Disaster struck Stream 3 fell off side

[zalick]

Hi Roger,
I’ve had the Stream 3 since their release and never had any issues. I have the strong magnets. My acrylic is 3/4”.

I woke up this morning to one stream 3 on the floor of the tank and all the sand pushed against the far side. Magnets on the ground.

i don’t have any fish or other livestock that could have hit the pump with any force.

do these magnets lose power over time?

also, does Tunze have a stronger magnet? Many of the pumps are designed for tanks that are often 1” thick.

If there are no stronger magnets, do you have any suggestions on how to keep this from happening in the future?

thanks!

 

[rvitko Verified Sponsor]

My experience is that usually it is because the magnets were not completely lined up. I have had mine slip and it is very difficult because of parallax error to see that the magnets are exactly lined up. I find the best it to work by feel and and an idea of how far apart the magnets should be on the outside. It is possible to add a 1" magnet but this is very expensive and complicated, essentially you use the magnet insides that you have and magnetically couple to two pairs of 6205.500. The magnets should only lose strength due to heat, and it would need to be above 120F to have strength loss, this can happen to cleaner magnets transported job to job in a vehicle, but outside of that is pretty rare.

 

[zalick]

My experience is that usually it is because the magnets were not completely lined up. I have had mine slip and it is very difficult because of parallax error to see that the magnets are exactly lined up. I find the best it to work by feel and and an idea of how far apart the magnets should be on the outside. It is possible to add a 1" magnet but this is very expensive and complicated, essentially you use the magnet insides that you have and magnetically couple to two pairs of 6205.500. The magnets should only lose strength due to heat, and it would need to be above 120F to have strength loss, this can happen to cleaner magnets transported job to job in a vehicle, but outside of that is pretty rare.

Thanks Roger. I did just adjust the pumps and clean them a few weeks ago. I also may have washed them in hot water close or above 120f. Good to know that I shouldn't do that!

Do the 6205.500 come as a single magnet or two magnets? Ie if I order it for $99, will that give me two magnets to use with the stream 3 or a single magnet? If they come as a single, can I use one 6205.500 and one 6205.501 per Stream 3?

 

[rvitko Verified Sponsor]

It is a pair, inside and outside half, you need 2 for this pump, this is a pretty eccentric solution, and we have generally only used it for very large installs with 1" glass. I wouldn't expect brief exposure to hot water to do much harm, a long soak, or for example a dishwasher could, but it generally takes a bit of time to heat up the magnets.

 

[zalick]

It is a pair, inside and outside half, you need 2 for this pump, this is a pretty eccentric solution, and we have generally only used it for very large installs with 1" glass. I wouldn't expect brief exposure to hot water to do much harm, a long soak, or for example a dishwasher could, but it generally takes a bit of time to heat up the magnets.

Thanks Roger. So would it be possible dimensionally, to use one 6205.500 and one 6205.501 on a stream 3? Just to get the added strength of one magnet?

I don't want to lose sleep over the pump falling off. I had enough silicone seam failing dreams, that I ditched my glass for acrylic. I sleep much better now!

 

[rvitko Verified Sponsor]

So, I tried this before, basically I had our mangrove planter (Delta Rock 0104.800) and it has magnets for 1/2", it uses the same small magnets and the inside half is siliconed into the rock so you cannot change it. The only thing that remotely worked for 3/4" was to replace the outside halves with 6205.501, this works but is very awkward, the inside magnet is smaller and the poles do not exactly line up, it was far from perfect. 6205.501 is pretty thick as well.

Do you have the older 6025.500 by chance? The newest ones are the same "steel blue" color as parts of the Stream 3. The update happened around late 2019 as I recall. With the rubber rings they use now and the new magnet which is stronger, this may be all you need. I have the older ones on my home pumps and they are just strong enough to hold, the newer version has a little more strength.

 

[zalick]

So, I tried this before, basically I had our mangrove planter (Delta Rock 0104.800) and it has magnets for 1/2", it uses the same small magnets and the inside half is siliconed into the rock so you cannot change it. The only thing that remotely worked for 3/4" was to replace the outside halves with 6205.501, this works but is very awkward, the inside magnet is smaller and the poles do not exactly line up, it was far from perfect. 6205.501 is pretty thick as well.

Do you have the older 6025.500 by chance? The newest ones are the same "steel blue" color as parts of the Stream 3. The update happened around late 2019 as I recall. With the rubber rings they use now and the new magnet which is stronger, this may be all you need. I have the older ones on my home pumps and they are just strong enough to hold, the newer version has a little more strength.

You shipped them out to me January 2019. They feel "just strong enough". If I bump the pump on the inside a bit, the pump falls off. I'm not sure of the color, as I'm colorblind. Here is a pic.