7096 Availability?
- Thread starter boz151
- Start date
vol_reefer
New member
Success!
Success!
Good news - I was able to get my new 7096 programmed over the weekend. After my Vista machine refused to communicate with the 7096, I tried my XP laptop. That was disasterous at first - every time I plugged the 7096 into one of my laptop's USB ports, there was a brief pause and then I'd get the Windows blue screen of death. I was about to give up, and then I thought maybe it could have something to do with the power on the USB line - I know a lot of laptops have issues with not delivering enough (or sometimes any) power for USB-powered devices. So I tried connecting again using a powered USB hub... so the connection went: XP laptop - powered USB hub - 7096. That worked!
I spent a couple hours playing with all the 7096's different options. Very impressive flexibility. With my two 6105s on opposite ends of the tank, I was able to create a nice wave in the tank (60" long, pulse duration of 0.36 sec to get the resonance). I wanted a little more variability than just the same wave over and over, so I left one of my 6105s on the wavemaker mode, and put the other one on the sequenced pulse mode, with the pulse duration set to match the other pump at the resonant frequency. I used a sequence interval of 10 sec, enough for about 30 pulses at each power setting. That's enough pulses to get the resonant wave going when the sequenced pump is at full blast, and enough to let the wave die down when it's at or near idle. It's very cool to watch - the resonant wave comes and goes a few times a minute, lasting about 10 seconds each time. It provides a nice combination of the quick back-and-forth of a wave and a more translational current - especially impressive considering it is all done with just two pumps. At it's greatest amplitude, the surface wave (in my 24" deep tank) has a peak-to-trough vertical distance of about 5/8", which is enough to be noticeable without being so strong as to make me nervous about the force of the wave on the tank walls.
I still wish I could get the 7096 talking to my Vista machine because I don't usually like to move my XP machine around, but I don't see this as a huge issue because I don't plan on changing up my programming very often, now that I have a setting I really like.
One unforseen benefit of the 7096 is for power outages. Before the 7096 came, I had been using my Digial Aquatics Reefkeeper 2 to alternate my two 6105s on a 15 minute cycle (the fastest Roger recommended without a Tunze controller). That meant I couldn't plug them in to my existing backup battery (a computer UPS). Now that I no longer need the 6105s plugged into my Reefkeeper 2, I can run them through the UPS - the 7096 gets its power off the pumps. I had been thinking I'd have to drop 2 x $50 for the Tunze safety connectors and then go buy a car battery as well, but I think the UPS will work just as well, and it has a beep alarm to tell me when the power goes out to that circuit. I tested it to check capacity, and it looks like it can run the two 6105s and the 7096 for several hours.
Anyway, the 7096 is a great product - definitely gets my recommendation. Just be prepared to try a few backup options if you can't get it to communicate with the first computer you try to program it with.
Jeff (vol_reefer)
Success!
Good news - I was able to get my new 7096 programmed over the weekend. After my Vista machine refused to communicate with the 7096, I tried my XP laptop. That was disasterous at first - every time I plugged the 7096 into one of my laptop's USB ports, there was a brief pause and then I'd get the Windows blue screen of death. I was about to give up, and then I thought maybe it could have something to do with the power on the USB line - I know a lot of laptops have issues with not delivering enough (or sometimes any) power for USB-powered devices. So I tried connecting again using a powered USB hub... so the connection went: XP laptop - powered USB hub - 7096. That worked!
I spent a couple hours playing with all the 7096's different options. Very impressive flexibility. With my two 6105s on opposite ends of the tank, I was able to create a nice wave in the tank (60" long, pulse duration of 0.36 sec to get the resonance). I wanted a little more variability than just the same wave over and over, so I left one of my 6105s on the wavemaker mode, and put the other one on the sequenced pulse mode, with the pulse duration set to match the other pump at the resonant frequency. I used a sequence interval of 10 sec, enough for about 30 pulses at each power setting. That's enough pulses to get the resonant wave going when the sequenced pump is at full blast, and enough to let the wave die down when it's at or near idle. It's very cool to watch - the resonant wave comes and goes a few times a minute, lasting about 10 seconds each time. It provides a nice combination of the quick back-and-forth of a wave and a more translational current - especially impressive considering it is all done with just two pumps. At it's greatest amplitude, the surface wave (in my 24" deep tank) has a peak-to-trough vertical distance of about 5/8", which is enough to be noticeable without being so strong as to make me nervous about the force of the wave on the tank walls.
