Tunze 3152 ato - pump keeps stalling??

Vahanyos · Mar 13, 2017

Hey guys

Question, I've had my tunze 3152 for quite some time now and it works great... however, sometimes I notice the pump in my reservoir would stall or get stuck and it would stop pumping water. It does this twitch every 5 seconds or so and it looks like it's trying to pump water... I then shut the power off on it and turn it back on and it starts pouring again... sometimes It pours until desired level and stops, other times it stalls, and the pump starts twitching again every few seconds as if it's trying to start back up ...

I can't figured out what it is. Anyone have the same issue?

pugcrush · Mar 13, 2017

Vahanyos said:
Hey guys

Question, I've had my tunze 3152 for quite some time now and it works great... however, sometimes I notice the pump in my reservoir would stall or get stuck and it would stop pumping water. It does this twitch every 5 seconds or so and it looks like it's trying to pump water... I then shut the power off on it and turn it back on and it starts pouring again... sometimes It pours until desired level and stops, other times it stalls, and the pump starts twitching again every few seconds as if it's trying to start back up ...

I can't figured out what it is. Anyone have the same issue?

Is your pump losing it's siphon? Is yours standing up or laying on it's side in your reservoir?

Vahanyos · Mar 14, 2017

Not standing up entirely straight but it's standing up. Kind of has a little lean to it.

Vahanyos · Mar 14, 2017

And It's not so much losing a siphon but more the pump just turns off and starts doing it's twitches.. maybe it auto shuts off after it loses the siphon? I don't know - after I power it off and on it works fine until it does it again :/

reefwiser · Mar 14, 2017

The pump doesn't last forever I keep a spare one and change it out when it starts doing this.

rvitko · Mar 14, 2017

It sounds like the normal safety timer feature. The safety on the 3152 is a timer, once the pump starts, a timer starts a count down and the default setting is for tanks under 25 gallons, after 1.8 minutes it shuts down, pulses the pump as an alarm and won't run again until you cycle the power. There is a 3 minute setting for tanks 25-55 gallons. The float must raise within the time limit to reset the timer for the next run cycle. The safety timer is explained in the manual on pages 21-29.

Vahanyos · Mar 14, 2017

Ah okay - that makes sense. Thanks for chiming in bud. I'll read the manual some more and see how I can change this timer setting for my 60 gallon

GoJimmy · Mar 14, 2017

I had the same problem with my tunze osmolator nano. I mix kalkwasser in my ato container and if I don't clean my pump with vinager water every month or two, the pump will do the exact same thing. Soak your pump in a 50/50 vinager water solution for a few hours. Eventually you will have to replace the pump, they don't last. The last time it happened to me, I replaced it and this one has been going for 1 yr

rvitko · Mar 14, 2017

55 gallons is the maximum it is designed for, 60 might work, but if the evaporation is higher it won't keep up even with the 3 minute setting.

We will have a new pump later this year that you can disassemble and clean but as a general rule, the current pump will last 2-3 years without kalkwasser 12-18 months with.

DMVReefer · Nov 26, 2018

rvitko said:
It sounds like the normal safety timer feature. The safety on the 3152 is a timer, once the pump starts, a timer starts a count down and the default setting is for tanks under 25 gallons, after 1.8 minutes it shuts down, pulses the pump as an alarm and won't run again until you cycle the power. There is a 3 minute setting for tanks 25-55 gallons. The float must raise within the time limit to reset the timer for the next run cycle. The safety timer is explained in the manual on pages 21-29.

Old thread but thanks a bunch. i thought my pump was done for and sure enough it was what you said. the pump would only pump water when i would cycle power witch i thought was weird since it seemed jammed and sure enough it was just the time and now it's working as intended.

ESantana84 · Apr 25, 2019

I have a weird problem that mines keeps pumping water and the stops and then keeps filling and stopping and filling. I have played with the sensor in every way (completely sumurge) the only the pump stops pumping only when I hold it on my hand and turn it upside down (sensor) then that's when the pump stops completely.

ESantana84 · Apr 25, 2019

I have a weird problem that mines keeps pumping water and the stops and then keeps filling and stopping and filling. I have played with the sensor in every way (completely sumurge) the only the pump stops pumping only when I hold it on my hand and turn it upside down (sensor) then that's when the pump stops completely.