Tunze has released a new wavemaker: the Turbelle Nanostream 6075. This new pump retails for $299.99 USD and can be found at Premium Aquatics and AquaCave. This model has Tunze’s signature gyroscopic design, which allows users to rotate the primary face in almost any forward-facing orientation they like.
The 6075 is recommended for saltwater aquariums of 132 gallons (500 liters) and freshwater systems of 264 gallons (1,000 liters). It has a magnet rated for glass up to 5/8″ (15 mm) thickness.
Tunze reports that the unit has a maximum flow rate of 1981.29 gallons/hour (7,500 liters/hour). With a max utilization of 8W, this translates to an efficiency of 247.66 gallons/hour/watts (937 liters/hour/watts). Such efficiency means these pumps are an excellent choice for a system because they can be run for a long period of time on backup power.
The unit also comes with the sleek 7020 Turbelle physical controller, which allows for randomized modes, day-by-day progressions, and a range from 713.26 to 1981.29 gallons/hour (2,700 to 7,500 liters/hour). The 7020 Turbelle also allows for WiFi-based control via Tunze Hub.
Tunze Hub sets itself apart from competitors on the software side of things by having several redundant European-based servers, as well as no hidden data collection or operating cost. Additionally, it utilizes device-individual AE256 encryption and is entirely web-based, requiring no external programs or drivers.
Regarding the hardware itself, it features one of the largest propellers on the market and an axel made from a titanium-stainless alloy. One of the aspects of the unit I was most impressed by was the cable quality utilized. I am unsure what it’s made of, but it reminds me of an audio XLR cable. It’s 9.8 feet long (3 meters) to the controller, extremely robust, resistant to kinking, and entirely sealed, making it very durable and ideal for saltwater use.
On the electrical side, it comes with a 12v power supply. The normal input voltage is 100-240v, with an input frequency of 50-60 Hz and an input current of 0,3-0,15 Arms. Its output voltage is 12v DC, and its output current is 1,0 A.
Build quality alone sets Tunze apart from the crowd. Instead of sourcing their parts or entire units from China and flipping them, Tunze designs, molds, and manufactures all of their parts in a German factory with an electricity rate of 25 cents a kWH where they pay German workers a living wage. They wind all of their motor coils in-house, and instead of relying on Chinese copper, which is around 88% purity, they source their copper from EU and US suppliers and attempt to get a purity of around 96%. Because of in-house manufacturing, they also offer replacement parts on their website so you can continue to utilize and repair their products for years or even decades. Thus, it’s quite impressive they’re still able to keep their pricing competitive. It also speaks to the confidence they have in their product, being one of the few in the industry to offer a 5-year warranty.
We’ve recently acquired one of these wavemakers and will put it through the complete testing gauntlet soon. Because of the car crash, we had to deploy it on the coral flats, given the emergency. Because of this, I have been able to observe the wavemaker working for around a week. Upon initially opening the box, I was very impressed by the unit’s build quality. Having had my hands on almost every wavemaker on the market, only a handful have been able to compare to come close to the quality of materials the unit was constructed from.
Additionally, while before, we had two other brand-name wavemakers on the flat to generate flow, the single 6075 has been able to supply enough flow to keep things turning in a 4′ x 8′ flat in conjunction with the return pumps. I have it placed in the middle of the system height-wise, set to its standard pulse mode. A wave of water is visible at the surface whenever it’s on.
Stay tuned for our full, in-depth, data-driven review of this model in January.
And while I’m speaking of Tunze I figured I would include this video to settle the age old debate of how to pronounce the companies name
