MTBake
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Friends of my family had a 65 gallon setup with cichlid for 28years. No issues. Tank still held water when they moved out of state and didn't want to take it with them.
How long do you expect your equipment to last?
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Friends of my family had a 65 gallon setup with cichlid for 28years. No issues. Tank still held water when they moved out of state and didn't want to take it with them.
Since I replied to this thread I’ve had 2 things break!
Psk 600 impeller in my diablo reef octopus skimmer. Fortunately I still have some busted pumps from retired skimmers so I just pulled an impeller from there.
Psk 600 impeller in my diablo reef octopus skimmer. Fortunately I still have some busted pumps from retired skimmers so I just pulled an impeller from there.
Keiki
AKA LACY ON RC
Not sure if you're serious or not. I hope not. What's the longest you've had a tank and why did you get rid of it?
DesertReefT4r
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I expect 3-5 years out of most pumps and powerheads. Cheap heaters 9 months to 1 year, higjer quality heaters 2 years. MH lighting 10+ years, LED 5-8 years. LED lighting life span bugs me the most, high quality lights cost a lot of money warrantiew should be 3-5 years for the price you pay. Instead you get 1-2 years tops and are lucky if your fixture is not discontinued and the manufacturer still supports repair for it in the time frame.
Salty Lemon
Doing my best to make waves.
Depends on what it is. I expect a heater to last a year and lights to last a while longer.
GSnake
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Usually wait for it to give out. I've bought extra heaters before, sometimes it's worth keeping a backup, whereas you can go without it other times
Nonsense. I had a 65 that lasted 20 years before I finally sold it at a garage sale. It went through many configurations over those two decades. Never had a problem with it. It even sat outside a couple years.
zalick
A cup of water and a dash of salt
I expect my pumps to last year's. 5 years or more minimum. I have backups of every pump in my tank (except powerheads). For backup powerhead, I have mp60.
Backup UV bulbs and gaskets.
Have my old LEDs for backup.
5 heaters in tank (for backup) and backups in the garage.
Only thing I don't have a backup for is the tank itself!
Backup UV bulbs and gaskets.
Have my old LEDs for backup.
5 heaters in tank (for backup) and backups in the garage.
Only thing I don't have a backup for is the tank itself!
Tastee
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I have to agree. My SW tank is only 2 1/2 YO but an earlier FW tank was 20 YO before I retired it. Most of that equipment lasted 7+ years and the only reason I retired the tank was that the silicon holding the top cover supports failed. The tank itself was still perfect but it was cheaper to buy a new tank than have the supports etc repaired. I could have done it myself of course but don’t have experience doing it and the new tank wasn’t particularly expensive.
Paul B
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It's odd that this pump stopped last night during this thread. It is probably 30 or so years old and I just repaired it so maybe I will get a few more years out of it.
It runs my reverse undergravel filter and algae scrubber.
The shaft is a little worn but shrink tubing fixes that and lasts maybe a year, then I change the shrink tubing again.
As long as the wire is good and it is not leaking electricity, it is good to go and I hate new, China made pumps so I will keep repairing the thing as long as I can.
It runs my reverse undergravel filter and algae scrubber.
The shaft is a little worn but shrink tubing fixes that and lasts maybe a year, then I change the shrink tubing again.
As long as the wire is good and it is not leaking electricity, it is good to go and I hate new, China made pumps so I will keep repairing the thing as long as I can.
Pickwun
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What about built-in tanks? Generally when you make something part of a house you expect it to last as long as the house. Does anybody ever think about what to do when one of those starts to leak?
Quietman
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AC Pumps - forever - 10 years minimum (assuming they're not on wave maker - cut that in half or more then). Bullet proof design. Swapped out my last important one though a few weeks ago for a DC. Only AC pump now is a power head in sump to keep things moving. I'll replace when they stop.
DC Pumps - depends I think...my expectations are for at least 5 years. The price of controllability and silence is heat generation in power supplies and a more complex control (assuming brushless dc motors). But the switch to bushless has greatly improved expect running life time of DC motors so my estimate could be low. I have return pump backup - AC pump in the closet ready to go.
