Issue with two 6040s and a moonlight controller

McFly09 · 03/30/2018, 05:27 AM

I have two 6040s running with a y-cable and moonlight controller. I recently switched to a slightly larger tank and disconnected everything, and started over, but set the pumps up in the same way that worked previously. The 6040 that is running as "external control" does come on and off with the moonlight controller but it only runs at one speed when it's on, it no longer follows the auto adjust/wave okay cycle, instead runs at a constant speed. When light dims, the pump shuts off correctly. It will pulse on and off in pulse mode if the pulse power is 0. In other words it runs at a constant speed when "wave okay" is on and the pulse power on the main controller is set to 10% or something above 0%, at that time the externally controlled slave 6040 pump runs at a constant speed. If I switch main controller to pulse mode it will pulse along with the main pump but at a different speed as the main pump. In auto adjust/wave okay the speed does not vary along with the main pump when pulse is above 0. I need pulse above 0 so that the main pump stays on providing flow at night. Only the main pump runs at night, not sure if that is correct either.

rvitko · 04/02/2018, 09:12 AM

Wave mode is only for off an on, so pulse speed needs to be 0%. If it works in pulse mode and will work in wave mode when pulse speed is set to 0%, it is working correctly.

McFly09 · 04/02/2018, 08:27 PM

Okay, is it possible to have one pump run on a set night speed when the moonlight switches on? I do like the wave mode as off/on ( I.e. 50%, pulse 0%) but one pump will cycle between pulse and main even if pulse is above 0%, but both pumps will not, the slave just runs at a constant speed.

rvitko · 04/03/2018, 08:54 AM

What should happen at night is both pumps switch to pulse in synchronous mode, if inverse is set and then one will run at main, the other at pulse.

McFly09 · 04/03/2018, 08:40 PM

What should the settings on the external controlled pump be? Do I need to set the speed for it or should it be controlled by the controller from the master pump. It seems that the only the thing the master is controlling it when to cycle on and off in either pulse or wave, but it only works when pulse power is set to 0, and when it's set to 0 than the slave pump does nothing when the moonlight is on. If a value greater than 0 for pulse on the slave control than the pump only runs one speed constantly and turns off when the light goes out

Tank is 42 x 18 x 16 deep. Would I be better off with a single 6095 or 6105? The two 6040s make a little noise and don't seem to be able to push water across the tank, it's fairly long, also not having much success controlling them with now. I really think something has changed, both pumps used to mirror each other. I'm always looking for simplicity

rvitko · 04/04/2018, 08:38 AM

A tank that size I would use 2 6055 or 2 6095, the 6040 is a bit underpowered, you will generally want to pumps to switch flow direction.

I think the ideal would be inverse pulse mode. To do that the main controller should be in pulse mode, main speed 100%, pulse at about 3 seconds or 10 o clock roughly, pulse speed at the lowest speed you want. The external or slave controller should be set to external, main speed at 100% and the other knobs off, if the cable is connected firmly and everything is working it should follow the main controller and to invert it so one is at pulse speed when the other is at main speed the food timer button on the slave controller is pushed and this will set it to inverse or synchronous.

McFly09 · 04/04/2018, 12:57 PM

I have the two pumps set it up exactly as you listed and checked for good cable connections, it will work as inverse but only if the master pulse is set to zero, anything on pulse above zero and the external controlled slave pump just runs a single speed and does not pulse. Turn master pulse back to zero and it cycles on and off again. When I cover the light sensor both pumps turn off as expected, but I would like for the master to run at night mode/pulse speed like it used to. The master does cycle between main and pulse speed, but as I mentioned above, if I have a pulse speed above zero, the slave pump stays on, and does not change speed. The way I am determining that the slave pump is running at a constant speed is that the pump does not jump, or move like the main pump does when the speed switches from say 10% pulse to 100%. It's obvious when the pumps change speed because of the change in force emitted. Also the turbulence of water at the surface above the slave 6040 never changes, whereas the main pump is obviously cycling between a high and low speed. Do you think the slave controller is bad? I have held the food timer button on main pump so the red LED is flashing and it does work with the slave pump, just not with a pulse speed above 0. Before I posted this question I went through the manual a number of times to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I don't think I'm doing anything wrong but I'd just love it if you could point out a mistake I'm making

I would like to keep using these two pumps rather than buy two new ones. It seems to have the same problem whether in inverse or sync mode, the slave pump will only cycle on/off, but will not cycle between speeds if the pulse speed is above 0. I know for certain that it used to work this way and I was really happy with it.

rvitko · 04/04/2018, 01:05 PM

Yes, it sounds like something is wrong with a controller but I don't know for sure which one, my hunch would be the main controller. Have you tried reversing which one is main and which is external? One possibility would be it is reversed before and the other controller is in inverse mode which may cause some strange behavior.

