buying used equipment

[Olga]

Hi!
I am looking for a bigger used tank with equipment. I just was wandering if there any ways to check it. Heater for example I can put into the bowl with water, but what to do with leaks and canister filters...
Also why one percon is selling 2 canister fiplers and one internal filter for 75 gal. tank. O! and how to find out the brand of the canister filter if the owner does not know, or it does not matter?

Thank you

 

[Iggy]

Hi Olga and welcome to the tank!

I've purchased about 16 tanks used in my life, so perhaps I can give you a few pointers.

a) Heaters are not something I usually reccomend you try to re-use if they are used. New ones are not expensive, and its risky if your heater fails, which typically leads to overheating the tank. I woud try it out in the tank while it does not have any fish in it yet. See if it keeps the water temperature stable. If it does a good job after 2 or 3 days, you can probably use it till you can afford a new one.

b) Same idea for the canister filters, set them up in the tank, even if it's only 1/2 full and check for leaks.

c) 75 gallon tanks are usually 4' wide x 16" long x 20" deep. In wider tanks, its a good idea to have 2 filters in case one fails, plus they do a better job keeping the water cleaner. The internal filter is more likely to keep a strong water flow, for more active fish, like goldfish, bala sharks, ect.

Older canisters are typically Fluval. Look on Google Images for 'fluval canister' or 'enheim canister' or 'rena canister' ... that or bring your filter to your local fish store, they should be able to help you identify it.

Overall, just try a quick temporaty setup with all the equipment running for a few days first. If it works, do a fishless cycle first (see beginner topics this forum), its the safest way to get your tank going.

 

[cybersymes]

i've heard horror stories about heaters that have malfunctioned...
'fish soup' was the phrase used...

heaters are not too dear...
i've just thrown a second hand one away...

the new one i bought is going to be a spare...
[and i use it to heat my water change water]...
it has a 2 year guarentee...

i will never use a second hand heater...

 

[wayne]

I would also never use a second heater, but new ones also have a pretty high failure rate, so I'm not sure buying second hand is bad or not, my gut feeling says yes. They almost always fail on.....
If you buy cannister expect to change the tunbing and media (not typically a small cost). I would be very happy with a used eheim, less so other brands.

Buyer beware is my motto, but I have bought lots of used kit, especially metal halide lighting

 

[Olga]

...and there is no way to check the engine of canister filter without filling up 1/2 of the tank, right?

 

[hyunelan2]

As long as you put the filter intake into a container of water (bucket) you should be able to tell if it will still work. I don't think it would be necessary to use the tank at all.