I still wish I could get the 7096 talking to my Vista machine because I don't usually like to move my XP machine around, but I don't see this as a huge issue because I don't plan on changing up my programming very often, now that I have a setting I really like.
One unforseen benefit of the 7096 is for power outages. Before the 7096 came, I had been using my Digial Aquatics Reefkeeper 2 to alternate my two 6105s on a 15 minute cycle (the fastest Roger recommended without a Tunze controller). That meant I couldn't plug them in to my existing backup battery (a computer UPS). Now that I no longer need the 6105s plugged into my Reefkeeper 2, I can run them through the UPS - the 7096 gets its power off the pumps. I had been thinking I'd have to drop 2 x $50 for the Tunze safety connectors and then go buy a car battery as well, but I think the UPS will work just as well, and it has a beep alarm to tell me when the power goes out to that circuit. I tested it to check capacity, and it looks like it can run the two 6105s and the 7096 for several hours.
Anyway, the 7096 is a great product - definitely gets my recommendation. Just be prepared to try a few backup options if you can't get it to communicate with the first computer you try to program it with.
Jeff (vol_reefer)
quikenuff
New member
Just got my 7096 set up today. So far so good. No software installation issues on my Thinkpad running XP. One thing I did have an issue with was the moon light braket. The nut and bolt used to hold down the cable keeper was much to large to fit through the cable keeper, so I had to drill it out. Also had to file out the groove the same bolt uses to mount to the clamp. Hope that makes sense. Other than that I swapped my 7094 right out easy as pie.
One configuration question though... I have 4 6055s pluged into the controller set up as follows:
Pulse Only
4 sec pulse
CH 1 = 100% 30%
CH 2 = 100% 30%
CH 3 = 30% 100%
CH 4 = 30% 100%
Is there a way to replicate the same type of osilation and have all pumps drop to 30% for night mode?
Thanks,
Quik
One configuration question though... I have 4 6055s pluged into the controller set up as follows:
Pulse Only
4 sec pulse
CH 1 = 100% 30%
CH 2 = 100% 30%
CH 3 = 30% 100%
CH 4 = 30% 100%
Is there a way to replicate the same type of osilation and have all pumps drop to 30% for night mode?
Thanks,
Quik
quikenuff
New member
I'll try again:
looking at the set up screen for Pulse only mode you should see:
Power 2 100% 100% 30% 30%
Power 1 30% 30% 100% 100%
Channel 1 2 3 4
In pulse mode, pumps 1 and 2 are on the left side of my tank and 3 and 4 are on the right side of my tank. This creats a pleasing rocking backing and forth motion for my tank.
In night mode, as far as I can tell the micro controller doesn't care what % the pumps are set at, only which power channel they are on. My settings cause pumps 1 and 2 to blow @ 30% and 3 and 4 to blow @ 100% in night mode
I want to be able to set the pumps up to ossilate* back and forth, with out shutting off as they do in interval mode. Then, turn down to 30% at night.
Does that make more sense?
Quik
looking at the set up screen for Pulse only mode you should see:
Power 2 100% 100% 30% 30%
Power 1 30% 30% 100% 100%
Channel 1 2 3 4
In pulse mode, pumps 1 and 2 are on the left side of my tank and 3 and 4 are on the right side of my tank. This creats a pleasing rocking backing and forth motion for my tank.
In night mode, as far as I can tell the micro controller doesn't care what % the pumps are set at, only which power channel they are on. My settings cause pumps 1 and 2 to blow @ 30% and 3 and 4 to blow @ 100% in night mode
I want to be able to set the pumps up to ossilate* back and forth, with out shutting off as they do in interval mode. Then, turn down to 30% at night.
Does that make more sense?
Quik
poolkeeper1
New member
I have a question for you Roger. Are the 6101- 6105s controllable from the new Reefkeeper Elite wavemaker function? I was just reading some one's Quote that their not able to be run off this system. Can they be plugged directly into their PC4 unit to be controlled ?
cerreta
Premium Member
OMG this thing is AWESOME!!! :thumbsup:
I played around with it for about two hours this morning. I will try to shoot a video and post it on YouTube.
da Artsy Cube has two 6055 pumps and the 7096 controller. I played around with many configurations, and liked many of them.
