What's the oldest/longest running piece of equipment you still have on your reef?

[Daniel@R2R]

I have been using this temperature gauge that I took from the boiler in the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan that was built in 1907. I don't know how old the gauge is but I have been using it on my tank probably since 1980.

I put the copper bulb in a glass tube and I can read it from across the street.



You can see it on the wall here next to my state of the art DIY 30 year old skimmer and tethered "Cell" phone from the 70s.

I don't use any Sissy, Girly Man controllers or glass thermometers.

That. Is. Cool.

 

[Silent]

I have a few.
My metal Halide lighting 20+ years

A Magdrive return pump 20+ Years

A Euro Reef skimmer. 19+ Years

I’m most proud of the Skimmer . It still pounds out the nastiest sludge I’ve seen from any skimmer.

I hear ya

 

[ReefGeezer]

Reef Octopus NWS 150 Recirculating Skimmer. It's been in constant use since early 2009. I've replaced the circulation pump once and its impeller once. It still works great even though it has a few battle scars.

 

[Dan Watson]

Oceanic brand tanks and Eheim pro2 canister. I own a 65g and 75g oceanic with stands. Theyve had metal objects and rocks slammed off em with hardly a scratch, lived unleveled and over 1/2” off in saltwater for years. The company unfortunately got sold over a decade ago then sold and sold again through the years . Next, The eheim pro2, one of the easiest to use, very efficient and strong enough canister filters. prime easy, run relatively quiet and have survived through as much hell as I could give them. Totally recommend as a backup to your sump and they arent expensive. you can use them
for adding anything from more filter floss to growing sea sprouts and more, like GAC and Phosguard or similar dry goods. My last favorite which doesnt well relate to many reef keepers, is the aquaclear series of hang on filters. ive used the 110 as a refugium twice and about 7 others bought new or used, used normally without a single manufacturer failure. Id also like to add MagDrive pumps, I use them for servicing other peoples tanks and holy mackerel i cant believe how long they last.
Operator error seems to be the main cause of most malfunctions in those 4. Every other piece of gear ive used, ive had to replace at least once personally, or seen fail on others.

 

[Dan Watson]

A glass aquarium I purchased in 1988 that I converted into a sump 8 years ago

Oceanic? pics?

 

[Scrubber_steve]

Oceanic? pics?

its just a 24" x 12" x 15" I originally had a few blue damsels in.

8 years ago, when I built my present system, I used it for the sump.

It's gone through several configuration / changes since - basic sump - Marine Pure Sump - Cryptic / semi Cryptic Sump .
Now its a nothing sump. Its just got a return pump, chiller pump & heater in it. An algae scrubber & filter floss container sits on top, both fed with the display over-flow water.

 

[trmiv]

Eheim 1262 return pump. Purchased in 2006 and has been in almost continuous use since then except when I was moving.

 

[Chas J]

I've got an Iwaki return pump that ran on my previous set-up for more than a decade,then had a couple year break. It's been running my current set-up for four years now. I've never cleaned it.

 

[RayDRoot]

All my equipment when I setup my 75gal in 2013; MP10w x2, radion gen2 x2, eheim 2600 return pump, eheim heaters, Apex, Vertex 130 skimmer, Tunze Osmolater. Everything is running great.

 

[CNDReef]

Couple of mj 12’s from 2004 also have the maxi mod somewhere lol

 

[C. Eymann]

I hear ya

Euro reefs and ASMs rocked, sedra needle wheel pumps are great, especially if you do the old school mesh mod with the enkel-mat material.

 

[Mushroomhead]

I have a Rio 2100 pump I’ve been using for a return pump for over 20 years on a 30 year old Oceanic tank. I actually bought a replacement for it about 10 years ago, figuring nothing lasts forever. After a few days I switched back to the original because it had better flow!

 

[Seanb1]

I have ebo jager heaters that are nearing 3 decades.
The cords are kinda brittle lol

 

[paleoreef103]

Several Maxijets used for mixing salt circa 2006. A first gen Apex Jr from 2011. BRS dosing pumps from 2011 (though one of the two is probably circling the drain). A 5-stage BRS RO/DI from 2010. A Maxi-Jet Utility 1800 from 2011.

 

[fishguy242]

ready for this guys ice cap t12 vho dated back to early90's bulbs,lots of them on lots of tanks, and all constant use until the burn out ,can grow anything,pics to prove non believers LOL


can get a tan with em too

 

[C. Eymann]

ready for this guys ice cap t12 vho dated back to early90's bulbs,lots of them on lots of tanks, and all constant use until the burn out ,can grow anything,pics to prove non believers LOL


can get a tan with em too

Icecap 660s burning old URI aquasun, super actinics and 50/50 vho bulbs are incredibly underrated, wish they were still available
i ran them over my two 33 gal long prop tanks I had when I was in highschool (2003 ish), colors weren't great but that was due to a lot of other factors, but made brown -blue tipped acro stags grow incredibly fast!

 

[X-37B]

Eheim canister filter from the 80's still alive but does not get used much anymore. Just could not part with it.
Had one of the tunze skimmers that floated on the top of the tank.
Wish I still had it. Was lost during a move a few years back.

 

[fishguy242]

Icecap 660s burning old URI aquasun, super actinics and 50/50 vho bulbs are incredibly underrated, wish they were still available
i ran them over my two 33 gal long prop tanks I had when I was in highschool (2003 ish), colors weren't great but that was due to a lot of other factors, but made brown -blue tipped acro stags grow incredibly fast!

can't find em anymore because i spent the last 25 yrs buying every bulb,ballast,and harness i could find,lol sad but true

 

[Tampaman]

I have a few.
My metal Halide lighting 20+ years

A Magdrive return pump 20+ Years

A Euro Reef skimmer. 19+ Years

I’m most proud of the Skimmer . It still pounds out the nastiest sludge I’ve seen from any skimmer.

What pump are you now using on your Euroreef? My late 90's one, as of recent, has a 9.5 mag ( 7 yrs old ) with fractioning impeller swap....not so "Tune-able" but every 2-3 days its unreal everytime I go to dump it and clean, wife requires opening windows...

 

[acesfull44]

The Ole Diablo, 4.5 yrs and counting!