Tunze osmolator 3155 eye failure

[Sweedish15]

So I have a osmolator 3155 that has only been up for about 5 months. I’ve been reefkeeping for over ten years and this is not my first osmolator.

Until the past month the unit has worked flawlessly. In the last month at random when I come home from work or wake up in the morning the high water alarm is going off and the water has risen to the point the float sensor has to deactivate it.

before posting a new thread here I went through searches and various fixes.
1. the eye is securely mounted in the provided tunze magnet holder

2. the chamber of the sump it is in is free from bubbles and obstructions near the sensor.

3. I cleaned the eye with a veinegar solution and driedit. When I power the dry unit back on, the main board displays the The lights in the following order, red yellow yellow red. Then the unit beeps and shows a single red light at the bottom.



from my reading I learned this secondary red light means the board is having trouble communicating with the eye. The wiring does not have any obvious tears or anything that I see. There is no stray voltage in the tank.

has anyone ever sent their unit back to tunze to have the eye replaced? Pretty disappointed that I’m having this issue and would like to get it resolved.

oddly the failure to stop filling top off water only occurs at random. Once I reset the unit I can take a half gallon of water out, the unit activates and works properly. But then without warning or change I come home or wake up to an over fill.

 

[homer1475]

Contact @rvitko , hes the Tunze US rep. I had the eye go on my 3155, Roger had me send it in to him and I had it back within the week with a new eye installed. Even though mine was a few years old, I only payed shipping to him.

This is the single reason I will use and always use a tunze ATO.

 

[Sweedish15]

Awesome that would be a great resolution. I live the product, nothing compares to it. This is the first one I’ve had that’s ever had anissue

 

[Joe's Coral Reef]

I think one of the most overlooked benifits of Tunze is some of its products are actually repairable (ie replacing sensor of ATO) and they have a great selection of repair parts.

 

[rvitko Verified Sponsor]

Before you send it in, I emailed you some things to check, the red/yellow/red can mean the sensor is just dirty, calcium does build up on them and they need a soak in vinegar around 6 months or so. Also, please note that grow lights emit infrared and the optic sensor uses infrared, infrared light sources can blind the sensor.

 

[Sweedish15]

Thank you so much for getting back to me. So I read through your suggestions and this is what I found. For reference the osmolator is on a 35 gallon all in one type tank.

1. The top off water line does not have a siphon situation. The freshwater reservoir is at ground level in the cabinet and pumps 4 feet up to the top of the tank. It then makes a 180 degree loop and attached about 8 inches above the after line to a bracket. Even if the sump fills when the main return pump for the tank shuts off, the osmolator return line is never submerged.

2.i soaked the eye in Vinegar for fifteen minutes then wiped it clean and dry with a microfiber towel. With the sensor clean, dry and out of water I powered on the osmolator. From the top down the lights are red yellow yellow red. I get the usual beep and then a momentary green light before the standard startup fill begins.

Next, I place the sensor in the portion of the sump where the water level rises and falls with evaporation. This chamber has no return line in it, nor is there bubble generation from any equipment. The skimmer is several chambers away from the eye and the water flows over two bubble trap baffles before reaching this final area of the sump. There is also no Uv or infrared light in the chamber with the eye, it is completely dark.

Once the sensor is in place in the water, after the above noted test I reboot the system but get different results now that the eye is in water upon startup. I still get a red yellow yellow red light, but then instead of a momentary green I get a momentary solid red bottom light, then the 15-20 second start up fill.

Last, the only thing I have not done is open the unit and turn down the pump speed. Considering it is a 35 gallon AIO, it seems like that is my last task to try and make it work correctly. The osmolator has been on its factory speed setting since I installed it and there has not been any issues. Do you think the sump is just filling too fast?

Sorry for the long response, I’d like to get this resolved and want to make sure I’m doing everything I can before I unwire it and send it out.

Is the momentary red light normal if the eye is submerged at start up?

Update, I opened up the unit and turned the dial down to nano, the slowest pump speed. Fingers crossed!!

I posted my email response here for two reasons. First to show that upon having an issue tunze has responded within a half day, excellent service. Second I want any future person who is researching a similar issue to be able to follow the situation through. Nothing worse than finding a thread with a similar issue as your own and then the poster doesn’t update the thread with the end result.

 

[rvitko Verified Sponsor]

Everything you describe is normal, green when dry, red when wet. I suspect you may have some viewing angle though as the lighst would be red/ green /yellow/ red, these lights do not change color but if viewed at an angle you can see neighboring lights through the windows. Pump speed is the most likely culprit. Everytime it is powered on it pumps for 20 seconds, this is a cup of water in the default setting or a 1/2 cup at nano, the 5 second overfill is also a cause of issues on smaller set ups. Keep me posted. FWIW, I am in Denver getting ready for Reefstock this weekend, after today I won't likely be back online until Tuesday.