Hit the jack on Craigslist!

T

TempestGod

New member
It would seem I will be starting my tank up a lot sooner than I initially thought. I managed to find someone who was selling a 33 gallon Bowfront aquarium, stand, sump, and 2 lighting fixtures. This person was selling all this for only $200. I will be starting the cycle this weekend and planning what I want to stock it with. Still cant believe how lucky I am to find all this stuff for so cheap on Craigslist.

I would love some suggestions on what to keep in my new tank. I do want it to be a reef tank. Not going to go with any hard corals, as i just dont have the experience to do so.
 
Congrats! Just make sure to look over every square inch of the tank, stand, lights, equipment, etc. for any damage or oddities. I would even ask to see it hold water before I drive away with anything.

GL! :bigeyes:
 
+1 on seeing it hold water. Its a great deal but water damage to your house could really jack up the actual cost of the tank. Be smart. Play it safe. Enjoy your new purchase! And get ready to want to upgrade to a 220 gallon! LOL.
 
Some get lucky some dont. I've concluded Craigslist has turned into where others dump their junk, hopefully this isn't the case. Since ebay and paypal are alittle stricter this leaves Craigslist to be the new dump site.

Hopefully you luck out...
 
I am also a CL winner.
All 3 of my tanks were purchased there.
Careful inspection before purchase and proper testing once you get the items home are required, but you can certainly save big $$ if you are patient and careful
 
I just got a 75 gallon with stand/canopy, sump and skimmer for $150...I'm with you, it's very exciting.

I recommend a pistol shrimp/goby pair - they're fascinating to watch, I love mine. Also, mushrooms and leathers are easy corals, but stay away from xenia. Sure, it looks cool, pulsing and waving, but it WILL spread like wildfire - I fell into the trap when I 1st started. I have had luck with my green star polyps - they've stayed on one rock, but others have had issues with it spreading...they are easy to keep though.

Congrats and welcome!
 
If one is patient, CL can be a fantastic resource. People forget that it was like that as well back when the classifieds was the only way to sell used stuff.
CL potentially just gives the seller a world wide audience essentially for free.

Just be careful and good luck with your score!
 
kmbyrnes said:
I am also a CL winner.
All 3 of my tanks were purchased there.
Careful inspection before purchase and proper testing once you get the items home are required, but you can certainly save big $$ if you are patient and careful
Click to expand...

I suggest water testing at the sellers home. Because once it's yours...it's yours.
 
Sorry for not responding at all. Just woke up not too long ago. Tested all the lights and whatnot, but not the tank. Even if the tank does end up leaking, the 200 was more then worth it for the other equipment. I am super excited to get the tank starting to cycle this weekend. Been doing so much research on what to get. I think i am really starting to annoy my co-workers with all my talk about marine fish.
 
What ever you do be patient and research before you buy. Many mistakes in the hobby can cost you in the long run.. Glad you found a tank you love.

Maybe you can get your co workers to jump in the hobby then you can make group buys lol
 
BrandonFlorida said:
What ever you do be patient and research before you buy. Many mistakes in the hobby can cost you in the long run.. Glad you found a tank you love.

Maybe you can get your co workers to jump in the hobby then you can make group buys lol
Click to expand...

Actually, one of them wants to start a reef tank as well. I will be doing plenty of research over the next few weeks while the tank cycles. I also made up an excel spreadsheet to track and graph all the parameters i will be measuring. I have been doing freshwater planted tanks for a while so that gives me a little experience in tanks and such.
 
what kind of lights are they? That will be important for what corals you keep. Have fun setting up the tank. It's very addicting!
 
mandarin_goby said:
I just got a 75 gallon with stand/canopy, sump and skimmer for $150...I'm with you, it's very exciting.

I recommend a pistol shrimp/goby pair - they're fascinating to watch, I love mine. Also, mushrooms and leathers are easy corals, but stay away from xenia. Sure, it looks cool, pulsing and waving, but it WILL spread like wildfire - I fell into the trap when I 1st started. I have had luck with my green star polyps - they've stayed on one rock, but others have had issues with it spreading...they are easy to keep though.

Congrats and welcome!
Click to expand...
Do you have any pics of the pistol shrimp and goby? I got my 55 gal setup from a neighbor, who was about to put it all on CL but I took everything off his hands for $200. Everything was mucked up but I almost have it cleaned after soaking everything for days. Anyway, I would love to see pics of your pair, and is this something you can pick up as a pair?
 
I have hit the jackpot several times on FreeCycle. The key is to look for aquariums that come with fish and explain to the owner how you will take care of the fish and not to concentrate on any of the tank parts. But now I am looking to give away some stuff as I have accumulated quite a bit!
 
Cool_fish said:
Do you have any pics of the pistol shrimp and goby? I got my 55 gal setup from a neighbor, who was about to put it all on CL but I took everything off his hands for $200. Everything was mucked up but I almost have it cleaned after soaking everything for days. Anyway, I would love to see pics of your pair, and is this something you can pick up as a pair?
Click to expand...

I'll see if I can get a good pic at feeding time! Some stores do sell them as a pair. I bought mine separately and crossed my fingers, thankfully my hi-fin goby found the pistol with no issues.
 
You'll see lots of people tell you to take your time, and you need to take this advice along with all the salt available in the ocean!

Do your research as a beginner. If done properly and patiently you have about from 3 to 8 weeks to fully cycle a tank. During that time, learn about your equipment, or plan out future purchases. Lights and live stock, proper filtration. You don't need to have everything, you just need to have the right things for what you are trying to do.

Avoid purchases that you think you will upgrade real fast, selling old equipment is a lot more daunting than just posting on the forums.

Water chemistry is basically the game here. Whatever you do you want to obtain pristine water conditions for your fish or coral. They are after all living organisms. You wouldn't want to be constantly breathing in smoggy air from Los Angeles Highways or Beijing, don't subject your fish to a stressful life.

From my experience, taking these precautions will greatly lead you down a path where you don't have to restart your tank. Well established tanks take time, but you can destroy it in an instant. Even something as simple as having fish or clean up crew dying and decaying in your sandbed can cause unnoticeable problems.

Last but not least, have fun! just don't check your bank statements.
 
That is the coolest thing! I wanted to google them again and this time hit the pistol shrimp and goby link that came up.... I had no idea they actually had a symbiotic relationship.... I gotta have these in my tank! Did you say they were hard to keep? I am a total noob!
 
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