older 6100 on one end and 6400 on other.

[wooglin]

Question about the 6400 with the controller.

I have a 90 gallon with an old 6100 on the right side of the aquarium and it runs off the controller that was appropriate for that vintage of pump (does pulse, etc).

I just picked up a 6400 with the controller for the left side of the aquarium which does not have alot of room as the overflow is on that side. I have been fighting with having to much flow on the left side, and the right amount on the right side with the 6100.

Now for the question, will the 6400 be able to interact with the 6100? I know the controllers cant talk but it looks like the controller has the ability to sense flow. I would like to get water movement going from left to right or right to left. the 6400 is a really neat pump from a size perspective, but I know I may be pushing its ability with my 90 gallon even though that is withing the specs listed.

What do you think? Oh and currently on the left side is an inexpensive 1500 GPH or so cheap generic vortex type of pump that is not controllable even manually. They were real popular about five or six years ago, but the brand has faded so I have no clue what it is. Its rocksolid but the flow is just far to wide and I believe that is what causes the excess flow problem on the left side.

My idea was to setup the 6040 either for the oscillation mode so it can feed of the flow created by the 6100, or to setup the wave mode which I know wont make a wave, but would probably create a nice top movement on the left side that should interact with the right side flow to get a more gentle flow on the left side.

 

[rvitko]

I assume you mean a 6040? You could plug the controller you are using for the 6100 into the controller on the 6040 and set it to external mode so the pump would share the controller of the 6100 and you could program them to work together. The 7090 that comes with a 6040 does not sense flow, it is a very basic controller that is equivalent to the older 7092, it just has wave and pulse mode.

 

[wooglin]

I assume you mean a 6040? You could plug the controller you are using for the 6100 into the controller on the 6040 and set it to external mode so the pump would share the controller of the 6100 and you could program them to work together. The 7090 that comes with a 6040 does not sense flow, it is a very basic controller that is equivalent to the older 7092, it just has wave and pulse mode.

Yes I did mean 6040. So the 6040 can plug into the controller for the 6100? If I did this which controller would work the two pumps the 7091 or the controller that is hooked up to the 6040 which seems to have more options?

Do I need to order a cable for this to work?

 

[wooglin]

I meant which cable would I need to order?

7090.300 or 7092.300 perhaps? Looking at the diagrams it looks like control would be initiated by the older controller. Does this mean it would alternate pulse between the two pumps or operate them at the same time with the same settings?

 

[rvitko]

If you have a 7091 it is pretty limited, you would need the 7092.340 branch adapter I believe to connect the two pumps, that is a very basic controller, it only has pulse mode. The ideal would likely be a 7095, 7096 or 7097 which would let you alternate the pumps. You could add a 7090 to the 6100 and network the two 7090's with a 7092.300 cable. It may be possible to connect the 6100 to the 7090 you have and it would work, but I have not tried this and the 6100 is pretty old so it is hard to say how well it will work.

 

[wooglin]

If you have a 7091 it is pretty limited, you would need the 7092.340 branch adapter I believe to connect the two pumps, that is a very basic controller, it only has pulse mode. The ideal would likely be a 7095, 7096 or 7097 which would let you alternate the pumps. You could add a 7090 to the 6100 and network the two 7090's with a 7092.300 cable. It may be possible to connect the 6100 to the 7090 you have and it would work, but I have not tried this and the 6100 is pretty old so it is hard to say how well it will work.

Interesting. I hate to junk the old 6100, it is still rocking solid. Had to do some solder work in the blue driver box, and everything is still going well with it.

I may try to setup the 6100 with with 7090 just to see what happens. In that scenario I would need an additional controller to control the 6040 correct? I think the trouble is the 7091 has no inverse mode, if it did the 7090 would work well, otherwise I could use the 7090 with the y cable to control both possibly. The setting would be synchronous I believe.

Better option may just be to let them work independent, and get the timing right, which probably work well, with some time fade that would create interesting random flow as the time drifted on each.

I would have scrapped the old 6100 but two of the new pumps is quite abit of money. I believe about 500-600 dollars and I dont need that much flow for a 90. Perphaps I should just replace the 6100 with another 6040 and let them run in wave mode inverse. Not sure it could span four feet, but might work. Would make for a tidy pump profile in a rather small aquarium. Wish there was a larger version of the 6040, I like the way it mounts which is ideal for four foot tanks where space is at a premium. Something that went to 2000 GPH or so.

 

[wooglin]

Duplicate... sorry

 

[rvitko]

You would just need a straight cable, not the Y for 2 pumps. A pair of 6095's would be ideal in a 90.

 

[wooglin]

You would just need a straight cable, not the Y for 2 pumps. A pair of 6095's would be ideal in a 90.

Yes that would be ideal, but I believe a pair with controllers would be about 600 dollars.

