" units



## Sean W. (Oct 12, 2013)

Hey guys,

So.... Whats the deal with these Twinstar/chihiros "water sterilizer" units....

I've been plunged in research for the last like 3 days about these things and It seems like most of the claims that they make about these units are based on unprovable marketing jargin... With that said, they can't do NOTHING. 

From what I've read, people say they are a very efficient at injecting oxygen into the tank... Which is always a good thing... 

The Chihiros "Doctor" is about $50, and if it is a good way of upping the oxygen content of the water it doesn't seem like the worst way to spend $50...

Thoughts?


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## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

It says it provides a " Constant elimination of pathogenic bacteria and precaution of biological diseases, etc.."

How? 
This claim in itself appears specious as, from a quick glance over of units, there is no mechanism in its construction that appears to be able to do that. 
But, a UV sterilizer- yup-- a good one will do exactly that.


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## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

Electrolysis of water produces hydrogen and oxygen @ 1.something volts DC.
Yes O2 content would increase but with pearling plants it really does not matter.


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## Sean W. (Oct 12, 2013)

Maryland Guppy said:


> Electrolysis of water produces hydrogen and oxygen @ 1.something volts DC.
> Yes O2 content would increase but with pearling plants it really does not matter.


Butttt, with the increased oxygen saturation of the water, wouldn't the plants pearl more?


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## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

My logic could be wrong but I figure if plants pearl water is already saturated with O2.

I've wondered if holding a match to the rising bubbles from the chihiros they would ignite.
I mean hydrogen & oxygen burn quite well!


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## Sean W. (Oct 12, 2013)

Maryland Guppy said:


> My logic could be wrong but I figure if plants pearl water is already saturated with O2.
> 
> I've wondered if holding a match to the rising bubbles from the chihiros they would ignite.
> I mean hydrogen & oxygen burn quite well!


My thinking is that some of the oxygen that the pants are releasing is being absorbed by the water to saturate it, and the rest can't be absorbed so it forms a bubble.

If you supplement the water with an alternate source of oxygen, less of the oxygen being given off by the plants will need to be absorbed, resulting in more pearling


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## natemcnutty (May 26, 2016)

They would visibly pearl more, but the amount of actual oxygen they release would be the same.

Supposedly it reduces or inhibits algae growth by directly affecting the algaes ability to absorb nutrients and providing more oxygen to bacteria, both the kind that cover the nitrogen cycle as well as the film that can act as a protective layer on surfaces.

As to how much of a difference it actually makes over normal conditions, some have seen improvements while others haven't. My bet would be those with poor maintenance habits saw the difference while those with good maintenance habits didn't.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk


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## Sean W. (Oct 12, 2013)

natemcnutty said:


> They would visibly pearl more, but the amount of actual oxygen they release would be the same.
> 
> Supposedly it reduces or inhibits algae growth by directly affecting the algaes ability to absorb nutrients and providing more oxygen to bacteria, both the kind that cover the nitrogen cycle as well as the film that can act as a protective layer on surfaces.
> 
> ...


I love pearling, it's the reason I do high tech tanks... Anything that can be done to increase pearling I'm all for


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## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

I guess I figure if plants are already pearling why buy the chihiros?

I've thought of making one to experiment, but mostly for the flame test! :grin2:

The unit offers no UV value and no ozone can be produced @ such low voltage.
In a stagnant tank deprived of oxygen it could help I imagine.
Sterilizing features it does not have.

Bump:


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Just a hair shy of snake oil. I've primarily seen them marketed to shrimp newcomers not yet clued into the reality that most of their anxiety/fears are unwarranted. 

If you have $50 to spare, I'd just get an air pump, an air stone and stick it on a timer to run a few times per day.

You'd probably get better oxygenation of water with a slight ripple across the surface of your tank, though.


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

Sean W. said:


> I love pearling, it's the reason I do high tech tanks... Anything that can be done to increase pearling I'm all for


I think you have pearling slighting confused. Plants pearl when they are producing oxygen faster than the water can absorb it. It has very little to do with the water being saturated with oxygen. Sometimes fake pearling can be associated with tanks that have just been filled after a water change. 

If you take a tank that isn't currently pearling and cut open a stem plant under water many times you will see it "bleed" oxygen into the water column" The oxygen is being released at a faster then normal rate, too fast to be absorbed immediately into the water column so you see the o2, but nothing has changed with the oxygen content of the tank. 

