Tunze 3163 filter - very disapointed

[mclement]

I was quite excited to get the new 3163 filter
Along with the 9004 skimmer, I had double surface skimming capacity
the 3163 filter houses the heater. It's neat and passes the waf

Together, the 3163 and 9004 represented a nice alternative to a sump

But...

The 3163's pump has this very bad habit of starting backwards! This is very annoying. I usually turn off my equipment to feed fish and corals. Now, every time I restart my equipment, the 3163 (starting backwards) spits back in the tank ALL the junk it had collected..

This makes this filter pretty useless. 100$ just to hide my heater from view is pretty expensive.

VERY disapointed

Any of you guys had this problem and know how to fix it?

 

[rvitko]

The most probable cause is the filter is overpacked with media. The included bag of floss should last at least a couple months, at a minimum it is 6 fills and as much as a dozen. The floss needs to be fluffed and packed lightly and if you use loose media in the bag, it should not be too fine or too much, about 1/2 cup at a time. I would first verify it is not overpacked as this will cause it to struggle to start and spin backwards from a lack of water flow. Their are other possibilities but this is 90+% of the cause of these complaints. Their aren't many old school hobbyists who have been doing this since at least the early 80's but this is basically a motorized equivalent of an old fashioned box filter and needs to be packed in the same way,very loosely. Insert the blue sponge, then any chemical media and then a fluffed layer of floss.

 

[mclement]

I only have the blue sponge in there...

 

[rvitko]

OK, then the issue will be the propeller assembly, the first step will be to remove the pump and pull out the propeller, any debris caught between the shaft and magnet rotor can cause this, so with the propeller assembly removed (prop and magnet rotor) we want to rinse the pump and magnet rotor in case any packing debris or fine aquarium debris got caught in there. I would then reassemble it and try it stand alone, the pump inside is basically a 6015 Nano Stream modded with a bypass in case the media is clogged, the bypass only gives it enough water to prevent an overheat though so it cannot prevent issues from being overpacked. If the backward start is solved, I would reassemble it, if it is not, let me know and we will send a new prop assembly.

The only other causes are fairly obscure and not really worth investigating unless this was imported and is being run on a transformer or is not the right volts/hz for your country (basically if it has a plug other than what you have a wall socket for) or if your voltage is very low, for example 105V in US or 200V in Europe or another 230V country.

 

[mclement]

Ok. I'm in Canada so the usual 110v

I'll try everything you say and come back to you

thanks

 

[mclement]

Well, did as you said, disassembled everything, thorough cleaning, etc.

The filter worked fine for four or five days, and now it just started backwards again, spitting five days of junk in my otherwise sparkling clean tank

This is getting very frustrating

 

[rvitko]

If everything is set up correctly, it has to be the drive unit is too tight, part 6015.700. The only other causes could be that the filter is too full with media or taking in air since we checked everything else. Did you buy it in Canada? If so you dealer should be able to get you this part.