I am assuming the 6095 does not come with any type of controller, it says it has an electronic speed control included, but I am assuming that is on the power supply correct?

 

[rvitko]

$460 including the same 7090 controllers that the 6040 has. You would just need a cable to network them which is around $10.

 

[wooglin]

$460 including the same 7090 controllers that the 6040 has. You would just need a cable to network them which is around $10.

Thanks just ordered a 6105. Thanks for your advice. Looks like you can get a decent wave simulation with just one of those on a four foot tank. Might find an interesting way to use the 6040 with it, or may return it (its not been in the tank yet).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7KoHpZn0Yw

 

[rvitko]

I would still suggest 2 6095 as the best bet. The 6105 is quite strong for a 90 and if the only flow is wave flow that is less than ideal. Since a wave lacks direction the best basis for flow is a tidal pattern from two powerhead and a wave with that is the ultimate, but a wave alone is usually only a good solution for certain specialty tanks. Being able to alternate the flow from two pumps is what will give you the least dead spots. The wave height is largely determined by tank length and not pump strength.

 

[wooglin]

I would still suggest 2 6095 as the best bet. The 6105 is quite strong for a 90 and if the only flow is wave flow that is less than ideal. Since a wave lacks direction the best basis for flow is a tidal pattern from two powerhead and a wave with that is the ultimate, but a wave alone is usually only a good solution for certain specialty tanks. Being able to alternate the flow from two pumps is what will give you the least dead spots. The wave height is largely determined by tank length and not pump strength.

Did you see that link I attached. That guy is running a single 6105 on a four foot tank and everything in the tank is moving left to right from top to bottom.

I was thinking of setting up the little 6040 in inverse mode on the opposite end mounted lower to get a flow along the middle range. I picked that one up as an open box at a very good price. I also have my return from the sump which is pushed by a Mag 18 and it moves about 1200 GPH after loss.

 

[rvitko]

Yes, but the problem with wave flow is exactly what you see in waves at the beach, kick up some sand and it rocks back and forth and eventually more or less falls where it was, the water is not really going anywhere, things move but the back and forth is about equal so the water has not really moved. It is not as efficient at transporting waste and nutrients. It adds lifting and suspending to an existing current and can help with feeding corals, but it is not a good sole source of flow. The inverse mode on 2 6095 will be more effective than a single 6105 in wave mode or used in pulse to create a directional current. If you are set on doing it that way, that is fine, but the 6095's will be the best flow for that tank, about 2/3rds the flow from a much smaller pump and you would have a lot more versatility.

 

[wooglin]

Yes, but the problem with wave flow is exactly what you see in waves at the beach, kick up some sand and it rocks back and forth and eventually more or less falls where it was, the water is not really going anywhere, things move but the back and forth is about equal so the water has not really moved. It is not as efficient at transporting waste and nutrients. It adds lifting and suspending to an existing current and can help with feeding corals, but it is not a good sole source of flow. The inverse mode on 2 6095 will be more effective than a single 6105 in wave mode or used in pulse to create a directional current. If you are set on doing it that way, that is fine, but the 6095's will be the best flow for that tank, about 2/3rds the flow from a much smaller pump and you would have a lot more versatility.

Inverse mode would work though with the 6040 though right? If I set that little pump at a lower point on the opposite end, that would create 1600GPH of flow from the other end right that would run opposite to the 6105? Trying to save real estate in the aquarium. Not much room for pumps, it is pretty packed on one end. I believe with those two pumps and my return I would be looking at close to 6000 GPH of flow in a 90 gallon which is quite a lot (sorta hope it does not bust a seam).

 

[rvitko]

It will work, but if you wanted the flow to be balanced having the same pumps or at least close in performance would be the ideal and 2 6095's will take up as much room as a 6040 and 6105.

 

[wooglin]

The 6105 is supposed to come with a controller right? The one I ordered from Amazon just arrived and it has no 6040 in the box. Just a pump and a power brick.

Here is a link:

http://www.amazon.com/Tunze-USA-610...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

 

[rvitko]

If it was made after June 2015 yes, but an older one would not. It seems that it was older stock. I am not familiar with the reseller in the link (Relaxbuty).

 

[wooglin]

If it was made after June 2015 yes, but an older one would not. It seems that it was older stock. I am not familiar with the reseller in the link (Relaxbuty).

Actually the unit I ordered was sold by Amazon, and they are out of stock so it has now moved to a fulfilled by unit.

Amazon says they will send me another with the controller. I guess we will see if it comes with it. If it does not, how do I get one? Amazon while having super great customer service is clueless about individual product and I know they have no way to validate that it has a controller or not.

 

[rvitko]

The ones with controller have a sticker on the box that says they have a controller, but I think everything at Amazon is done without human hands or eyes on the process. They have included the controller for the last 9 months but Amazon has many warehouses so it is not impossible one without controller remained at a warehouse.