I have a LFS about 20 min. drive from my house, its the only one within a 70 mile radius. I went there this afternoon after work. They have a used 150g tank with the stand. The stand has about 4 doors on the botton of it and has a covered wooden top on it. The inside of the top has light fixtures built in it and two fans on the end to help with cooling. The light set up is for I will call the neon light tubes not the ones you need for a reef tank. The tank also comes with a sump tank on the inside of the stand on the bottom already hooked up and ready to go. He wants $850.00 for it, I got him to reduce that to $750.00. Now for the bad news,lol, The glass on the tank looks alittle , I will say, cloudy. He said the glass just needs to be cleaned and that when you put the water in it it will be clear. The tank belonged to an employee at the store and he upgraded to a 300g tank, he says the tank dosnt leak. Give me your thoughts, and as always, your opinons are mush appreciated. The store sells cured LR for $7.00 a pound. The store is small but has alot of tanks in it with fresh and SW fish. The slection is small, very small, but that could be because of Christmas or because, who knows,lol.
I found a Tank, U tell me if its a good deal
- Thread starter strout
- Start date
Im sure the cloudyness of the glass can be cleaned, its probably just what happened when the water dried when he cleaned it. Do you know what kind of light it is? You can aslo find much cheaper LR online. Idk much about pricing a tank, but i think i could find a cheaper tank on craigslist around here. The older people on the forum will know.
It's not a bad deal for a tank, especially if it already has a sump set up and in place. Those can be a real pain to put together and plumb. The cloudiness shouldn't be a problem once you clean it. Try to find out what kind of lighting it is. T5 HO (high output) lighting would be fine for a reef. Metal Halide (MH) isn't always ideal or right, depending on a number of factors. I won't use MH because a) my electricity costs are high b) it's hot here and keeping it cool would increase my electricity costs more, and put my fish at risk.
On the fish, smaller LFS often get good things in, but you sometimes have to ask them to look for something at their wholesalers, or wait for them to get something cool in. Because you'll be stocking more slowly in a saltwater tank, it shouldn't be a problem. Just ask them what they can get or what they occasionally see on their wholesalers lists if there's something specific you want. Because of the costs of some of the rarer fish, a lot of stores won't get those "on spec."
On the fish, smaller LFS often get good things in, but you sometimes have to ask them to look for something at their wholesalers, or wait for them to get something cool in. Because you'll be stocking more slowly in a saltwater tank, it shouldn't be a problem. Just ask them what they can get or what they occasionally see on their wholesalers lists if there's something specific you want. Because of the costs of some of the rarer fish, a lot of stores won't get those "on spec."
If you are going fish only with live rock (FOWLR) lighting is not as much of an issue though it does sound like t5 which is a type of florescent lighting.....I am not sure of whether this is a good deal or not but if it also includes a quality return pump and a protein skimmer it would then be a better deal..... I am sure depending on where you are if you check you may have a fish club near you where you could possibly line up some rock or check craigslists etc....used live rock sometimes is a good bargain but you need to look for it. Where abouts are you located?
I am most likely going with FOWLR, seems like all the fish I like are not reef compatable, or you can have them in the tank but you have to watch them, or so the article I read says.The tank used to be a FOWLR so I am guessing it just had florecent lights in it. The tank dosnt have a protein skimmer with it, not sure about the return pump but the sump pump looks to me like its all in working order.
i have heard for used tanks you should be paying approx. $1/gallon. so $150, for the 150 gallon tank. the stand could be $150 and then with the plumming and sump, maybe another $100 (ball park figures!!). so around $400 for all that stuff may be right.
regading live rock, I can purchase it off of people on craig's list for like $2.50/lb. go to their house, bring a big bucket filled with SW, pick it up, bring it home. no need ot pay $$$ for shipping or worrying about large rock die off.
regading live rock, I can purchase it off of people on craig's list for like $2.50/lb. go to their house, bring a big bucket filled with SW, pick it up, bring it home. no need ot pay $$$ for shipping or worrying about large rock die off.