McFly09 · 04/05/2018, 02:26 PM

If one controller is bad, what would you suggest that I do? For the time being I would like to keep using the 6040s, or just buy one larger wave pump. Between those two options, what would you do? If I stick with the two 6040s, where is the best place to get Tunze replacement parts, and would a 7092 controller solve the problem? I know it's older, and I'm not able to find much information on it, but for a tank that will only have 2 pumps, it seems like I could get one 7092 and not have to worry about replacing the bad 7090.5. I appreciate all your help with this. I'd love to just upgrade and forget about the problem, but I need a larger Tunze skimmer more than I want to spend money on these 6040s that seem to be working well otherwise(although a little undersized)

Also, is the 9006 skimmer still available and would you recommend it? I have 16" in my sump and it will fit, I'm currently running a 9004 but it seems a bit small for my 55 gal. SPS tank. I can either add a second 9004, but I'd prefer to have just one skimmer and I am limited by 16" tall. The 9012 is too tall.

Thanks Roger

Adam

rvitko · 04/05/2018, 02:43 PM

Adam,

The controller is available as a spare part and it they have a 2 year warranty so that may apply as well. If the controller is bad, it is unlikely the 7092 will work as it has to connect to the same controller and a 7092 has the same functions as 2 networked 7090's.

The 9006 was replaced by the 9004 at least 4 years ago and the 9004 is pretty close to the same strength and generally easier to adjust where a 9006 could be finicky so in the real world it usually was a lower performer than a 9004. The DC pump would be a slight performance boost and my experience is if the skimmer is slightly underpowered and you balance it with more water changes, some carbon dosing or chaeto and or GFO you will be fine, the end result will be the same as a bigger skimmer.

McFly09 · 04/05/2018, 03:10 PM

Thank you for your honest advice on the skimmer. I do have a refugium with cheato, dose a little Red Sea NO3PO4x daily , and run a GFO reactor. I guess I will stick with my 9004 or upgrade to the DC version in the future...perhaps next Black Friday

Regarding the 6040, I remember buying only one at first when I had only a 17 gallon tank, then buying a 2nd one with the Y-cable when I upgraded tanks. I have that invoice, and I can send it to you. The first one I may have bought locally but it is a little older by a few months so may not be covered and I don't have a good receipt to prove it's under two years.

Let me know what you'd like for me to do.

Adam

rvitko · 04/05/2018, 03:15 PM

Email me, lets see what we can do- Tunze at sbcglobal dot net

For the DC, you can buy just the pump, 9004.041 and it has everything you need to upgrade the one you have.

McFly09 · 04/05/2018, 07:40 PM

Thank you Roger, e-mail sent.

McFly09 · 04/10/2018, 06:47 PM

Just to follow up, thank you Roger for the replacement controller and helping me get this issue worked out. Tunze has the best support of all the aquarium products that I've owned. Thanks for your patience and quick responses.

Adam

03/30/2018, 05:27 AM	#1
McFly09 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 56	Issue with two 6040s and a moonlight controller I have two 6040s running with a y-cable and moonlight controller. I recently switched to a slightly larger tank and disconnected everything, and started over, but set the pumps up in the same way that worked previously. The 6040 that is running as "external control" does come on and off with the moonlight controller but it only runs at one speed when it's on, it no longer follows the auto adjust/wave okay cycle, instead runs at a constant speed. When light dims, the pump shuts off correctly. It will pulse on and off in pulse mode if the pulse power is 0. In other words it runs at a constant speed when "wave okay" is on and the pulse power on the main controller is set to 10% or something above 0%, at that time the externally controlled slave 6040 pump runs at a constant speed. If I switch main controller to pulse mode it will pulse along with the main pump but at a different speed as the main pump. In auto adjust/wave okay the speed does not vary along with the main pump when pulse is above 0. I need pulse above 0 so that the main pump stays on providing flow at night. Only the main pump runs at night, not sure if that is correct either.

