6055 w 7095 Questions

[jmsalt1]

I just received my 6055's and can't wait to get them up and running on a 7095 controller. Here is my question:

Does the flow rate of the 6055's actually vary when operating them using the 7095 controller or are they simply on / off depending on the program selected on the 7095 controller? After looking at the pumps and reading on this thread, I see that the flow rate of each pump can be independently adjusted by setting the power of the pump on the power supply using the switch that adjusts between 12V and 24V. I just want to know if once you select say 20V, does the pump just turn on / off via the 7095 and run at a specific rate based on the volts selected? If the flow rate doesn't vary, I am disappointed given the price point. Heck, that's pretty similar to what I can do currently with four MP 1200's (or just pick a smaller powerhead for less flow) on a Wavermaker Pro for a fraction of the cost. I'd be surprised if the 7095 / 6055 combination does not vary the flow rates of each pump but am not sure so I am asking before I make the decision to put them into use.

It is also my understanding that it would be perfectly fine to run one pump at 12V and another at 24V on the same 7095. Is that correct? I used the extreems of the possible range just as an example, not saying that is what I plan to do.

Again, I have not powered them up yet (minor issue with one of the 6055's socket I need resolved) but just wanted to inquire first.

 

[rvitko]

I responded to your email as well, but yes, you can set any voltage and then set the range for that voltage on the controller so 30% of the power at 12V is roughly 200gph and 10% is about 600gph and at 24V it is roughly 500-1450gph.

 

[d0ughb0y]

I'm pretty sure the pump itself can "actually vary", but I think you are right about the controller, it will just switch between the two specified voltage instead of ramp up or ramp down. If you have an apex, it will do the ramp up and down on the 6055.

switching between two speeds itself is not a bad thing and maybe all that you will need, as it does the pumping action on the water creating waves. i.e. you can see your (soft) corals swaying back and forth.

mj1200 is not the same thing, as you can only turn it on and off and I don't think it can go from 0 to max speed as well as a 6055. with 6055, you can alternate between 30% and 100% speed, you cannot do that with mj1200 so that is not a good comparison.

 

[jmsalt1]

I responded to your email as well, but yes, you can set any voltage and then set the range for that voltage on the controller so 30% of the power at 12V is roughly 200gph and 10% is about 600gph and at 24V it is roughly 500-1450gph.

Thanks Roger but you did not fully answer the following question;

Does the flow rate of the 6055's actually vary when operating them using the 7095 controller or are they simply on / off depending on the program and percentages selected on the 7095 controller at a given voltage on the power supply? I just want to know if once you select a voltage at the power supply, say 20V, and a specified percentage (e.g. 50%) for that pump on the 7095 controller does the pump just turn on / off via the 7095 and run at the specific rate based on the volts and percentage selected? If the flow rate doesn't vary (maybe to be clearer ramp up and ramp down) as part of the 7095 program functionality, I am somewhat disappointed given the price point. I am asking before I make the decision to put them into use so I can decide if I was misled to a degree about the capabilities of these two products working together so I can return them and go another direction before I get them wet should I choose to do so. The build quality looks great!

Thanks much,

Jeff

 

[d0ughb0y]

The description clearly says "pulse". did you interpret that as ramp up and down?

 

[evsalty]

It will ramp up and down just like it would with the 7091 controller. The voltage selector on the power supply is only to set the maximum voltage that the pump will ramp up to. Basically that switch is like a rev limiter on a car.

 

[jmsalt1]

The description clearly says "pulse". did you interpret that as ramp up and down?

Doughboy,

Thanks for your help. I see that on the 7095 as well so I'm not that clueless on the Tunze while I am still definitely a newbie on them.

In the 7095 manual it discusses the use of "interval 1 and interval 2" as the "pulse" function. Still not 100% sure the 7095 / 6055 combination does what I'm asking as the manual translation is a bit cryptic. I am more confident now that it will do what I am asking but still not 100% sure. I will read the 7095 manual in detail this afternoon.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[jmsalt1]

It will ramp up and down just like it would with the 7091 controller. The voltage selector on the power supply is only to set the maximum voltage that the pump will ramp up to. Basically that switch is like a rev limiter on a car.

Thanks. I'm going to read the manual in more detail this afternoon. That should help. At least I'll be able to translate my questions into "tunze speak" better.

