Goodwill find

Silverback26 · May 16, 2025

Hey guys, I’ve been looking to upgrade for a while but haven’t yet as some of the bigger tanks are quite pricy. Yesterday my mom sent a picture of a fish tank at goodwill that I went in and just purchased today. It’s an acrylic truvu tank I’m guessing is more than 100 gallons for $169! I believe it is one of their freshwater models. The manager said he was there when it was donated and that there shouldn’t be any issues with it. I am pretty excited about this find but have never owned an acrylic tank or one as big as this yet. I am curious about any recommendations for how to go about turning it into a reef tank. Specifically, the tank didn’t appear to have any holes drilled into it for an overflow or sump and I have never built a tank with a sump before or worked worth acrylic so any advice on how to do that would be appreciated! Let me know what you guys think and hopefully I can get it home in a few days and clean it up and see if it holds water!

Silverback26 · May 16, 2025

Silverback26 said:
Hey guys, I’ve been looking to upgrade for a while but haven’t yet as some of the bigger tanks are quite pricy. Yesterday my mom sent a picture of a fish tank at goodwill that I went in and just purchased today. It’s an acrylic truvu tank I’m guessing is more than 100 gallons for $169! I believe it is one of their freshwater models. The manager said he was there when it was donated and that there shouldn’t be any issues with it. I am pretty excited about this find but have never owned an acrylic tank or one as big as this yet. I am curious about any recommendations for how to go about turning it into a reef tank. Specifically, the tank didn’t appear to have any holes drilled into it for an overflow or sump and I have never built a tank with a sump before or worked worth acrylic so any advice on how to do that would be appreciated! Let me know what you guys think and hopefully I can get it home in a few days and clean it up and see if it holds water!

Also unfortunately the small tank on top of it was not included even though it was brought in at the same time and likely was used as a freshwater sump

smitten with ocean life · May 16, 2025

wow! nice find! exciting! i would check with @Troylee for your acrylic questions:)

Troylee · May 19, 2025

Very simple to drill and add an overflow! Check the glue joints for bubbles and see if it holds water first..

Gumbies R Us · May 19, 2025

Great find! I used to go to Goodwill all the time when I was younger. Never have I seen an aquarium tank before!

Silverback26 · May 19, 2025

smitten with ocean life said:
wow! nice find! exciting! i would check with @Troylee for your acrylic questions:)

Will do thanks just got it home today!

Silverback26 · May 19, 2025

Troylee said:
Very simple to drill and add an overflow! Check the glue joints for bubbles and see if it holds water first..

Just got it home today, gonna fill it up and check it out tomorrow

Silverback26 · May 19, 2025

Gumbies R Us said:
Great find! I used to go to Goodwill all the time when I was younger. Never have I seen an aquarium tank before!

My mom likes shopping there a lot and knew I’ve been looking to upgrade and sent me that picture had to go in to see for myself, it was an awesome find by her!

Tamberav · May 19, 2025

Really cool find, a lot less risky buying a used acrylic tank than glass. Plus, drilling should be less stressful.

You may want to look up how to buff scratches out. You can make it look like new again.

Silverback26 · May 19, 2025

Tamberav said:
Really cool find, a lot less risky buying a used acrylic tank than glass. Plus, drilling should be less stressful.

You may want to look up how to buff scratches out. You can make it look like new again.

That’s good to hear, I didn’t notice any scratches really mostly just some dirt and grime but I’ll have a better idea tomorrow after I fill it up and clean it. I’ll post an updated picture of it then!

hatteras hank · May 19, 2025

Nice find. You can polish that thing up like new if no deep gouges. I did a couple old tanks I got cheap many years ago. I think novus was the stuff i used in a couple different compound grits. Congrats on the new tank. Have fun

IceNein · May 19, 2025

Gumbies R Us said:
Great find! I used to go to Goodwill all the time when I was younger. Never have I seen an aquarium tank before!

I run a thrift store and I would not accept a tank if one was donated. I will do smaller tanks, say 40 gallons and below. Those sell pretty quick. Floor space is a premium.

Silverback26 · May 20, 2025

Troylee said:
Very simple to drill and add an overflow! Check the glue joints for bubbles and see if it holds water first..

Filled it up today and it’s holding water no signs of leaks anywhere! Going to work on cleaning it up now, any recommendations to avoid scratching the acrylic? I’ve read a couple places that magic eraser’s are good and plastic scrapers