04/02/2018, 09:12 AM	#2
rvitko RC Sponsor Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Austin Texas USA Posts: 35,785	Wave mode is only for off an on, so pulse speed needs to be 0%. If it works in pulse mode and will work in wave mode when pulse speed is set to 0%, it is working correctly. __________________ Roger Vitko Tunze USA "He's for every one of us, stands for every one of us, he'll save every man, woman and child in a mighty Flash!" Current Tank Info: 210 gallon planted tank with Altum Angelfish

04/03/2018, 08:54 AM	#4
rvitko RC Sponsor Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Austin Texas USA Posts: 35,785	What should happen at night is both pumps switch to pulse in synchronous mode, if inverse is set and then one will run at main, the other at pulse. __________________ Roger Vitko Tunze USA "He's for every one of us, stands for every one of us, he'll save every man, woman and child in a mighty Flash!" Current Tank Info: 210 gallon planted tank with Altum Angelfish

04/03/2018, 08:40 PM	#5
McFly09 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 56	What should the settings on the external controlled pump be? Do I need to set the speed for it or should it be controlled by the controller from the master pump. It seems that the only the thing the master is controlling it when to cycle on and off in either pulse or wave, but it only works when pulse power is set to 0, and when it's set to 0 than the slave pump does nothing when the moonlight is on. If a value greater than 0 for pulse on the slave control than the pump only runs one speed constantly and turns off when the light goes out Tank is 42 x 18 x 16 deep. Would I be better off with a single 6095 or 6105? The two 6040s make a little noise and don't seem to be able to push water across the tank, it's fairly long, also not having much success controlling them with now. I really think something has changed, both pumps used to mirror each other. I'm always looking for simplicity Last edited by McFly09; 04/03/2018 at 08:50 PM.

04/04/2018, 08:38 AM	#6
rvitko RC Sponsor Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Austin Texas USA Posts: 35,785	A tank that size I would use 2 6055 or 2 6095, the 6040 is a bit underpowered, you will generally want to pumps to switch flow direction. I think the ideal would be inverse pulse mode. To do that the main controller should be in pulse mode, main speed 100%, pulse at about 3 seconds or 10 o clock roughly, pulse speed at the lowest speed you want. The external or slave controller should be set to external, main speed at 100% and the other knobs off, if the cable is connected firmly and everything is working it should follow the main controller and to invert it so one is at pulse speed when the other is at main speed the food timer button on the slave controller is pushed and this will set it to inverse or synchronous. __________________ Roger Vitko Tunze USA "He's for every one of us, stands for every one of us, he'll save every man, woman and child in a mighty Flash!" Current Tank Info: 210 gallon planted tank with Altum Angelfish

04/02/2018, 08:27 PM	#3
McFly09 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 56	Okay, is it possible to have one pump run on a set night speed when the moonlight switches on? I do like the wave mode as off/on ( I.e. 50%, pulse 0%) but one pump will cycle between pulse and main even if pulse is above 0%, but both pumps will not, the slave just runs at a constant speed.

04/04/2018, 12:57 PM	#7
McFly09 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 56	I have the two pumps set it up exactly as you listed and checked for good cable connections, it will work as inverse but only if the master pulse is set to zero, anything on pulse above zero and the external controlled slave pump just runs a single speed and does not pulse. Turn master pulse back to zero and it cycles on and off again. When I cover the light sensor both pumps turn off as expected, but I would like for the master to run at night mode/pulse speed like it used to. The master does cycle between main and pulse speed, but as I mentioned above, if I have a pulse speed above zero, the slave pump stays on, and does not change speed. The way I am determining that the slave pump is running at a constant speed is that the pump does not jump, or move like the main pump does when the speed switches from say 10% pulse to 100%. It's obvious when the pumps change speed because of the change in force emitted. Also the turbulence of water at the surface above the slave 6040 never changes, whereas the main pump is obviously cycling between a high and low speed. Do you think the slave controller is bad? I have held the food timer button on main pump so the red LED is flashing and it does work with the slave pump, just not with a pulse speed above 0. Before I posted this question I went through the manual a number of times to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I don't think I'm doing anything wrong but I'd just love it if you could point out a mistake I'm making I would like to keep using these two pumps rather than buy two new ones. It seems to have the same problem whether in inverse or sync mode, the slave pump will only cycle on/off, but will not cycle between speeds if the pulse speed is above 0. I know for certain that it used to work this way and I was really happy with it.

