Both Tunze 6100's Beeping today?

barclayrl

Premium Member
I am at work now and my wife called me today and said my tank was beeping at her. I walked her through it and we found the problem to be BOTH of my Tunze 6100 Drivers beeping, I walked her though unplugging one at a time, and then found it was both of them at the exact same time. These pumps are only 1 month old (Bought from premium aquatics) Would they need cleaned already?? Both pumps are on a UPS so the power is about as clean as you can get but they wont stop beeping. I run them at interval 2 on the 7095 with 30% and 100% and 6 second pulse. 3 minute shifting sides and 30% at night mode. Am i missing something? I have not been home yet just looking for advice for when i get home tonight.

Thanks in advance

Ryan
 
It could be that they need cleaning already depending on the conditions in the tank. A very high KH or Calcium could cause them to foul quickly as could a high pH or excess magnesium or strontium. The other possibility is the bush bearing was loose and has slipped out- this is the collar around the impeller hole and it would just need to be firmly pressed in. I have a stickied thread at the top of the forum detailing the more common issues. Other possible causes are wet cables or drivers or controller or defective component but 2 pumps being defective would be very rare so I would lean toward the other possibilities. I would try running them not hooked up to the controller and checking all the other possibilities.
 
Holy calcium batman! They were caked with it. I cleaned them off the best i can till i can get some vineger to fully clean them. They are working now with no alarms. I also found out i have the new version impellers. Yippie.

Thanks for the advice! Just thought it was scary that they both popped the alarm at once.

Ryan
 
You might double check everything. Pumps take out calcium just like your corals do- by removing CO2 and creating an alkaline micro environment. Inside the pump a slight vacuum and slight heat precipitate the calcium because CO2 is degassed. It should however take 3-6 months for this to be enough to sound the alarms in normal conditions. I know many people advocate very high levels for reasons I don't really understand but I run my tanks slightly modified from NSW conditions, with these parameters I get 6 months minimum between cleanings.

380-400ppm Calcium
KH 12- this is the only parameter I deviate from nature greatly on since the ocean is buffered by volume and I have a finite volume in the tank, NSW is 8 dKH
I run my pH at about 8.1-8.2

I would check any other pumps you may have as while the Tunze is more sensitive due to tighter tolerances, the other pumps will definitely run hotter and should have at least as much build up.
 
Normally, it take me about 6-8 weeks and my pump will sounds the alarm.

My tank parameters is

Calcium =400
ALK=9

I come to live with the fact that Calcium like to build up in my 6100
 
That shouldn't be the case, I would either double check that all parts are clean, as calcium build up in any part that is left uncleaned will increase the friction and reduce the flow through the pump and increase the rate of build up because it runs hotter. The new drive unit 6100.70 may also help just because it is easier to clean since it has fewer parts.
 
Just wanted to post an update and say that the Tunze 6100'a I have start beeping about once a month then i let them soak in vineger for a few hours and they are good as new. I have tried to make a habbit of cleaning all the pumps as much as I can. I also stopped using the food timer and that also prolongs the run time.

Thanks for the help.
 
They should go a few months between cleaning easy, try dissassembling the drive unit completely, likely lime has built up in the magnetic rotors center hole and the brake shoe area under the shaft.
 
I am not sure what to take apart. the center hole is very clean and i have the newer version that does not have the brake shoes.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8420449#post8420449 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Conceyted
what is difference between the new and old version impellers? How can i check mine to see

The new impellers are one piece and the older ones have brake shoes. (I think)
 
Ahh, I see, well is the upper bearing clean of any lime deposits? Is the calcium or KH really high (above 400ppm and 12dKH)? If it is neither of these I might suspect that the alarm is tuned too sensitive on the driver.
 
Typically I try to get mine about every 6 weeks. About 8-10 weeks mine start beeping. I have no issues with this, as see it as normal since my calcium is high (450-460).

But, the point I was going to make is, don't be surprised if they go at the same time. At 8-10 weeks, mine will both beep within 12-24 hours of each other. I guess that shows how systematic and identical the units perform (no doubt proves outstanding manufacturing and QA in my eyes).
 
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