RonMidtownStomp
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In December, my girlfriend brought up that I had been in the aquarium hobby before we met. She seemed really interested, and I mentioned that we could swing by Your Reef, one of the great Sacramento area LFS. She could see what kind of fish and corals they had and see what was interesting to her. I told her I wasn't at all sure that I really wanted to get back into the hobby because it's expensive and requires a lot of time and I get a bit obsessive about it, but she was pretty excited.
I was pretty reluctant and told her I didn't want to make a decision right away, but I could post and ask what might be available in used tanks and just see what we could get. I posted that I was looking for a 30"x30"x24" cube but that I might be willing to go larger for the right deal. My previous system was a 72"x30"x24" Starphire glass tank that sprawled out into the garage and a 4'x2' frag tank and cost at least $150/month in electricity. It wasn't very efficient, and it had some major problems. Whatever path I chose, I was going to be sure to address those problems, and I wanted something that I was going to be proud of.
I received a message from an old friend who does tank maintenance that he had a customer who had a 4x4x2 center overflow acrylic cube that had just been broken down and replaced with something much larger. The tank had been used as a planted fresh water tank, and even though it had the overflow, it had never been drilled. It also had a sump and a steel stand.
Most people don't discuss money or prices, but it was such a good deal that I'll share that the tank, custom steel stand, large 4' sump and basic cabinet work were $800. He also threw in two nice reactors with pumps. Obviously, I "decided" that it was perfect.
I was pretty reluctant and told her I didn't want to make a decision right away, but I could post and ask what might be available in used tanks and just see what we could get. I posted that I was looking for a 30"x30"x24" cube but that I might be willing to go larger for the right deal. My previous system was a 72"x30"x24" Starphire glass tank that sprawled out into the garage and a 4'x2' frag tank and cost at least $150/month in electricity. It wasn't very efficient, and it had some major problems. Whatever path I chose, I was going to be sure to address those problems, and I wanted something that I was going to be proud of.
I received a message from an old friend who does tank maintenance that he had a customer who had a 4x4x2 center overflow acrylic cube that had just been broken down and replaced with something much larger. The tank had been used as a planted fresh water tank, and even though it had the overflow, it had never been drilled. It also had a sump and a steel stand.
Most people don't discuss money or prices, but it was such a good deal that I'll share that the tank, custom steel stand, large 4' sump and basic cabinet work were $800. He also threw in two nice reactors with pumps. Obviously, I "decided" that it was perfect.