I've been a plumber for nearly 20 years including 8 as a service technician. I did a little experiment on tanks that had failed. I pulled the anode rod out of a dozen tanks that went. The anode rod was still in tact in all of them. I've never changed out an anode rod in any tank ever. If you installed residential tanks in 2008, you're only going to get a few more years no matter what you do. My best advice if you want to try to extend their life is unscrew the factory drain fitting. Screw in a 3/4" brass nipple, full port ball valve and garden hose adaptor. That's your best bet for getting some of the sediment out and its the buildup of sediment that causes the tank to fail. The more sediment that's sitting on the bottom, the sooner they fail. Even that won't get it all out, but it's at least something.
Some plumbers will tell you to test the T&P valve by pulling up on the tab. They only tell you that so they can sell you a new T&P since they never really seat again...
All of this is just my humble opinion. I think you'd to better to put the money you would spend on the new anodes and install on budgeting towards new tanks down the road.
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