Also a tank with just a small group of plants that is being provided with good light, co2 and ferts will pearl. You don't need a heavily planted tank to fill with oxygen to see pearling.


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## Sean W. (Oct 12, 2013)

Asteroid said:


> I think you have pearling slighting confused. Plants pearl when they are producing oxygen faster than the water can absorb it. It has very little to do with the water being saturated with oxygen. Sometimes fake pearling can be associated with tanks that have just been filled after a water change.
> 
> If you take a tank that isn't currently pearling and cut open a stem plant under water many times you will see it "bleed" oxygen into the water column" The oxygen is being released at a faster then normal rate, too fast to be absorbed immediately into the water column so you see the o2, but nothing has changed with the oxygen content of the tank.
> 
> Also a tank with just a small group of plants that is being provided with good light, co2 and ferts will pearl. You don't need a heavily planted tank to fill with oxygen to see pearling.


This is a great point... Thank you. Got me thinking.


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## Erirku (May 9, 2007)

Twinstars is supposed to inhibit algae growth. Although it has no effect on BBA and BGA! I have used it for years and find it efficient in killing string and fuzz algae. I took it out on one of my tanks bcuz the plants have been doing good at growth and inhibiting most algae (except BBA!) but my other tank I have just left it in there and have been debating on taking it out. But kinda lazy and love the mist of bubbles it produces. Lol. It has its pros and cons but it works well for me and many professional aquascapes use it if you watch some of them on YouTube.


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## Amp2020 (Mar 8, 2013)

Electrolysis can release deadly chlorine gas into the water if there's salt in the water. Even if you're using city tap water, there's always some salts in the water supply. The voltage and current is so low that it shouldn't be able to produce chlorine but for anyone that adds aquarium salt to their freshwater tanks. This could be a disaster as the minute levels of chlorine would slowly start to sterilize everything in the tank. Eventually killing the livestock. IIRC, there should be oxygen and hydrogen gas being produced. The salts produce chlorine gas. Either the anode or cathode will break down and need to be replaced frequently. Not worth it IMO.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

I'd love to see any evidence - or even anecdotal evidence - of this.

I've been able to test a few of these units through the years and have seen absolutely nothing to support any of the claims made by the company. 

If the technology worked as well as it's alleged? It'd be everywhere. But it's not.



Erirku said:


> Twinstars is supposed to inhibit algae growth. Although it has no effect on BBA and BGA! I have used it for years and find it efficient in killing string and fuzz algae.


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## Desert Pupfish (May 6, 2019)

Amp2020 said:


> Electrolysis can release deadly chlorine gas into the water if there's salt in the water. Even if you're using city tap water, there's always some salts in the water supply. The voltage and current is so low that it shouldn't be able to produce chlorine but for anyone that adds aquarium salt to their freshwater tanks. This could be a disaster as the minute levels of chlorine would slowly start to sterilize everything in the tank. Eventually killing the livestock. IIRC, there should be oxygen and hydrogen gas being produced. The salts produce chlorine gas. Either the anode or cathode will break down and need to be replaced frequently. Not worth it IMO.


Good point. I've got a saltwater pool, and this sounds like exactly the same concept as the salt cell. If electrolysis can turn H2O into free hydrogen & oxygen, it can do the same with NaCl. And the water here in SoCal does have a fair amount of sodium in it. Not sure if it takes more voltage to lyse NaCL than H2O, but I'd definitely wanna test it to make sure. I suppose you could counteract that by dosing with tapwater conditioner if you thought the purported benefits were worth it.

The salt cell for my pool lasts about 5 yrs before needing to be replaced. And they do need to be taken apart & cleaned periodically--especially if you have hard water. In a pool the lysed sodium & chlorine recombine, so once you've added the initial salt, you don't need more. Would it be the same for the hydrogen & oxygen produced, or would they gas off?

If you do end up getting one, let us know how it works. I wanna see a video of MarylandGuppy's pyro test.


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## Jared RB (Nov 25, 2018)

I have two of the Doctor units. In two different 25 gallon cubes (18x18x18 inches).
Both are high tech, and both have way to much algae. I have even had algae growing on these things. I don't know if they really do anything. 
I have heard it suggested they might make small amounts of hydrogen peroxide.

As for mine, I have soft tapwater that I have raised to about 125tds, and the tank end needs to be replaced on both of them. 
I will keep running them, but don't think I will be them for any other tanks (I have seven other tanks).


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