# Coralife Turbo Twist guys....need help!



## vaypourus (May 20, 2008)

So I picked up a "new" Coralife Turbo Twist 3x (9W) UV Sterilizer on ebay for a good price. Now I'm wondering if it really was a good deal.

When I plugged in the unit, the bulb blew immediately.

I'm hoping that the seller will spring for a new bulb...I'm curious however if the Ebay replacement bulbs are of a high quality? A Coralife replacement bulb is going to run about $35, while I can get the Ebay knockoff for about $8.75 shipped. I'm a bit worried that there is a 3.5x difference in price between the two.

Second question - I decided against putting the Turbo Twist on the return from my second Eheim 2217 due to the relatively high flow of the can. I'm planning on running a closed loop setup with a powerhead w/ prefilter to achieve a very low turnover and increase the efficiency of the 9W unit. I'm hoping some of you guys that have done this can post your setups/details?

Thanks in advance.

xoxoxoxo -


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

I have no personal experience with the "ebay knockoff" brands of UV bulbs... but... I do have ample experience using UV lights and have done a ton of reseach in the years I've been using them to ensure I use them efficiently...

The way the UB bulb works... it's a fluorescent bulb... with some form of additive(s) inside the bulb itself...

Therefore there is the potential for a very wide range in quality of â€œUV Bulbsâ€


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## vaypourus (May 20, 2008)

Toby_H said:


> The way the UB bulb works... it's a fluorescent bulb... with some form of additive(s) inside the bulb itself...


Yup...UV lamps generally lack phosphor (or have much smaller amounts of it within the bulb) and also lack any fluorescent and/or phosphorescent coating on the bulb. This is generally easy enough to do, and many lamps are made by the same company.

*My initial undergrad was mechanical engineering...we studied the science of lighting in two separate classes. :wink:



Toby_H said:


> Also the UV potency can/will wear out far before a bulb will (naturally) stop emitting light. I say (naturally) because bulbs (such as yours) that blow out for some unmoral/unnatural reason may be exempt from this detailâ€¦


As it would turn out, the seller had this unit in storage for the past 5 years. I didn't know this when bidding. Had the bulb not popped, it should still be within an acceptable lifespan. I think that age itself had nothing to do with the bulb failing. Instead, I think that it was simply a bad unit.



Toby_H said:


> As for flow ratesâ€¦ After much experimentationâ€¦ most of which with Blue Dempseys which are known to be prone to parasitic infectionâ€¦ I happily use the formula of 1W of UV strength per 10 US gallons of tank volumeâ€¦ at a flow rate of 10 gph per 1W of UV strengthâ€¦ for exampleâ€¦ using a 9W UV lamp @ 90 gph on a 90 gallon tankâ€¦


I actually read an earlier post of yours about that. This lead me to the purchase of the 9W unit for my 55 gal.



Toby_H said:


> As for using them with a powerheadâ€¦ any tiny little particle that flows through the UV housing will cast a tiny little shadow thus decreasing the efficiency of the UV lightâ€¦ they will also potentially scratch the quartz sleeve which is scratch â€œresistantâ€


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## vaypourus (May 20, 2008)

Oh c'mon... i know somebody has tried these bulbs!


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

cant help ya there, but if you want a QUALITY uv sterilizer.. *** got one on trading post in here. aquafine uv sterilizer.. look it up on ebay.. then.. hit me up well before i say to much to pee of the mods.. check my listing - north carolina


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## vaypourus (May 20, 2008)

jfly said:


> cant help ya there, but if you want a QUALITY uv sterilizer.. I've got one on trading post in here. aquafine uv sterilizer.. look it up on ebay.. then.. hit me up well before i say to much to pee of the mods.. check my listing - north carolina


I've got a QUALITY uv sterilizer. Why would I want to buy yours? And seriously, why are you wasting my time trying to pawn off your goods?

Not cool dude.


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## Steve St.Laurent (Oct 2, 2008)

Here's where you can buy a philips 9w uv bulb for about $20 - http://www.bulbtronics.com/Search-The-W ... 9WTUV+++++ . Make sure that the base is the right style before you order. I'm running Philips 36w uv bulbs in my turbo twist that I got from that site and they work great. I looked at the ebay ones as well but felt much more comfortable buying from a reputable manufacturer (Philips).


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## vaypourus (May 20, 2008)

Thank you for the link. I run Philips T8s in my hood. I'll check it out.


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## Guest (Jul 21, 2009)

vaypourus said:


> Second question - I decided against putting the Turbo Twist on the return from my second Eheim 2217 due to the relatively high flow of the can. I'm planning on running a closed loop setup with a powerhead w/ prefilter to achieve a very low turnover and increase the efficiency of the 9W unit. I'm hoping some of you guys that have done this can post your setups/details?
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> xoxoxoxo -


I used to run a 9w turbo twist in a closed loop with a powerhead. I did not use a pre-filter but sounds like a good idea.

What flow you decide on using should depend on what you want to target. Low end for parasites, mid range for algae, and high end for bacteria. This unit is rated for 100-200 gph and the flow rate graph is on page 10 of the instruction manual. Always found it odd that the graph goes from 55-253 gph??


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

didnt mean to offend you ,, just stating that your turbo twist is obviously not working as well as it should be , and i had an extra REALLY high end sterilizer i would help you out with.. fish karma wasnt trying to pawn junk off of you.. as i dont have any junk.. good luck with your turbo twist hope you can get it working well.


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## vaypourus (May 20, 2008)

Just thought I might give an update.

I bought both the Philips Bulb and the Ebay knock off. The Philips bulb is a higher quality bulb as expected. There is no doubt it is a nicer bulb than the OEM Coralife bulb, but that was to be expected as Coralife obviously does not make their own bulbs.

Interestingly enough, the Ebay bulb and the OEM Coralife bulb are *identical*. They both have the same glass extrusion marks, the aluminum collar has the same pressing, and the plastic base has the same molding marks. While I can't say that the contents or performance of the bulbs are the same, they are obviously made at the same facility or using the same molds and process.

I'm going to run the Ebay bulb for a while and see how it holds up.


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

Thanks for the update Vaypourus! It's good to know more about our option...

:thumb:


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

Coming from a bunch of research on automotive lighting, I found that it's all about the filament: The hot filament constantly has metal atoms in kinduva equilibrium between solid and gas. A less "pure" filament will find some of the impurities solidifying on the glass, thus reducing the output.

This is why there is a real benefit to more expensive bulbs.

-Ryan


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## vaypourus (May 20, 2008)

RyanR said:


> ...This is why there is a real benefit to more expensive bulbs.
> 
> -Ryan


Upon closer inspection of the filament, I do see a very slight difference. You can see this somewhat in the picture.

There is no doubt in my mind that the more expensive bulb is a better bulb, as the only real defining factor of a UV lamp is going to be the filament. I would not be surprised to see that the same company was making the glass/housings for many different companies.


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

vaypourus said:


> I would not be surprised to see that the same company was making the glass/housings for many different companies.


Absolutely! Nobody makes their own bulbs, so in buying a TurboTwist branded bulb you're definitely paying a premium for the box it comes in. The link posted by Steve St.Laurent is great. Phillips makes good bulbs, and the same "food service" bulbs will do nicely in the Aquarium UV.

-Ryan


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## locomotive282 (Jun 2, 2009)

can you give us an update about the phillips bulb, i dont mind paying a little more for a bulb i only have to change every 6 to 9 months.


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