How Long Has Your Equipment Lasted?

[KQizzle]

Easy, only inconvenience I guess is it's pretty large and heavy so it's hard to pull out of the tough spot where I put my unit
Also when disconnecting the hoses i always get a small spill from the tip of the hoses. No big deal, the unit is on a rubbermaid so it doesnt matter. But i havent experienced the same with other canisters

The auto priming works great,


I have a 406 right now and will replace it for a second fx6

oh wow great to know! i am running a 406 on my 75g tank also! we are very alike

 

[AZ Red]

I have a Fluval 406 that I bought used 8yrs ago. Replaced the impeller, drive shaft, and impeller cover last year. Still need to replace the priming pump that broke probably 5 or 6 years ago, but it obviously isn't necessary for the filter to work.

I also have a Coralife dual T5HO w/ lunar LEDs that I have used for about 4yrs. The LEDs crapped out for some reason about a year ago, though I'm pretty sure I can replace the parts. Also, one of the legs shattered when it fell off the top of the tank last winter (damn dogs). I have since modified it into a hanging fixture. I have only had to replace the bulbs twice, and once was recently when I hung it, changing the bulbs to optimize the spectrum for my tomato plants.

AZR

 

[Steveo73]

I have an Eheim 2217 or the classic 600
That I purchased in high school
I got 2 eheim 2217 for my 220 gallon tank
To this very day that filter works flawlessly
With only one part breaking - the impeller shaft broke
Yes I've replaced some hoses and spray bats by choice but Eheims are quite indestructible in my opinion and worth every penny paid for
Plus Eheim is middle of the road in pricing
I have however purchased an Aquatop canister
I forget if it's the 400 or 500
It's the first one available with a U/V light in the canister
So far, so good, it's made pretty well and works awesome
Hopefully I get so good years out of it
It is on a 60 gallon hex with a lot of fish
Massive biology
After 4 months I opened it for a good cleaning and to my surprise it was barely dirty
Did a quick rinse of my first layer and replaced the polishing pad and reconnected it

I'm definitely a canister filters fan, no doubt,
The ease of disconnecting for cleaning is so much easier than hob filters
Sponge filters do serve an easy purpose as well
Used in all my small tanks forever with no moving parts

 

[pcfriedrich]

Penguin 350 biowheel. about 10 years, in an allglass 55 gallon, whichis about 16 years old, with a 10 year old crack (sealed with silicone)

Update: This is a response to my post in this thread from 2008.

That is actually an Emperor 400 BioWheel. Still going strong, about 18 years of continuous use now. Had to replace the impeller once since I switched to sand in 2008.

55 Gallon tank with the crack was replaced with a brand new 75 gallon about two years ago. I decided I had pushed my luck long enough with that. It was giving me nightmares.

 

[thacarter546]

Since some of my equipment has died I figured I would update.

My jebao 304 died at 5 years old. The plastic hardened at the quick disconnect and snapped off there is no replacement available.

My odyssea 36 watt uv died at 2 years and 2 bulbs old. Not heartbroken. The hose adapters broke while I was watching my aquarium. I was able to respond quickly.

2 of My 3 Rena xp3s are still running with xp4 impellers. The oldest one has a bad quick disconnect and after recieving 2 faulty ones from the factory I replaced it with an eheim. The other two are retired until I set up another 55.

On the tank now is an eheim 2236 bought brand new 1 year old next to no maintainence. An eheim 2260 bought used (looks to be less than a year old getting custom plumbing soon). Aquatop il10 brand new (I give it 6 months). Aqua advantage 2000+ purchased used doesn't appear to have been ever had water run in it.

Hydor with heater still kicking at 2 years old, last one of these died at 3 years.

Up Aqua inline co2 diffuser 4 years old still like new.

 

[supperfish]

My Aquaclear 20 has lasted 3 years.

 

[Vweatsvtec]

I have an eheim 2217 my dad bought before I was born. In 1991. It has been used non stop to this day. Runs like new. Had to replace the ceramic shaft 2 times and the motor once because a fluval 303 broke and drained the tank making the eheim run dry. I still use the 2217 on my 125 as a backup filter and it has no signs of slowing down.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Lost my Odyssea 48" twin tube T5HO at the 3yr point. Ballast started going out and the lamps wouldn't light to full intensity. I could have bought a replacement ballast, but it's nearly the cost of a whole new fixture. Man I hope the Current Satellite + I replaced it with lasts longer. It was double the cost.

 

[kyle osowski]

Bought 2 xp3 7 years ago and the both just went out. Pretty impressed for as cheep as they looked when I unboxed them. One the motor housing cracked so it's not worth fixing for the cost of the housing the other I will repack seals and disconnect.

I bought 2 ehiem 2217. Always hurd great things about them.
Good to hear about long lasting heaters mine always go out.

 

[Dr Goonch Fish]

I have filters from the Eheim classic line that have run well for 20+ years without substantial issue.

I remember on one of the Eheim 2260 canisters, it said it was made it either east or west germany, which indicates the wall hadn't come down. Yet it was still running one of my monsters tanks up until just a few days ago. Pretty surreal.

I have some plastic box filters from the 70's that I still use. You get occasional cracks as the plastic ages but they hold up exceptionally well.