The tank is a nano tank, 14inch cube. The internal sump section acts as a Nano WaveBox, therefore I setup the controller in the wavemode.
When both pumps are connected to Channel 2, Socket 3 & 4, 3" waves were created front to back with a Hz of .34 seconds on 18 volt setting. Waves go from front to back.
I checked the Inverse button and waves traveled from side to side, which looked totally cool.
The night mode is an awesome feature. The Moonlight is not used, because I use a moonlight feature built into the Aqua Illumination LED system.
What I like: tons and tons of control. You can do just about anything. Including running wave pumps on Channel 1, Output 1 and 2. You do this by putting pump power at 100% over 0%. You can this change Hz by adjusting time from .3 seconds upward. I tried this and it works, just like the wavecontroller option, however, it does not syncronize with channel 2, so the timing is not in sync.
I also love the voltage selector on the 6055s from 12 volt to 24 volts. This allows for a lot of varibility with wave action. It is important to note that after changing the voltage, the resonance frequency changed in some cases.
Again, this controller is AWESOME and their is a ton of other stuff I like, but I want to turn my attention to a couple things that could use improvement for the next software upgrade and one hardware change:
HARDWARE: The night time sensor is hardwired to the unit. This sucks for my application. It should be a plug in module like other tunze controllers. I have the sensor routed through a pole along with the light cables. In order to take the controller home to reprgram the unit, I will need to pull the sensor all the way out of the pole. I also have to unmount the pole. It would be best if the cable stayed in the pole, and I could disconnect it from the controller. Then the controller would be truly portable.
SOFTWARE: Wavecontroller sockets 3 & 4 turn off during night mode. I would prefer an option where these pumps can revert to a soft setting like Socket 1 and 2. It could be a simple thing to add a Night Mode box to the Wavecontroller options. This would then allow a user to set the Power 1 percentage so that a soft night time flow is achieved.
Because the Night Mode disables both pumps, I had to connect one pump to Socket 1 and the other to Socket 4. During Night Mode, Socket 4 pump shuts off and Socket 1 pump runs at the Power 1 setting of 30%.
As an option, I tried running both pumps as wave pumps in Socket 1 & 2, even though not synchronized. Power 1 is set at 0% and Power 2 is set at 100%. However, when Night Mode kicks in, the pumps revert to the Power 1 setting which is set to 0%. So this experiment failed.
Roger, any thoughts on how to get some night time activity from Socket 3&4 when in Wavecontroller mode?
Another issue I am experiencing is that one 6055 pump is noticably noisier than the other. Any trick to this? Can I use a scotch brite pad on the impeller magnet or titanium shaft to sand it down a bit. Not sure if that is the cause of the noise or not. the noise is a louder hum. Especially noticed on higher voltage settings. I am using the Socket 1 pump on the 12 volt setting just to keep the pump quieter.
All in all, I am very impressed. The fish and coral seem to like the new wave action.
I will try to post a YouTube video showing waveaction and screen shots of the settings that create those different waves. This should illustrate the multitude of options available by this controller.
Cheers,
Scott
I played around with it for about two hours this morning. I will try to shoot a video and post it on YouTube.
da Artsy Cube has two 6055 pumps and the 7096 controller. I played around with many configurations, and liked many of them.
The tank is a nano tank, 14inch cube. The internal sump section acts as a Nano WaveBox, therefore I setup the controller in the wavemode.
When both pumps are connected to Channel 2, Socket 3 & 4, 3" waves were created front to back with a Hz of .34 seconds on 18 volt setting. Waves go from front to back.
I checked the Inverse button and waves traveled from side to side, which looked totally cool.
The night mode is an awesome feature. The Moonlight is not used, because I use a moonlight feature built into the Aqua Illumination LED system.
What I like: tons and tons of control. You can do just about anything. Including running wave pumps on Channel 1, Output 1 and 2. You do this by putting pump power at 100% over 0%. You can this change Hz by adjusting time from .3 seconds upward. I tried this and it works, just like the wavecontroller option, however, it does not syncronize with channel 2, so the timing is not in sync.
I also love the voltage selector on the 6055s from 12 volt to 24 volts. This allows for a lot of varibility with wave action. It is important to note that after changing the voltage, the resonance frequency changed in some cases.
