Heater lifespan

[Slinky_Bass]

I remember Jeff saying somewhere that heaters go wonky after 2 -3 years. Is this true, have any of you guys had bad experiences with heaters that you've had for a long time?

The reason I'm asking is that I'm thinking of setting up a second little tank and I wanted to use the heater from my previous tank. I've used the thing for seven years, was I just lucky that something didn't go wrong, is it a disaster waiting to happen? Or do you think I can safely continue to use it (it's a Hydor Hydromatic 150w btw).

[Lady Hobbs]

Give it a try but your next time to town, get a new one for when this one goes.

[Fishguy2727]

I don't like using glass heaters anymore, I have had high quality ones break for no reason. I only use stealths now. Shatter proof thermal plastic. solid black, so it looks really good. It also has a digital thermostat, not the two sided metal filament ones that have a tendency of getting stuck on or off.

[Slinky_Bass]

The stealths sound really cool, only problem is, is that I can count the range of heaters available at the LFS on two fingers ("Jager" and the cheap and nasty "Yufo"). If I were to order in something it would really cost an arm and a leg, that is if they CAN order it in (aquarium products are pretty limited in SA).

[Incredulous_Ed]

I don't know if this is helpful, but I used a glass thermometer from the 70s or 80s in a small 5 gal tank a few years back. It still works fine.

[jeffs99dime]

i'm with reptileguy here! i love the stealth heaters. they're awesome. i also used to use glass heaters before the thermal plastic came out. i will never go back to glass.