i just noticed my fish tank is hotter than hell. i have a one year old heater and i guess it never turned off. its set at 80 degrees and feels 95!  is this common?  WTH?

Better pull that heater out now and get a new one, if the temp is too high you may have a fish kill and that sounds pretty high.[:D]

No. Sounds like you got a cheap heater and the thermostat broke.  A good heater will go bad in first several hours or will be good for many many years.  My sister's 2 heaters has been going for almost 15 years and my father's heater has been going for almost 30.  What kind of fish you have that needs 80 degree water?  Temp should be set at about 70-75 degrees for most fish.  Higher temp will only make the fish shit more and promote alge growth.  

Leave it on for a while longer and you'll have fish soup [:D]  

First of all you should verify the temperature with an accurate,quality thermometer.
Don't go by how it "feels".

Second don't go by the knob indicator for your temperature setting again refer to the above and adjust accordingly.

Yeah, get a thermometer and get the temp at a constant 70-75 degrees.

I used the submersible ones in my tank. It sound like you might need a good thermometer. I have mine set at about 80 degrees also. I mainly have African cichlids.

also, what kind of lights are you using?
they should be fluaresent lights. Incadescent bulbs will raise the water temps.

yeah... they're big glass things you put fish in.....  

[:E]