Is equipment failure just part of the hobby / something I should plan and get used to?

[Tamberav]

I'm coming up to my 4 year anniversary in the hobby (First tank still running), and I have a serious question...

I'm not having a moan (but I am extremely frustrated right now), I know that nothing lasts forever, and I know that any equipment anywhere near the harsh environment of a salt water aquarium is in for a beating...

But... having just had a 18 month old AI Nero Pump fail on me, I'm wondering if I'm right to be frustrated (i.e. I'm just unlucky), or if I need to reset my expectations and get used to "Just the way it is" with gear failures.

4 years in and I've had 3 separate ATO's die on me, one of my AI Prime lights, and one each Nero 3 and Nero 5 wave makers.

Does this "sound / feel" abnormal (I'm doing all regular maintenance on all the gear, so I don't think its me), or is this likely a "typical" failure rate and I need to plan on things failing (i.e. Keep spares of everything on hand, and reset my expectations so I'm surprised when things DONT fail" ?

Any insights / anecdotes appreciated (I've calmed down now, but a few hours ago I was ready to shut my tank down and bail on the hobby - especially since my tank has an amazing ability to have a massive problem about 2-3 days before I go on family vacation - you really couldnt make this up!)

Some may fail more than others...

I went with Tunze powerheads as they seem to fail the least and a bunch of them have 5 year warranties. Yes, 5 years!

My Tunze ATO is probably 10 years old now (the expensive one, not the cheap nano)

My Eheim return I bought used, used for another 10 years and gave it away still in perfect condition. Eheims are known to just work... forever.

ATI T5 fixture used to be the go-to forever workhorse since all parts were repairable but I believe they discontinued them.

The original non-orange apex with EB8's was more reliable than the newer version but won't work with the newest stuff.

Reefi lights are likely one to keep going since they are actually cooled properly, have a glasss shield and have a 3 year warranty instead of the standard 1. Yes, three!!



What has broken wayyyy too early for me? MP10's and gyres. AI lenses melt. Radions are buggy as hell. MY EB32 of my apex stopped working because they used some cheap parts in the early production (not sure now)... it was a common occurrence... so much there is a guy on here you can send it to and he fixes it for a fee.



So yes and no...

A bunch of equipment is kind of junk but there are some gems. Some of these gems have longer warranties even Paying more DOES NOT mean it will last longer. Name brand DOES NOT mean it will last longer.

I was just looking at the booster pump RO Buddie... realized it has a cheap chinese pump in it and they put the power supply inside unprotected so any leak will fry it. I had to dig around to find someone that opened it up. Needless to say I am just going to buy a Aquatec booster even if it's not in a pretty housing.

 

[Cell]

L1 lasted 5 years and failed which seems to be about average for the vortech, at nearly $500 to buy it then, that is $100 a year, so this time around I invested in a CURRENT pump (same GPH 3100) for about $230 and even if it only lasts 3 years, it is still a better bargain. Time will tell.

I do like the Vortech wavemakers, but not cuz of quality, I Like no cords in the tank which the only reason I have vortechs. Personally I find any EcoTech gear to be extremely expensive, almost prohibitively so in many cases.

Checkout Jebao pumps next time you are in need. I'm not sure there is better value on the market.

 

[Dburr1014]

My sicce syncra 9.0 will be 7 years old in January. I cleaned it twice since I've owned it since new. It ran 6 years at 65% and currently at 75%.
I think it was about $400 new.