I am pretty new but saw this tank that someone was selling, is it a good deal?

[Exotrezy]

So the coral looks unhealthy. This tells me either his water quality sucks or his lighting sucks. Probably both.

Which is fine.

But look at his sump.

It’s still a good deal but it is a fixer upper so can you afford to get new lights? Do you have a RODI? Do you have somewhere to mix and store water? What else does it need? An ATO? Skimmer? Powerheads?

It looks like an enclosed canopy. Not all lights can be run in there with it risk of burning them up. You may need to modify and add fans or open the top.

I would replace the heater.

Ofc you don’t NEED those things but they make it easier to maintain.

So it’s a good deal if you can afford to put more money and time into it.

His rock may be full of phosphates or it may be okay. When you get good lighting over it, it could cause an algae bloom. Hard to say. Just be mindful it could prove a lot of work.

Clearly whatever he is doing didn’t work. That sump is probably part of his problem. Maybe just neglect too.

It’s a good deal because of the rock included imo but keep in mind you are also going to inherit a fixer upper

That pic is coral and it’s palythoas. They are brown or browned out. Maybe color up with good lighting and water.

The other coral looks dead. I’m not sure why he sent photos of them.

I would buy this tank but replace all the lights/powerheads/heater, clean up the plumbing and everything in the sump and add a skimmer. A $300 tank can quickly become $1000

I think it might just be the lighting cause that corallife light isn't going to be very good and he had a good tank with corals before so unless he just got lazy it might be fine.
For new lights, I have a 165w light on my current which I can transfer over and since this is a bowfront, it will probably cover it but if not I can pick up another 165w light from another person on marketplace who said he would give me a 165w viperspectra for $40. I do have an RODI, it is a 200GPD Aquaticlife with a DI from BRS. As for mixing water, I usually just mix water inside the bucket as I only do about a 5 gallon water change as its 15%. With this new thank, I will probably just do 2 or 3 buckets of 5 gallon water changes so its about a 10-15% water change. As for everything else, I just top off with RODI so won't need an ATO. Skimmer I would probably need to get. Powerhead he has one in his tank I think and I have 2 in mine one of which is pretty powerful. I will figure something out about the canopy light situation but might just do a hanging light setup and keep the canopy off. I will see. I can get some heaters, I have 2 100w right now and can get a 150w for $15 off marketplace. I will be mindful of everything I do and will ask all of you guys questions, most likely will start a build thread. He said that they were his sons' tanks who has moved out and it has become too much for him. I think he didn't want to neglect the tanks but had to. As for the corals, he sent pictures because I asked for pictures of the corals, and for everything else aswell.
This will be probably $300 plus maybe $100-200 which most of the cost would be coming from skimmer.

 

[fishkat]

Hey guys, I am pretty new on the reef/saltwater stuff and have a 30 gallon tank currently running. I saw this 120 gallon bowfront tank with a sump and everything included listed for $500, offered $300 just to see and he said he will do it. He said he has some coralline algae growing and he has some coral polyps but doesn't know their names and isn't sure of their condition. The thing I am scared about is the he also has a Red Sea tank listed which has aiptasia and green hair algae. He said in this tank he doesn't have any bad algae nor does he have aiptasia. I think he might considering he might have put stuff between tanks.
Fish:
1 Chromis
1 Foxface
1 Blue Hippo Tang
1 Tomini Tang
Everything for $300 does seem like a steal to be honest. I will attach some pictures that he shared and send the facebook link.

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looks like a good deal !! coral looks pale , aiptasia can be controlled by peppermint shrimp, GHA can be manually removed. BUT its going to need a lot of work to clean and fix up. if your willng -- its a great deal . how are you going to get it delivered?

 

[Freenow54]

So the coral looks unhealthy. This tells me either his water quality sucks or his lighting sucks. Probably both.

Which is fine.

But look at his sump.

It’s still a good deal but it is a fixer upper so can you afford to get new lights? Do you have a RODI? Do you have somewhere to mix and store water? What else does it need? An ATO? Skimmer? Powerheads?

It looks like an enclosed canopy. Not all lights can be run in there with it risk of burning them up. You may need to modify and add fans or open the top.

I would replace the heater.

Ofc you don’t NEED those things but they make it easier to maintain.

So it’s a good deal if you can afford to put more money and time into it.

