Nonstop Issues

[ArowanaLover1902]

I'm really really really tired of this awful controller. Here I am, 6 in the morning, having woken up to the sound of spilling water, you guessed it, my tunze 3152 went on the fritz and way overfilled my tank. I've got about 5 gallons of spillage. I've got fans running, towels getting water and all. This has happened several other times too, this was the worst though as it was a just filled bucket. Here have been the problems so far:
- Took far too much water and it went everywhere
- Took far too much water and it went everywhere
- Took far too much water and ended up breaking the pump (it had about 3 gallons in it, lots of that went on the floor) (had to replace the pump, add $30 t0 the cost)
- Didn't take enough water, another middle of the night wake up to the sound of my return pump screaming
- Took far too much water and it went everywhere
- Took far too much water and it went everywhere, this was tonight and it really really sucks, I have carpet

I've kept the sensor clean, obviously I've changed the pump. I haven't even had this thing for a year too. This is about a problem every month. I'm going to college in 3 weeks, money is tight, now I get to pay $100-$200 for another ato (It will not be Tunze ever again).

 

[ArowanaLover1902]

To put it in perspective, this thing is crazier than my skimmer after feeding phytoplankton.

 

[rvitko]

At any point in all these issues did you contact us or send it in for repair?

 

[rvitko]

If you want help, I am happy to help you, we provided all the US contact info on the warranty manual that came with the product. It has a 2 year warranty, most of this frustration would have been solved by contacting us. The pump would have been a warranty issue and we would have to determine if the overfilling is an installation issue or a product issue. In general a 3152 cannot add more than 3/4 gallon before the timer shuts it off. The only exceptions are:

1) The controller got wet creating a direct short across the relay.
2) A siphon, the reservoir water level is above the end of the hose.
3) Units made before 2016 it was possible for a faulty pump to cause a timer reset automatically by disrupting the power. In late 2015 the circuit board was updated.
4) Controller relay is being directly actuated by a magnetic field.

 

[Waters]

I had that same issue with mine.....I opened a ticket and they replaced the main board. Has worked flawlessly since.

 

[ArowanaLover1902]

How do I open a ticket? I still have the original packaging? My controller has never gotten wet, it's not a siphon (my reservoir is lower), I bought it early 2018, I'm not sure about the last one. It may have done it at only 3/4 gallon per hour, but given that it happened at night, it may not have. It seems to be a problem with the sensor not understanding that the water level is already met. I have it in my return chamber and when it works it works, its just a problem about every month that has caused huge problems for me. Attached is a layout of my sump, the ATO sensor is in the return chamber above the return pump. I have also submitted a ticket

 

[rvitko]

For a siphon only two points matter A) Water level in the reservoir, B) end of the hose. If the reservoir A is 15" high, then B must be at least 15". This is a very common misunderstanding of how siphons work, you can have a reservoir and sump same height side by side and dangle the hose nearly to the bottom of the sump and the water will siphon until the hose level and water level in the reservoir are the same. If this problem only happens when the reservoir has been refilled, this is surely the cause.

The Nano Osmolator has 2 safety timer settings, factory is 1 min 45 seconds for under 25 gallons, extended is 2 min 45-3 minutes for tanks 25-55. If the pump ever runs longer than this it times out, the pump pulses as an alarm and it will never run again until you unplug it and plug it back in. If you have zero or less than zero head pressure water can be added by these pulses or a siphon. This timer is only reset by cycling the power if the unit works normally and this is why such a large overfill should be impossible. 1 min 45 seconds is 1/4-1/2 gallon depending on head pressure and 3 min is only 2/3-3/4 gallon.

I got your email and will reply further.

 

[Kal]

Hey man I had the same issue when I first installed mine and I figured out it was an issue with microbubbles coating the sensor. I moved the sensor to the last chamber of my sump and the problem went away (along with microbubbles on the sensor). Could that be your issue?

 

[ArowanaLover1902]

Its not a microbubble issue, its already in the last chamber. I did have a problem with microbubbles once, I tried all types of crazy plumbing devices to fix it, eventually just gave up and rebuilt my sump so that wouldn't happen.

 

[rvitko]

Microbubbles will only be an issue with the optic sensor style of the Osmolator, the float switch is not affected by bubbles, only by magnets.

 

[ChineyRas]

Microbubbles will only be an issue with the optic sensor style of the Osmolator, the float switch is not affected by bubbles, only by magnets.

How do you correct the float switch being affected by magnets since it sits so close to the magnet?

I bought mine used, and have tried soaking in vinegar and wiping several times, but the optic sensor rarely ever works (mine too is in last/middle chamber of Nuvo Fusion 40). The float switch works some times, but tends to not float evenly which results in float switch not floating properly causing to overfill. Most of the time, the pump eventually shuts off (even after passing float switch), but the alarm sounds nearly EVERY time.

My pump is at floor level while end of hose is about 5 feet high.

Please help

 

[rvitko]

If the magnets are properly installed and the correct ones and the sensors in the correct positions and it is mounted on glass of 1/4" or more you should have no issues. Also, don't have any other magnets within 4". The optic sensor is only affected by bubbles, and not magnets. Do you know how old it is?