19± year old 200 gallon acrylic tank, remaining life?

[Devaji]

It's a mixture of garbage and good stuff that is Waaaay too much, Seen good glass tanks, but I wont buy a glass tank over 100gal.

I got a quote from American Aquariums for 72”x20x20 1250 tank 1150 stand ± 500 sump and Freight (which I would peg at $500)
Not bad, but still too much for me as I also need to get more lighting and stock more fish.

It's got potential, would restain, reseal, polish panels.

Definitely would use thread-on pipes for the socks.

not to bad i guess. the plumbing is worthless.
I would want to clean it up and look for that crazy scratch that will drive you nuts.

 

[Wyvern]

not to bad i guess. the plumbing is worthless.
I would want to clean it up and look for that crazy scratch that will drive you nuts.

Why is the plumbing worthless? Aside from age

I'd set up a bean animal, one major gripe is the emergency drain is capped- given a racket ball would fit down them tubes!

 

[Devaji]

Why is the plumbing worthless? Aside from age

I'd set up a bean animal, one major gripe is the emergency drain is capped- given a racket ball would fit down them tubes!

IMHO its way to big looks like 2-3" house plumbing parts. I bet it's noisy. prob. breaks siphon?
1" will do just fine. + it give you much needed space in the sump. the sump is also questionable I did have a acrylic sump like that pop a seam years ago. lucky I was there.

 

[vetteguy53081]

So I'm probably picking up a huge 6' tank setup. Owners had it in service for 15 years before draining in for another 4 unused, it is sitting on a wood stand with 1/4” foam, always kept inside.

Catch is they bought it used! so I have no idea of actual age.

It's of 3/4" sheet, I don't see any obvious crazing or yellowing and has one possibly 1/16” dry spot on a bottom seem (exterior). Really impressed me with it's condition.

Would you risk it? should I see another 10 years from it?

Likely it is fine but I always ask to see the tank full. It is your answer to both leaks and will show any obvious scratches.
3/4" is typical thickness for this size and sitting on wood for stability and foam for leveling is what I do and have reason to believe they took the care to run this tank. If it doesnt leak - consider it.

 

[Devaji]

^ I second this a leak test will show you alot. turn on the tank light too. this will illuminate the tank and show you the scratches you might not be able to see.

do let us know how it goes. best of luck!

 

[Wyvern]

IMHO its way to big looks like 2-3" house plumbing parts. I bet it's noisy. prob. breaks siphon?
1" will do just fine. + it give you much needed space in the sump. the sump is also questionable I did have a acrylic sump like that pop a seam years ago. lucky I was there.

That's what I thought, absolutely massive plumbing, no clue the flow rate, but it has 4X 3/4 return nozzles.

He claims it was quiet and always had the gate wide open on the pump, but I have my doubts.

The overflow is external, made of 1/2" acrylic bonded to the tank and spans 4 feet

 

[Wyvern]

^ I second this a leak test will show you alot. turn on the tank light too. this will illuminate the tank and show you the scratches you might not be able to see.

do let us know how it goes. best of luck!

We did, some scuffing, but nothing I can feel, I've fixed way worse.

 

[Wyvern]

Ok, so I got the big betch home, oh my God what a nightmare, 1 out of 4 suction cups didn't work, and I think I scratched the face of the tank (but I can fix it).

I managed with big sturdy me, a big mover and my wiry brother.

Plumbing is a no go- guy used a Ao smith .15Hp spa pump with probably 4000GPH, and during teardown, a "glued" pipe slipped off D:

I'm going to run my 1000GPH pump and 1" drain and return. Overflow box is absolutely massive, something to consider when cleaning.

The stand is heavy plywood with a veneer.

I'll post on a build forum for pics and updates.

Oh, this thing is being sold with my house, Im never moving it again.

Also, where the heck do I find 72" VHO'S?

 

[Devaji]

congrats on the tank.
skip the VHOs IMHO. if you need fill light there are lots of options.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Can you even get vho's anymore?

Good luck with it OP, hope it works out for you. Did you haggle @ all or just take it?

BTDT with moving a few 200-400 gallon tanks over the years and its beyond a pain (had a truck with a 8ft bed & access to a 14ft box truck). Back when I was more lfs club oriented it was a pilgrimage a few times a year....

 

[Wyvern]

congrats on the tank.
skip the VHOs IMHO. if you need fill light there are lots of options.

It's what he had over the years and grew lots of stuff, I saw some old clips of the tank at it was really nice- I'm focusing on softies and might venture into nems.

I have a couple pop blooms, but I would need a third to fill it out, but seeing they are close to 2years old, I worry about spectrum shift.

Curious if a VHO ballast will run a T5...

 

[AydenLincoln]

$1200, Which I feel is high for a 20 year old tank, but I can't find anything close to its condition, they all are crazed and scratched to hell.

YIKES! $1,200 is high for any used tank let alone a 20 year old tank!

 

[Wyvern]

Can you even get vho's anymore?

Good luck with it OP, hope it works out for you. Did you haggle @ all or just take it?

BTDT with moving a few 200-400 gallon tanks over the years and its beyond a pain (had a truck with a 8ft bed & access to a 14ft box truck). Back when I was more lfs club oriented it was a pilgrimage a few times a year....

I tried to haggle, but he was stubborn, so I paid a couple hundred more than I wanted and probably $300 too much, but I couldn't beat the fact he was 2 miles away and it has next to zero crazing.

I have lots of odds and ends to sell (to vintage collectors XP) I also got a chiller he claims works. 100lbs of real aragonite is also saving me some money.

 

[Wyvern]

YIKES! $1,200 is high for any used tank let alone a 20 year old tank!

Yep, I know, but I've been looking for months and it's either $4000 Red sea stuff or crazed to hell crap.

The only way I can look at it is, it's still $3000 less than new.

As long as it doesn't blow a seam, I am happy.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

The rock definitely helps as that's a few hundred dollars alone. If the chiller isn't beyond ancient and rotten, you can make a few bucks with it too. I run central A/C due to now elderly dogs so I haven't ran a chiller since 2007-8 or so. Thus I'm no help there.

 

[Wyvern]

The rock definitely helps as that's a few hundred dollars alone. If the chiller isn't beyond ancient and rotten, you can make a few bucks with it too. I run central A/C due to now elderly dogs so I haven't ran a chiller since 2007-8 or so. Thus I'm no help there.

I don't need a chiller either, and she looks pretty old, but I'll test it and sell it on the cheap if it works.

If not, oh well, I didn't even know he had one till today.

 

[j000]

Ok, that's what I figured, my 2007 Tenecor is looking like hell, but it's also underbuilt.

And no, had no clue, I just think Dragons/Wyverns are cool!

Why is it looking like hell? After having yours for so long do you recommended them?

I was thinking about ordering a tank from them soon

 

[ca1ore]

Hard pass for me...

Oh yeah! I just shut down my 6-year old 400 and gave it away to anyone that was willing to bring enough friends to lug it out. I don't think buying old, large tanks is wise ...... frankly most older equipment is borderline junk.

 

[nereefpat]

That stand and canopy are worth the 1200, if it's what you want.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Oh yeah! I just shut down my 6-year old 400 and gave it away to anyone that was willing to bring enough friends to lug it out. I don't think buying old, large tanks is wise ...... frankly most older equipment is borderline junk.

I did much the same with a few tank breakdowns over the years, lol.