Heaters - 3 years if Jager (only ones I have) - but I check the onboard controller annually and do not expect it to last but have other controller in place. Keep backups.
Lights - I don't think all the research and actual use feedback is in on various models. I hope they go 5 years. I know they'll put out light for longer, but not sure if there's any degradation. No backup.
No aquarium controller here.
DC Pumps - depends I think...my expectations are for at least 5 years. The price of controllability and silence is heat generation in power supplies and a more complex control (assuming brushless dc motors). But the switch to bushless has greatly improved expect running life time of DC motors so my estimate could be low. I have return pump backup - AC pump in the closet ready to go.
Heaters - 3 years if Jager (only ones I have) - but I check the onboard controller annually and do not expect it to last but have other controller in place. Keep backups.
Lights - I don't think all the research and actual use feedback is in on various models. I hope they go 5 years. I know they'll put out light for longer, but not sure if there's any degradation. No backup.
No aquarium controller here.
fredk
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I got curious on how long tanks should last a few years ago. From the reading I did, silicone glue is an extremely stable compound. It doesn't really degrade.
I had a tank last 35 years before I got rid of it and the only issue was how scratched the glass was. The seal was still perfect.
I would expect most equipment to last a very long time, but things are not built the way they used to be. I have some powerheads that are 30 years old that I no longer use. When I fire them up for emergency use, they still work.
Also, salt water is very corrosive and that seems to impact a lot of equipment. The powerheads have not seen much time in salt water.
Heaters were always the exception because the used to be controlled via a bi-metal strip that would ark every time it came on. Those always had a limited life, maybe 3 to 5 years?
Controllers should last a long time, say 10 years, but don't seem to. Its the components they use and I think that is a price/cost issue.
I had a tank last 35 years before I got rid of it and the only issue was how scratched the glass was. The seal was still perfect.
I would expect most equipment to last a very long time, but things are not built the way they used to be. I have some powerheads that are 30 years old that I no longer use. When I fire them up for emergency use, they still work.
Also, salt water is very corrosive and that seems to impact a lot of equipment. The powerheads have not seen much time in salt water.
Heaters were always the exception because the used to be controlled via a bi-metal strip that would ark every time it came on. Those always had a limited life, maybe 3 to 5 years?
Controllers should last a long time, say 10 years, but don't seem to. Its the components they use and I think that is a price/cost issue.
Depends on the item, I feel like some things used to be made better and have actually gotten worse. I have MP10's from 2012 still going but when I got a new MP10, the wet-side broke in just a year. Looking it up, I wasn't the only one with this problem. The original gyres didn't seem to last long either.
I have now swapped to Tunze for their reliability and would hope to get at least 5 years out of them.
I have the same eheim return pump for over 5 years now and the same with some of my nano-box led's.
I do like equipment that has spare parts one can purchase should something go wrong. This is why I used to use vortech and one of the perks of nano-box. I once spilled water on the nano-box drivers, and it was a quick and inexpensive fix.
Heaters are the one thing I would replace more frequently.
I have now swapped to Tunze for their reliability and would hope to get at least 5 years out of them.
I have the same eheim return pump for over 5 years now and the same with some of my nano-box led's.
I do like equipment that has spare parts one can purchase should something go wrong. This is why I used to use vortech and one of the perks of nano-box. I once spilled water on the nano-box drivers, and it was a quick and inexpensive fix.
Heaters are the one thing I would replace more frequently.
Last edited:
zalick
A cup of water and a dash of salt
It's odd that this pump stopped last night during this thread. It is probably 30 or so years old and I just repaired it so maybe I will get a few more years out of it.
It runs my reverse undergravel filter and algae scrubber.
The shaft is a little worn but shrink tubing fixes that and lasts maybe a year, then I change the shrink tubing again.
As long as the wire is good and it is not leaking electricity, it is good to go and I hate new, China made pumps so I will keep repairing the thing as long as I can.
Is that an old maxi-jet? I have a 20 year old maxi that still runs.