 

[d0ughb0y]

I don't think 7091 (nor the 7095) will ramp up and down. it will just pulse between the two levels for interval1 time at one level, and interval2 time at the other level.

you will need an apex if you want it to ramp up and down. apex has both pulse and ramp up and down. the older aquasurf can only do pulse. The ramp feature in apex is actually meant for use with dimmable lights, but can be used to control tunzes as well.

 

[evsalty]

I don't think 7091 (nor the 7095) will ramp up and down. it will just pulse between the two levels for interval1 time at one level, and interval2 time at the other level.

you will need an apex if you want it to ramp up and down. apex has both pulse and ramp up and down. the older aquasurf can only do pulse. The ramp feature in apex is actually meant for use with dimmable lights, but can be used to control tunzes as well.

Ya know I think you are correct. Cause if it did ramp up and down it would have to do so so quickly that it wouldn't even be noticable.

 

[rvitko]

All controllable pumps on a 7091, 7092, 7095, 7096 can pulse between 2 speeds. I am not sure what you mean by ramp up and down, it jumps from 30-100% or whatever two speeds you set at the set number of seconds for pulse (1-7). If you many accelerate and decelerate, this it does not do, if you set pulse to 3 seconds and a 30% speed and 80% speed the pump goes from 30% for 3 seconds to 80% for 3 seconds. In all modes the pumps pulse, in Interval mode 1 one pump is off and the other pulses and after the Interval is up (1second-12hrs) they switch, Interval mode 2 is similar except no pump is off, the pump that would be off in Interaval 1 instead idles at 30% power. The voltage on your power supply will determine the range (i.e. 30-100% of what- 600gph at 12, 1450 at 24 and all voltages in between being somewhere between that.

 

[jmsalt1]

All controllable pumps on a 7091, 7092, 7095, 7096 can pulse between 2 speeds. I am not sure what you mean by ramp up and down, it jumps from 30-100% or whatever two speeds you set at the set number of seconds for pulse (1-7). If you many accelerate and decelerate, this it does not do, if you set pulse to 3 seconds and a 30% speed and 80% speed the pump goes from 30% for 3 seconds to 80% for 3 seconds. In all modes the pumps pulse, in Interval mode 1 one pump is off and the other pulses and after the Interval is up (1second-12hrs) they switch, Interval mode 2 is similar except no pump is off, the pump that would be off in Interaval 1 instead idles at 30% power. The voltage on your power supply will determine the range (i.e. 30-100% of what- 600gph at 12, 1450 at 24 and all voltages in between being somewhere between that.

Thanks Roger! That's the explanation I needed and that answers my question. I will read the 7095 manual in more detail and may have a couple follow up questions on set-up but am confident that the Tunze package has all the functionality that I thought it did when I started purchasing the various components.

Regards,

Jeff

 

[jmsalt1]

All controllable pumps on a 7091, 7092, 7095, 7096 can pulse between 2 speeds. I am not sure what you mean by ramp up and down, it jumps from 30-100% or whatever two speeds you set at the set number of seconds for pulse (1-7). If you many accelerate and decelerate, this it does not do, if you set pulse to 3 seconds and a 30% speed and 80% speed the pump goes from 30% for 3 seconds to 80% for 3 seconds.

Roger,

You've probably been asked this question many times over but why the duration of 1-7 seconds for each pulse? The longest pulse cycle start to finish is about 14 seconds then if I understand correctly. Any reason not to have a longer pulse duration? Just curious with this one, not criticizing at all as I'm sure there is a good reason. Reading through the manual this afternoon is helping a great deal with understanding the controller and its capabilities. Should be up and running sometime tomorrow with two 6055's on the controller.

Jeff

 

[rvitko]

Pulse is largely a hold over from earlier times, we invented the DC controllable pump in 1994 and at the time the only pumps were impeller pumps. The concept was that by pairing a 7410 which was the first controllable pump, 1000gph from a 1" nozzle with pulsing, you could collide a fast pulse with a slow pulse and it basically forms a water "mushroom cloud" the flow gets much wider due to the collision, the ideal was around 2-4 seconds and varied with tank length and inhabitants. Faster pulses don't give the pumps enough time to reach max and min settings, while it is an abrupt change it still takes a while for the magnet to spin up and down. Slower pulses lack the effect desired. With prop pumps, the flow is already broad, but the basic concept is the same and it roughly mimics the effect of waves.

