How long do you expect something to last?

[outhouse]

my octo skimmer over 20 years old, with multiple pump replacements,, my Jagar heater 25 years old . My ocean revive 6 years old and still running.

 

[BWV]

It should last as long as the whisper 20 that I bought in 2001 that I JUST put in the garbage this year

All kidding aside... "Common" stuff..4 or 5 years. 300$+ pumps..20 years

 

[Rjramos]

It all depends. It depends on application and whether it is submerged in the salt or not. For instance, I would dare to say, that any cheap external AC pump (pan world/Blueline) will last longer than any submerged DC expensive pump. I’ve had many over 10 years still running smooth. With lights, ventilation and keeping them cool is important. At the same time, if the fan is drawing humid salty air into the fixture, failure will occur earlier.So, a light in an enclosed hood will start to have problems before one installed pendant 12” from the water on an open top.

This is a professional grade workhorse!

 

[Gtinnel]

my octo skimmer over 20 years old, with multiple pump replacements,, my Jagar heater 25 years old . My ocean revive 6 years old and still running.

I'm not sure it's fair to count a 20 year old skimmer if it's had the pump replaced multiple times, so basically the plastic body of the skimmer has lasted 20 years. I also have a 20ish year old octopus skimmer but it still has the original pump...but to be fair it only ran for about 10 years over that 20 year span, and it isn't currently being used. I'm impressed with the Jager heater, they don't last even a year for me.

 

[Tamberav]

Hello all.
i have a question.

how long do you expect an item to last?
if you buy an led light that you spent 500-800$ on do you expect it to last 1 year? 5years?

or a return pump that cost 300-500$?

just curious of what your expectorations are with the price of items on your tank.

I would expect that the fancier it is and the more it can do. That it would probably last less More parts to break.

My eheim pump is old as dirt. Maybe 8 years now? And I bought it used those 8 years ago and it keeps going. It has never needed a part but it also is not controllable or fancy. Just robust.

I would expect vortech to not last as long as Tunze. An older kessil to have issues if it wasn’t opened up and cleaned. I would expect a ATI sunpower fixture to outlast leds.

Not always about money but about brand and build.

I also have Cobalt maxijets that are probably 8-9 years and working. Even though the marine land maxijet looks identical, they didn’t last for ****.

 

[Kershaw]

I would expect that the fancier it is and the more it can do. That it would probably last less More parts to break.

My eheim pump is old as dirt. Maybe 8 years now? And I bought it used those 8 years ago and it keeps going. It has never needed a part but it also is not controllable or fancy. Just robust.

I would expect vortech to not last as long as Tunze. An older kessil to have issues if it wasn’t opened up and cleaned. I would expect a ATI sunpower fixture to outlast leds.

Not always about money but about brand and build.

I should have clarified in my original post. Let’s assume the owner is doing regular maintenance. A friend of mine bought a kessil a350 from me years ago that I got in 2012. He is still using it and it is still growing coral. Can of air every other month or so to blow it out.
I paid 350$ for that light and it’s been in operation since 2012. To me it has exceeded its life expectancy.

there are some other products out there that barely make it to the 1 year warranty and yet people continue to buy them. So I just wanted to know under optimal circumstances what is your expectation. And just maybe if enough people chime in maybe some manufactures will see this post

 

[Tamberav]

I just think 1000 dollers for a light with a one year warranty shows how well it’s made . I understand the 1 year warranty but to me it shows you how well it’s made and like other electronics in the hobbie . I also done get how not to many thing are water proof

Well lights are not water poof because then they would overheat and not make it past the 1 year warranty.

 

[Dolphins18]

Hello all.
i have a question.

how long do you expect an item to last?
if you buy an led light that you spent 500-800$ on do you expect it to last 1 year? 5years?

or a return pump that cost 300-500$?

just curious of what your expectorations are with the price of items on your tank.

Expensive LED lights I expect at least 10 years out of warranty. Metal Halide ballasts rarely burned out, and corrosion if placed properly above a tank could be controlled. LED's are rated for 5000+ hours and assuming the other components are built for the test of a saltwater aquarium (and they should be considering money dumped into R&D) they should last a very long time. My AI 26's are pushing 10 years now, they do break when I drop them into the tank (twice now, lol) But can not blame that on AI.
I used to buy nothing but expensive pumps, in the 90s and early thousands they were built with much more quality, or seemed to be. I use Jebaos now and expect around 5 years, but can easily be dissapointed. I have Eheim pumps from the 90s that still run great, can not say the same for some of the more modern pumps with expensive tags.

 

[Tamberav]

I should have clarified in my original post. Let’s assume the owner is doing regular maintenance. A friend of mine bought a kessil a350 from me years ago that I got in 2012. He is still using it and it is still growing coral. Can of air every other month or so to blow it out.
I paid 350$ for that light and it’s been in operation since 2012. To me it has exceeded its life expectancy.

there are some other products out there that barely make it to the 1 year warranty and yet people continue to buy them. So I just wanted to know under optimal circumstances what is your expectation. And just maybe if enough people chime in maybe some manufactures will see this post

I expect my sunpower to last forever. I don’t know exactly how long until a ballast or something goes but all the parts are affordable and serviceable by the user. So it could be in use until they stop making T5s. Can’t easily do that with a fancy LED.

My Tunze ATO is probably 7-8 years old now with all original parts.

