Tunze controllable powerheads minus controller

[scottmckinney67]

Roger,

Can I buy a 6095 or 6105 minus the controller? I have a 6105 with 7096 controller and want to pick up another powerhead.

Thanks,
Scott

 

[smatter]

I'm pretty sure they all come with the controller now. There is a setting for an external controller.

 

[rvitko]

There may still be some available without controller, I believe Fragtastic reef had some and possibly Salty Supply. The controller is standard now and as smatter said, you simply set it to external to bypass it and use your existing controller.

 

[scottmckinney67]

Thanks, just trying to save a few bucks. Doesn't one controller (7096) control up to 2 heads? If so, why not give the customer the option to buy the bare pump? Plus, if there's a setting for external controller, why would apex guys want to pay for tunze's?

 

[rvitko]

The controller is integral and the price did not increase when we added the controller. The controller is the hub to connect the apex and power. It is tied in with the driver board inside and is needed to connect everything. It was a needed improvement as our competition includes a basic controller and it also allowed everything to be mounted away from spills and the bracket is included.

 

[scottmckinney67]

I get that it's integral. And I appreciate that Tunze didn't increase the price. But doesn't the controller that comes with every powerhead have the capability of controlling two pumps? If that's not correct, then it all makes sense. But the logic of not offering a bare pump as a spare part or not offering packages of two pumps with one controller at a slightly reduced cost is lost on me... Neptune WAV is two pumps one controller and the cost per pump is cheaper when you buy it that way.

PS. I got the silencer, thanks again for that.

Scott

 

[rvitko]

On the new pumps the controller is not just a controller, it is the interface with the driver for the DC motor built into the pump and allows speed calibrations when needed. Each controller runs one pump, but they can be networked and others set up in slave mode. If you only consider how much tidier the set up is due to the mounting bracket, it is a much better set up and if your Apex were to go down, you would have a backup controller.

 

[scottmckinney67]

Thanks for clearing that up. I was under the impression that one controller ran two pumps.