Potential drawbacks/problems w/ buying used system?

[bgbalz]

I am looking at starting my first saltwater tank - reef w/ fish to be exact. I am weighing my options on tank selection. I am planning on 55 gal. I have located a shop offering a used 55-gallon tank delivered and set up for $1000. It comes with: water, sand, 75# LR, 4 - 65W power compact flourescents (Hamilton), hanging filter (brand uncertain for now), power head, heater, oak cabinet w/ hood. Was also able to get him to include an Excalibur protein skimmer for $100 more.

I would like some feedback about purchasing a used system (i believe it to be under 2-3 years old).
Bertoni stated he would pass on the 90 g thread, but I would like to know the reasoning. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[AZDesertRat]

The price is pretty high for a used system. I believe bertoni was thinking along the same line. 55 gal tanks are inexpensive, 90G is a little more but $1500 was high for what was listed. I don't know what they are charging for the delivery and setup but its probably about 50% of what you would be paying. Around here nice 55G systems with powercompacts and everything you lsit would be in the $500 range if you picked it up and set it up yourself. The 90G would be more like $700.
Add up the online cost of everything if you purchased it new and cut it in half and thats about what you should expect to pay not including delivery and setup.
That being said I would opt for a 75 or 90G, you will not be happy with the 55 in a short time, due to the small front to back distance its hard to stack the rock and still leave room for fish and corals.

 

[Hal]

Biggest risk is whether they used copper in the tank. While many on this board believe that a tank that had copper in it is a permanent death trap for corals, inverts, etc., copper can be removed in a variety of ways, although some can be messy (see Dr. Ron's forum on this).

I agree that $1000 sounds a little high for a 55. I'd highly recommend a 75 or 90 gallon too. Trust me, you'll wish that you did. That extra depth (front to back) will make a world of difference in the appearance of the tank, as well as making aquascaping sooo much easier. Personally a I like the extra height of the 90.

 

[snakeklr]

I went on ebay bought a complete system minus fish. Came with tank, stand, hood, sump, skimmer, 3 hob filters, lights, rocks, and sand. all for $450. might find a good deal on ebay. Ya never know.

 

[snakeklr]

[welcome]

sorry i missed that

 

[scrmbld33]

1000 does sound high, but dont forget to factor in new bulbs cause there probly old (though its not alot) and the other equip who knows the cond / age, and for equip, id put the 100 towards a asm g2 or g3, id go with a new tank if its possible

 

[davidcalgary29]

I agree with the above posts regarding the relatively high price of the system that you're looking at. I bought an established 75g minireef last fall for $500 CDN, but had to search for awhile to find it.

I also found that, by buying used, I inherited all of the previous owner's mistakes; you should therefore be prepared to find a few unpleasant surprises lurking around in your "new" tank. The previous owner of my tank had let his aipstasia and hair algae spread unchecked throughout his system because he thought it looked "pretty". It then took me months of intensive cleaning to get rid of both problems.