Again, this controller is AWESOME and their is a ton of other stuff I like, but I want to turn my attention to a couple things that could use improvement for the next software upgrade and one hardware change:
HARDWARE: The night time sensor is hardwired to the unit. This sucks for my application. It should be a plug in module like other tunze controllers. I have the sensor routed through a pole along with the light cables. In order to take the controller home to reprgram the unit, I will need to pull the sensor all the way out of the pole. I also have to unmount the pole. It would be best if the cable stayed in the pole, and I could disconnect it from the controller. Then the controller would be truly portable.
SOFTWARE: Wavecontroller sockets 3 & 4 turn off during night mode. I would prefer an option where these pumps can revert to a soft setting like Socket 1 and 2. It could be a simple thing to add a Night Mode box to the Wavecontroller options. This would then allow a user to set the Power 1 percentage so that a soft night time flow is achieved.
Because the Night Mode disables both pumps, I had to connect one pump to Socket 1 and the other to Socket 4. During Night Mode, Socket 4 pump shuts off and Socket 1 pump runs at the Power 1 setting of 30%.
As an option, I tried running both pumps as wave pumps in Socket 1 & 2, even though not synchronized. Power 1 is set at 0% and Power 2 is set at 100%. However, when Night Mode kicks in, the pumps revert to the Power 1 setting which is set to 0%. So this experiment failed.
Roger, any thoughts on how to get some night time activity from Socket 3&4 when in Wavecontroller mode?
Another issue I am experiencing is that one 6055 pump is noticably noisier than the other. Any trick to this? Can I use a scotch brite pad on the impeller magnet or titanium shaft to sand it down a bit. Not sure if that is the cause of the noise or not. the noise is a louder hum. Especially noticed on higher voltage settings. I am using the Socket 1 pump on the 12 volt setting just to keep the pump quieter.
All in all, I am very impressed. The fish and coral seem to like the new wave action.
I will try to post a YouTube video showing waveaction and screen shots of the settings that create those different waves. This should illustrate the multitude of options available by this controller.
Cheers,
Scott
Scott,
Are the 6055's brand new? If so give them time before you do anything regarding the noise and let me know. It may just need to wear in a bit.
The wavebox was always designed to turn off at night in night mode because it was the only way to stop the sloshing noise and we kept that function for that reason.
If you open the 7096 you can unplug the moonlight, the smaller connectors are easily damaged by saltcreep so we moved in the last few years to making them internal or hardwired.
Are the 6055's brand new? If so give them time before you do anything regarding the noise and let me know. It may just need to wear in a bit.
The wavebox was always designed to turn off at night in night mode because it was the only way to stop the sloshing noise and we kept that function for that reason.
If you open the 7096 you can unplug the moonlight, the smaller connectors are easily damaged by saltcreep so we moved in the last few years to making them internal or hardwired.
BreadmanMike
New member
Just ordered one of these. 
I have been playing with my new 7096 for a couple of hours now and all i can say it WOW!!!
THe software is well done and very intuitive. So many flow choices! We can have long debates here on RC about which configuration is best.
I try and keep a clean tank, bare bottom, two 6105s a big skimmer, etc. I have been using an old 7091 single controller for one pump and running the other one at constant speed. After trying a few different intervals, waves, etc my wife looks over and says "why is there a bunch of detritus flying around the tank now??" I guess my old flow configuration was really not that good!
I am sold. This product will improve my tank. Thank you Tunze.
THe software is well done and very intuitive. So many flow choices! We can have long debates here on RC about which configuration is best.
I try and keep a clean tank, bare bottom, two 6105s a big skimmer, etc. I have been using an old 7091 single controller for one pump and running the other one at constant speed. After trying a few different intervals, waves, etc my wife looks over and says "why is there a bunch of detritus flying around the tank now??" I guess my old flow configuration was really not that good!
I am sold. This product will improve my tank. Thank you Tunze.
cerreta
Premium Member
I made a three part video of the Tunze 7096 controller and some of the functions that I use, including the wavecontroller options.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmuMkJoMMyI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8fy3nQ28Sg
The 3 video is still uploading, but it should be there later today. Just search for Tunze 7096
Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmuMkJoMMyI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8fy3nQ28Sg
The 3 video is still uploading, but it should be there later today. Just search for Tunze 7096
Enjoy
