Tunze pumps

[David P]

Ok, I picked up a 6101 and single controller for a customer of mine. The pump showed up and I had to....quality test it. First I was a little disappointed when I realized that I wasn't necesarilly lied to, just given faulty info. I was told that the variable flow pumps HAD to have the control module and you couldn't just plug it into the wall. You can plug it into the wall without the controller, however for only $60 you want the controller. So first I plug it in without the controller and was pretty impressed with the flow it put out, then I decided to test it with the the controller. 3 dials, high flow, low flow, and timing between the two. I set the high to full blast and the low to minimum. I plugged it in and.....hmm just a constant flow.... no pulsing but he light on the controller was switching back and forth...fiddeling with the dials I could change the speed of the blinking lights but no flow pulse. Then I checked the plug where the controller plugs in, there is a little knob that controls the flow of the pump in case you didn't opt for the controller, ah it was set to minimum! Wow, my clam slammed shut my two rose anemones got blown around my rabbit fish bounced off the far pane! This little sucker rocks! The pulsing action is pretty damn cool but I will admit that it would be greatly exaggerated with two pumps and a multi conroller (jumps from $60 to $240!) This unit is so adjustable, between the controller, the small max flow control knob, and this little "fuse like thingy" (sorry for the technical terminology). The unit is DC and runs off of a max of 24v, well this little "fuse like thingy" can be swapped out with a suppled 15v unit which basically cuts the flow in half (why you couldn't just do that with any of the knobs I don't know). One other thing I learned from reading the directions (Good news George, the directions even come in German!) you can hook up a Tunze to a back up battery for power failures. So if you have room for an extra die hard under your stand, you're set for the next California disaster!
The unit with the controller is ~$380 and uses 36w, for flow a comparable pump that I would consider is the Reeflo Dart ~$240 and uses ~120w. Plus ball valves, unions, bulkheads, and holes in the tank. Oh yeah and you cant make the dart pulse... Is it worth the extra money....? tough to say. I will admit that I instantly thought of ordering one for myself, untill I remembered that I already have my tank ready for a second dart and already have all the plumbing installed so I will probably go that route. I was showing the slick little kit to another customer of mine and she said I like, Ill take it, get me the larger one that moves 5000 gph! for an extra $140. I cant wait to quality check that one!

 

[Konadog]

Here you go Dave, just waiting for you!

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1251051

 

[Fishie Nut]

Dave, with my new controller, I can make my two 6100s rock like a wave box. I'g got a 2" wave going in my 225 with two Tunzes on opposite sides and my Profilux controller creating a wave.

Talk about rocks...

 

[Konadog]

George, how do you like your Profilux controller so far? Which model did you get?

 

[Fishie Nut]

Ken:
There is only one model. Everything is "addable." It's like adding hardware to your computer. You buy the card and insert it in the slot in the main controller.
I've got Temp, pH, Redox, Optical Level. It also has a Tunze controller where you can controll up to 4 Tunzes/wavebox. I've got two 6100s and the best wave I've seen, a good 1" wave at the top of the tank, all the way across. It's got a great software interface. Check it out here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=11262830#post11262830
You can download the manual and/or the controller softward and run the demo mode. It's pretty cool.

Probably cost me arount $1500 total, but i don't think I need anything else. I've even got a light stick that is Red Blue White and gives me Sunrise in the morning, Moonlight at night and I can even simulate thunderstorms and cloudy days with dimmable T5s, which I don't have and probably won't get right now. My PCs are doing fine. But it is a cool function. Sunrise starts slow and ramps up until it's really red at about 9:00 and then starts to get lighter and lighter until it's white by 11:00 and then the PCs go on. The MH a little later. It also does my automatic water changes using the dosing pump. I take 3.5 gallons out every day and add 3.5 gallons of fresh NSW every day for a total of about 100 gallons a month on a 300 gallon system.

I may give a presentation on this at the December meeting if there is a lull in the meeting. It's up to Dave or Rich.

Check out the software interface. It's like no other controller out there.

 

[Konadog]

I was looking at the manual, I see that everything is modular now, I thought there were different controllers, cool!!

The Sunrise/Sunset and storm settings sound interesting. I wonder if they will make something for dimming MH.

Yes, please give a presentation, I think we may be a little light on info this month and I'm sure Dave and Rich would appreciate the additional information!

 

[Fishie Nut]

Already offered.
I forgot to mention, I have a WLAN set up so I can controll everything via my PC from anywhere. Really COOL!

 

[Konadog]

Now you need to set up a web site with a camera and stats!

 

[Fishie Nut]

That would be nice, but I'm a little light on that part. I have a camera -- sucks and I can't seem to get it to work through the router. I'll keep trying. I've got to set up a DynDNS account and go that way.