 

[jmsalt1]

I finally had the time to remove some legacy equipment and install the 7095 with the two 6055's today on my 90 gallon reef this afternoon. I must say, I am very pleased with quality and functionality of all the Tunze equipment I purchased as well as Roger's customer service and prompt attention to questions I had prior to taking the time to carefully read the manual for the 7095. I really love the ability this controller gives you to tweak and adjust settings to your liking. Right now I have both pumps set to 24v and like the flow I am getting. I have the power levels for channel 1 and 2 set to pulse (pulse duration set almost at max. so about 6 seconds) between approximately 80% and 100% using the "interval 1" program. My tank has a DSB in the display and it is Tropic Eden Aragasnow and because the flow pattern is wider, I don't have any snowstorm problems which was in the back of my head as a potential issue. I credit Roger for steering me in the right direction on equipment selection for my particular tank.

Having had the time to read and tinker a bit with the controller, here are a couple things I would consider useful (at least upon first impressions) on future models of this controller if they could be done in a cost effective manner:

1) I would like to see an option for the user to set the "night mode" duration for the connected pumps independent from the tanks photoperiod. For example, the user could set it for 8 or 10 hours long and have it operate a "night mode" for the pumps based either either a predetermined duration (e.g. 8 or 10 hours) or even better make it adjustable by the user (e.g. a dial like the ones on the existing controller that could be turned adjusting the "night mode" duration to last between 6 - 12 hours based on the users preference. Many people run photoperiods between 8-12 hours and might not want their pumps to back off into "night mode" for the inverse duration of a 24 hour day. Just a thought. I have not turned the "night mode" / "moon light" photo-electric cell on yet because of this. I may play with it to see if I like it this weekend. Curious to know if others like the existing funcitionality or would like to see this as an option as well.

2) I would like to know if it is possible to add a feature on future controllers that would allow the user to "ramp up" or "build " from the minimum to maximum settings on each channel rather than just alternating between the two settings. This would allow the pumps to build (maybe in increments of roughly 10%) from the minimum setting to the maximum setting throughout the duration of whatever "pulse period" is selected by the user. This differs somewhat from the existing functionality which "jumps" from the minimum to the maximum settings on each channel for the user selected "pulse period" which is adjustable from approximately 1 -7 seconds on the current version of the controller. The longest possible pulse period cycle is about 14 seconds (e.g. 7 seconds at 40% followed by 7 seconds at 100% - repeat). Obviously, this feature as I describe it would only make sense for users that want to vary the flow to a greater degree (e.g. build from 30% up to 100% in 10 % increments) and would only make sense when using longer "pulse" durations. For example, this additional functionality would make no sense on the existing controller if you were setting the "pulse" duration to 1 or 2 seconds. In fact, this might not make sense at all with the existing limits on the "pulse duration". Which bring me to my final suggestion.

3) I would consider increasing the range of the "pulse duration". I'm definitely not an expert, but I think a user selected range from 1-30 seconds or 1-60 seconds would be nice.

Again, I'm sure these ideas have been kicked around in the past but wanted to share my thoughts as well. I love the 7095 controller and the 6055 pumps but these were just my minor "wishes" for consideration on future versions of the Tunze contoller line as I went through the process of setting it up.

Thanks Roger!

 

[rvitko]

7095 will not likely see any upgrades, the 7096 is really the way forward and any future models will be more like the 7096, 7095 remains for those who don't want to mess with a computer and maintenance companies who want to just set up and go but it is limited it what it can do, doing everything with old fashioned circuitry, knobs and buttons means a much greater expense to accomplish the same thing a computer and some flash memory can so added features make it too expensive.

Your second suggestion is coming to the 7096, the first suggestion I don't really see a need for, I have spent a fair amount of time at the shore and barring a storm the sea tends to remain relatively calm for all the night hours and this is generally a 12 hour period in the tropics. Even then this could be easily side stepped by having a very small nightlight kick on over the photocell earlier than your main lighting and this would be cheaper as a workaround than as an added feature on the 7095, for the 7096 we don't want to overly complicate the interface, our development guideline is it all must fit neatly on one screen, multiple screens and programing languages would make it to unfriendly to users.

Your third suggestion can be pseudo accomplished using Interval 2 and a short 1-60 second interval. It does generally defeat the purpose of pulse though which is to collide bursts of water and make a broader flow.

 

[jmsalt1]

Thanks Roger, I will keep an eye on the development of the 7096 and keep it in mind for the future.

Best Regards,

Jeff