 

[Kershaw]

Expensive LED lights I expect at least 10 years out of. Metal Halide ballasts rarely burned out, and corrosion if placed properly above a tank could be controlled. LED's are rated for 5000+ hours and assuming the other components are built for the test of a saltwater aquarium (and they should be considering money dumped into R&D) they should last a very long time.
I used to buy nothing but expensive pumps, in the 90s and early thousands they were built with much more quality, or seemed to be. I use Jebaos now and expect around 5 years, but can easily be dissapointed. I have Eheim pumps from the 90s that still run great, can not say the same for some of the more modern pumps with expensive tags.

It seems to be with jebao pumps that it is luck of the drawl. I have purchased 3 different ones and all failed in a few months. Other people I know have run them for years with out issue. It also appears to me that the driver/controllers of most manufactures seem to be were the problems occur

 

[Dolphins18]

It seems to be with jebao pumps that it is luck of the drawl. I have purchased 3 different ones and all failed in a few months. Other people I know have run them for years with out issue. It also appears to me that the driver/controllers of most manufactures seem to be were the problems accrue

Yea, they aren't the best quality but the work and when ordered thru amazon a faulty one is a simple return.

 

[Wyvern]

I expect eveything to break because nothing is made to last anymore.
Every day PAST warranty is a miracle now days.

I bought my tank used and it's from now defunct Tenecor- it's a bow front 109 from 1997, and my "utility pump" is just as old, some ugly grey thing, but the bugger works! back even in the 90's stuff was made 10X better then today.

Also spending more money doesn't mean you are going to get more life out of it.

 

[Dolphins18]

If I were to buy one of those super expensive return pumps, I think abyzz is the brand, and it broke a few months out of warranty I would be so furious. At least when we lose an expensive coral we can blame ourself, but losing thousands on a return pump would infuriate me, I could buy 20 jebaos for the price of one of those

 

[Kershaw]

I expect eveything to break because nothing is made to last anymore.
Every day PAST warranty is a miracle now days.

I bought my tank used and it's from now defunct Tenecor- it's a bow front 109 from 1997, and my "utility pump" is just as old, some ugly grey thing, but the bugger works! back even in the 90's stuff was made 10X better then today.

Also spending more money doesn't mean you are going to get more life out of it.

I agree that things are not made to last anymore. And in my experience the more “ efficient” something becomes the more problems they seem to have.

I do think that by spending more money it should last longer but your right that isn’t always the case

 

[Wyvern]

I agree that things are not made to last anymore. And in my experience the more “ efficient” something becomes the more problems they seem to have.

I do think that by spending more money it should last longer but your right that isn’t always the case

I do like 24/12V systems for the lower risk of voltage leak, but the controllers and power supplies needed to run them are the weak link.

A bundle of copper, iron and 60Hz is hard to beat for reliability- but a cheap part may proove deadly, and unfortunately new "old tech" is usually made as cheap as possible.

 

[Paul B]

I buy the cheapest lights I can find because they last 2 years as do the most expensive lights that I am sure come from the same factory in China so it doesn't matter.

Some of my old powerheads are from the 70s and 80s and I have diatom filters from the 60s. But they are buckets of rust so they require a lot of tweeking to keep them running.

I think my heaters are so old they run on steam.

Nothing new lasts any more so I would rather repair my ancient stuff.

 

[jda]

I don't think that mostly people realize when they are buying tech and not an aquarium product. There are products that are made to last - lots of them... but most of them are not super techy. You can still get US, Italina, German and Japanese made aquarium products that will last a long time.

You can still get Askol block pumps, Iwaki, PanWorld, Eheim stuff, Tunze, T5 and MH lights... all that can last decades.

If you are buying tech, then some of that cost is for coolness, development, apps, etc. ...actually, most of it probably is. Have reasonable expectations.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Can we use the $100-per-year Rule?

$100 bucks... should last a MIN. of 1 yr.

$400 bucks... Min. of 4 years, etc.

 

[Junkie]

Let’s put it this way, I had Chinese black box LEDs that lasted ~8 years with zero issues. I’ve had a danner mag drive return pump run for 10 years after I bought it used and only had to replace the magnet and shaft twice. So if I’m paying a significant amount more I expect it to perform better and at least last as long as the cheap stuff. Some things like heaters it’s just good practice to replace every few years because they’re cheap. In my opinion things like lights, skimmers and pumps should at least get close to the decade mark with little to no replacement parts and the parts should be inexpensive. If I’m paying hundreds of dollars for equipment I expect to get my money’s worth or I won’t be using that company’s products again. If it breaks or requires heavy maintenance after 3-5 years all they’re selling is hype.

 

[Wyvern]

I don't think that mostly people realize when they are buying tech and not an aquarium product. There are products that are made to last - lots of them... but most of them are not super techy. You can still get US, Italina, German and Japanese made aquarium products that will last a long time.

You can still get Askol block pumps, Iwaki, PanWorld, Eheim stuff, Tunze, T5 and MH lights... all that can last decades.

If you are buying tech, then some of that cost is for coolness, development, apps, etc. ...actually, most of it probably is. Have reasonable expectations.

Not to mention, apps that stop working in 2 years, or if you have a modern phone, or when the company changes to a new line or goes belly up.
Also trust no Chinese app, they always ask for your wireless internet codes, or ask permission to access all your info- no point of them getting through a "back door" when you hand them keys to your place.

Apps feed into the disposible society.