04/04/2018, 01:05 PM	#8
rvitko RC Sponsor Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Austin Texas USA Posts: 35,785	Yes, it sounds like something is wrong with a controller but I don't know for sure which one, my hunch would be the main controller. Have you tried reversing which one is main and which is external? One possibility would be it is reversed before and the other controller is in inverse mode which may cause some strange behavior. __________________ Roger Vitko Tunze USA "He's for every one of us, stands for every one of us, he'll save every man, woman and child in a mighty Flash!" Current Tank Info: 210 gallon planted tank with Altum Angelfish

04/05/2018, 02:26 PM	#9
McFly09 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 56	If one controller is bad, what would you suggest that I do? For the time being I would like to keep using the 6040s, or just buy one larger wave pump. Between those two options, what would you do? If I stick with the two 6040s, where is the best place to get Tunze replacement parts, and would a 7092 controller solve the problem? I know it's older, and I'm not able to find much information on it, but for a tank that will only have 2 pumps, it seems like I could get one 7092 and not have to worry about replacing the bad 7090.5. I appreciate all your help with this. I'd love to just upgrade and forget about the problem, but I need a larger Tunze skimmer more than I want to spend money on these 6040s that seem to be working well otherwise(although a little undersized) Also, is the 9006 skimmer still available and would you recommend it? I have 16" in my sump and it will fit, I'm currently running a 9004 but it seems a bit small for my 55 gal. SPS tank. I can either add a second 9004, but I'd prefer to have just one skimmer and I am limited by 16" tall. The 9012 is too tall. Thanks Roger Adam

04/05/2018, 02:43 PM	#10
rvitko RC Sponsor Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Austin Texas USA Posts: 35,785	Adam, The controller is available as a spare part and it they have a 2 year warranty so that may apply as well. If the controller is bad, it is unlikely the 7092 will work as it has to connect to the same controller and a 7092 has the same functions as 2 networked 7090's. The 9006 was replaced by the 9004 at least 4 years ago and the 9004 is pretty close to the same strength and generally easier to adjust where a 9006 could be finicky so in the real world it usually was a lower performer than a 9004. The DC pump would be a slight performance boost and my experience is if the skimmer is slightly underpowered and you balance it with more water changes, some carbon dosing or chaeto and or GFO you will be fine, the end result will be the same as a bigger skimmer. __________________ Roger Vitko Tunze USA "He's for every one of us, stands for every one of us, he'll save every man, woman and child in a mighty Flash!" Current Tank Info: 210 gallon planted tank with Altum Angelfish

04/05/2018, 03:10 PM	#11
McFly09 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 56	Thank you for your honest advice on the skimmer. I do have a refugium with cheato, dose a little Red Sea NO3PO4x daily , and run a GFO reactor. I guess I will stick with my 9004 or upgrade to the DC version in the future...perhaps next Black Friday Regarding the 6040, I remember buying only one at first when I had only a 17 gallon tank, then buying a 2nd one with the Y-cable when I upgraded tanks. I have that invoice, and I can send it to you. The first one I may have bought locally but it is a little older by a few months so may not be covered and I don't have a good receipt to prove it's under two years. Let me know what you'd like for me to do. Adam

04/05/2018, 03:15 PM	#12
rvitko RC Sponsor Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Austin Texas USA Posts: 35,785	Email me, lets see what we can do- Tunze at sbcglobal dot net For the DC, you can buy just the pump, 9004.041 and it has everything you need to upgrade the one you have. __________________ Roger Vitko Tunze USA "He's for every one of us, stands for every one of us, he'll save every man, woman and child in a mighty Flash!" Current Tank Info: 210 gallon planted tank with Altum Angelfish

04/05/2018, 07:40 PM	#13
McFly09 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 56	Thank you Roger, e-mail sent.

04/10/2018, 06:47 PM	#14
McFly09 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 56	Just to follow up, thank you Roger for the replacement controller and helping me get this issue worked out. Tunze has the best support of all the aquarium products that I've owned. Thanks for your patience and quick responses. Adam