The turbo twist worked great for a year, BUT....
It's not a very sturdy design and I like my equipment built like a tank. The twist method used in the housing is a gimic- no harm, but no additional benefit. I tried buying an off-brand replacement bulb that had the same style base but it didn't fit right. I think Coralife changed the base hight by about a milimeter so that the housing wouldn't screw shut all the way unless you used their $50 proprietary bulb. It has barb fittings which I HATE, and I cracked one of them by over-tightening it. Not to mention the gasket on the body had started to drip-leak.
So, rather then spend a bunch of money repairing my 18w turbotwist I bought smarter the 2nd time around. I went for a 25w Aqua. A little more wattage means I can run the water through it faster. Slip fittings mean I can plumb it into the rest of my hard-PVC lines. Just looks like a better design all around.
It's not a very sturdy design and I like my equipment built like a tank. The twist method used in the housing is a gimic- no harm, but no additional benefit. I tried buying an off-brand replacement bulb that had the same style base but it didn't fit right. I think Coralife changed the base hight by about a milimeter so that the housing wouldn't screw shut all the way unless you used their $50 proprietary bulb. It has barb fittings which I HATE, and I cracked one of them by over-tightening it. Not to mention the gasket on the body had started to drip-leak.
So, rather then spend a bunch of money repairing my 18w turbotwist I bought smarter the 2nd time around. I went for a 25w Aqua. A little more wattage means I can run the water through it faster. Slip fittings mean I can plumb it into the rest of my hard-PVC lines. Just looks like a better design all around.
