Tunze 3162 not moving water through it

craiginphoenix · Jan 13, 2022

I got a Tunze 3162 and it doesn't appear to be working. It is set to the max setting but shouldn't I feel some flow when I put my finger to the outlet? It doesn't seem to be moving any water through it. Not sure if I should return it or if this is right or if I am doing something wrong.

This is without any media, just running it.

Any ideas?

craiginphoenix · Jan 13, 2022

craiginphoenix said:
I got a Tunze 3162 and it doesn't appear to be working. It is set to the max setting but shouldn't I feel some flow when I put my finger to the outlet? It doesn't seem to be moving any water through it. Not sure if I should return it or if this is right or if I am doing something wrong.

This is without any media, just running it.

Any ideas?

So I took it apart again and it still wasn't sending water through so I took it out briefly while it was on and put it back in and it started working. No I wasn't crazy or stupid. When I put it back in the water I could feel it pushing water through, which it wasn't prior. Again, this was with no floss, media, anything. And it is brand new. Should I just consider this a blip, or a harbinger of things to come and return it now and get a new one?

I love the other Tunze stuff I have (a skimmer) and they are considered the best but I am not sure what to think.

Buckster · Jan 14, 2022

Mine had an airlock. I then turned it upside down and it started pumping water

rvitko · Jan 14, 2022

This is usually air in the pump as Buckster described, it can also be that the impeller is stock from packing debris, every pump is test run at the factory, it is only for some seconds, but because of this test run they are slightly wet, and the dust from peanuts, cardboard, etc, can stick inside the impeller well and gum them up. Worst case, the only issue is an impeller flaw and we can send a replacement impeller if it happens again.

craiginphoenix · Jan 14, 2022

Thanks for the replies! It appears to be working fine now so I think I am good.

rvitko · Jan 14, 2022

Thank you, just let me know if you have any further issues.

craiginphoenix · Jan 21, 2022

So....this is still happening.

It works for a day or two, and then it gets clogged or something and it stops pushing water out. I take all the media out and it is still not working. I lift it out and let it clear out all the water, and it starts working again.

I am using about a cup of carbon with filter floss as my media.

I have seen people mentioning having to "burp" their pump and that is very close to what it sounds like the pump is doing.

Any idea what I am doing wrong here? I can't constantly check correct this. I need to figure out a way to make it work.

rvitko · Jan 24, 2022

A lot will depend on how fine the media is. The floss should be coarser and fluffed, not packed in, for example the little bit of floss we provide with the filters is meant to be at least 3 fills. The carbon should be a larger grain size, 2-3mm plus, very fine carbon will compact and jam, a cup is quite a bit for a smaller tank that this filter would support, a 1/2 cup would generally be plenty and it is better to use less and change it more frequently. I can think of two possibilities, the filter media is compacting and the pump is cavitating and eventually jams up with air or something is wrong with the impeller, generally that will be a weak magnet or tight fit, but typically if it is the impeller, it won't run in any circumstances without a push start or dry start.

craiginphoenix · Jan 25, 2022

I am using the standard Marineland carbon so it is not very fine grained.

Thank you for your response though. I will make the adjustments you mentioned to my media and go from there.

rvitko · Jan 25, 2022

Please let me know, if it still does this, we owe you an impeller.

burban94 · Feb 11, 2022

I recently purchased this same filter. I am having the exact same issues as far as purging air. Once I get it running it is fine, but if I have to kill/lose power I need to purge it again. Pump spins freely no clogs/jams of any sort. This is happening even with no media at all installed.

burban94 · Feb 11, 2022

I recently purchased this same filter. I am having the exact same issues as far as purging air. Once I get it running it is fine, but if I have to kill/lose power I need to purge it again. Pump spins freely no clogs/jams of any sort. This is happening even with no media at all installed.

rvitko · Feb 14, 2022

Please check the following, I recently got one back and this was the cause I found, the impeller cover was on wrong so the outlet is blocked and the flow adjustment was not correct

Wrong way

rvitko · Feb 14, 2022

Right way

burban94 · Feb 15, 2022

Thanks for the reply, I have checked this as well. I realized I made that mistake on initial startup and corrected. Unit will only start/restart with it only partially submerged. It seems as though the pump isn't strong enough to push water on startup. Partially submerging it allows for some air to be introduced (less water to push) giving a chance to start. If fully submerged and air is added to the pump exit it will also start. Both of these scenarios can be recreated over and over without fail leading me to believe the issue is a weak pump. This situation plays out the same if the pump is removed from the unit as well.

rvitko · Feb 15, 2022

Can you confirm the impeller cover is on correctly? This is what you are looking for on the cover, the shutter opening has to align with the outlet nozzle. So far from testing one report of this, this is the only issue I have found, once this was corrected, the pump started perfectly every time. If this is not the cause, it has to be the impeller, it could be a 50Hz impeller was used by mistake or that the magnet is weak or it fits too tight in the pump.