This is the Tunze Turbelle Stream 3 or Tunze 6150, a very special pump.

It was first presented at the Nuremberg exhibition. It’s very big, larger than every other pump we have ever used, with a 18 cm length and a diameter of 8 cm.

With this product, tunze has detached itself from the classic design of pumps, and has come up with something strikingly alternative and unconventional.

But let’s start with the specific peculiarities of this new pump.

Technical characteristics of the Tunze Turbelle Stream 3

Its relationship of liters/watts (300) is one of the best in the category. In comparison, the recently reviewed Maxspect Gyre XF 280 (article)  provides 281 liters per watt. Even from the economic point of view, it has good values, with 50 liters for each euro.

This is an electric pump with an adjustable synchronous engine. It’s possible to use it in many different ways: in line, perpendicularly, with the deflector, etc. In this way it can be inserted in the aquarium where it is the least disruptive, which is important considering its dimensions.
A good place for placing the pump may be behind the rocks (with the deflector positioned towards the posterior glass) and set it up to “pulse”, so you can have plenty of water motion and hide the pump.

The pump is marketed as being extremely silent, due to its group of rotors with magnetic pads. In the next few days we will test it and measure the noise.

The controller

The tunze Turbelle Stream 3 follows in the footsteps of Tunze‘s other new products, which have a single controller for each electric pump. It’s a good news for people like me, who come from the “old school“, where the multicontroller had to be bought separately. Remember, for example, the Multicontroller 7096, which can even be used with the Stream 6150.

This single controller makes it possible to control the entire range of the pump, creating waves, and simulating high and low tide. There is even a button for fish feeding.

The pump isn’t cheap, but considering its size, it’s easily in competition with the Gyre XF 280 or the Ecotech Marine vortech MP40, while still having a more aggressive price.

What do you think of this new pump? In the following weeks, we will post our review, and in the meantime, please feel free to ask anything you want using the comments, our facebook page or our forum.

[Translated by Agnese Poggi]