Your Oldest Piece of Equipment STILL IN USE?

[Fin]

Was having a debate the other day about the oldest piece of kit still running on my tank! Not squirreled away in some dusty old closet, but actually still running on a tank ..... and NOT including the actual tank. I just retired an old orange Dupla float switch that I bought in 1988, so now it's my MTC ProCal at only 20 years young (though I did have to replace the pump). What's your geezer-gear?

Like this one?

I also have an old Dupla-Sun metal halide fixture in my attic (2x 150 watt Power Star double ended bulbs). Still worked the last time I plugged it in, but hummed like crazy.

 

[KrisReef]

The little ceramic house was all I could afford when I was 11 years old. I bought it and placed in my 10 gal with my guppies and plat ties. I guess it was my first decoration. It has never caused any problems in my fresh or salt tanks.

This post makes me want to cry. I recently lost my favorite ceramic piece. It was bright orange with white spots. It was given to me by Doug the Rock Man circa 1992. I suspect it was made overseas, as recently it started to dissolve and crumble from the base. It had a lot of sentimental value for me because that was from a happy time when I worked in a LFS in Sacramento. It wasn't a house, but a ceramic toilet, the only toilet ornament I'd ever seen, or ever would see for fish tanks. Turned out to be crappily made in the end and it just fell apart.

The oldest one piece cave rock that I had in my first guppy tank I found in my moms garden after she died. It's in my backyard now. In the end she fell apart too. It's interesting how we get attached to stuff. I have an old Magnum 350 filter hose that I still use for siphon duties that I guess is 30 years or older? I have a HOT Magnum filter on a rock barrel that was given to me by my good friend John when Hot Magnums first came out.

I wonder who will take my tank after I am gone?

 

[ca1ore]

Like this one?

I also have an old Dupla-Sun metal halide fixture in my attic (2x 150 watt Power Star double ended bulbs). Still worked the last time I plugged it in, but hummed like crazy.

Bingo!! Dupla was my introduction to real aquarium technology. I was mostly a FW plant tank guy then, so ended up with most of the kit described in The Optimum Aquarium. DuplaSun-LI was my initial foray into metal halide. Though no aquarium specific bulbs to be had then.

 

[Fin]

Bingo!! Dupla was my introduction to real aquarium technology. I was mostly a FW plant tank guy then, so ended up with most of the kit described in The Optimum Aquarium. DuplaSun-LI was my initial foray into metal halide. Though no aquarium specific bulbs to be had then.

Oddly enough, Albert Thiel was the one that recommended I get that switch. He was just a factory rep for Dupla at the time. He was setting up the first real reef tank I had ever seen at the LFS (probably around ‘87-‘88). I was mesmerized by the look of the shimmer from the MH over an Oceanic 58 gallon. I had a 200 Oceanic at the time. I got to talking to him about my tank and he wanted to come take a look at it and give me some advice how I could convert my tank to a reef. So, I actually had Mr. Thiel at my house one evening. He was just a salesman to me at the time. Who knew?

You know how he plumbed that 58? He drilled it for a corner overflow, but drilled a hole in the bottom right front corner of the tank for the return. It was connected to a Dupla pump (which was absolutely silent) with a 45 degree PVC fitting pointed toward the left rear of the tank from that hole. The only thing that kept the tank from draining all the way to the bottom was a ball check valve. The pump ran until that orange float switch cut the pump off and allowed the sump to fill back up. It ran like that constantly and made a neat wave motion with ebbs and flows.

That tank made such an impression on me, it would be cool to replicate - but not sure I would trust that ball check valve - and don’t think I could tolerate the rattling of the ball inside of it.

 

[ca1ore]

Yes, Albert worked for Dupla for a while and did the English translation for The Optimum Aquarium. I had the almost exact experience of seeing him setting up a system at my local LFS in NJ. Very cool.