His rock may be full of phosphates or it may be okay. When you get good lighting over it, it could cause an algae bloom. Hard to say. Just be mindful it could prove a lot of work.

Clearly whatever he is doing didn’t work. That sump is probably part of his problem. Maybe just neglect too.

It’s a good deal because of the rock included imo but keep in mind you are also going to inherit a fixer upper

That pic is coral and it’s palythoas. They are brown or browned out. Maybe color up with good lighting and water.

The other coral looks dead. I’m not sure why he sent photos of them.

I would buy this tank but replace all the lights/powerheads/heater, clean up the plumbing and everything in the sump and add a skimmer. A $300 tank can quickly become $1000

Still I put $ 8,000 into my 90 to start give me the chance

 

[Tamberav]

I think it might just be the lighting cause that corallife light isn't going to be very good and he had a good tank with corals before so unless he just got lazy it might be fine.
For new lights, I have a 165w light on my current which I can transfer over and since this is a bowfront, it will probably cover it but if not I can pick up another 165w light from another person on marketplace who said he would give me a 165w viperspectra for $40. I do have an RODI, it is a 200GPD Aquaticlife with a DI from BRS. As for mixing water, I usually just mix water inside the bucket as I only do about a 5 gallon water change as its 15%. With this new thank, I will probably just do 2 or 3 buckets of 5 gallon water changes so its about a 10-15% water change. As for everything else, I just top off with RODI so won't need an ATO. Skimmer I would probably need to get. Powerhead he has one in his tank I think and I have 2 in mine one of which is pretty powerful. I will figure something out about the canopy light situation but might just do a hanging light setup and keep the canopy off. I will see. I can get some heaters, I have 2 100w right now and can get a 150w for $15 off marketplace. I will be mindful of everything I do and will ask all of you guys questions, most likely will start a build thread. He said that they were his sons' tanks who has moved out and it has become too much for him. I think he didn't want to neglect the tanks but had to. As for the corals, he sent pictures because I asked for pictures of the corals, and for everything else aswell.
This will be probably $300 plus maybe $100-200 which most of the cost would be coming from skimmer.

do not buy used heaters, buy NEW for those.

I would buy a different sump, that looks like an old wet to dry sump. Wet to dry sumps are mostly for fish only as they process ammonia well but can lead to very high nitrates.

So if you are serious, plan on a new sump as well. Petco when they have $1 per gallon would be the cheapest then have glass cut for baffles and plumb yourself.

So at minumum, I would plan on a different sump, skimmer, and NEW heater to get this running in the right direction.

 

[Freenow54]

do not buy used heaters, buy NEW for those.

I would buy a different sump, that looks like an old wet to dry sump. Wet to dry sumps are mostly for fish only as they process ammonia well but can lead to high nitrates.

So if you are serious, plan on a new sump as well. Petco when they have $1 per gallon would be the cheapest then have glass cut for baffles and plumb yourself.

Be careful on heater choice too I bought a Fluval and it warns you not to submerse it. Are you kidding?

 

[oliver1812]

Fixer uppers can sometimes be the best in this hobby. Some great advice in this thread.
I must second the notion of creating a build thread for your journey with this tank.

 

[oliver1812]

Be careful on heater choice too I bought a Fluval and it warns you not to submerse it. Are you kidding?

This right here.! I did the exact same thing but it was a heater that my wife picked up for her FW tank. I opened it and was like what the heck you cant submerge it in water? I use it on my 80/20 QT tank its the dumbest thing ever..

 

[Exotrezy]

looks like a good deal !! coral looks pale , aiptasia can be controlled by peppermint shrimp, GHA can be manually removed. BUT its going to need a lot of work to clean and fix up. if your willng -- its a great deal . how are you going to get it delivered?

I mean't that the claims that their isn't any GHA or any nusiance algae in this tank but he does have it in his other tanks so I was scared if this tank might have had it.

 

[Exotrezy]

looks like a good deal !! coral looks pale , aiptasia can be controlled by peppermint shrimp, GHA can be manually removed. BUT its going to need a lot of work to clean and fix up. if your willng -- its a great deal . how are you going to get it delivered?

I am going to go pick it up and probably have a bucket for the fish with an airpump.

 

[Exotrezy]

do not buy used heaters, buy NEW for those.

I would buy a different sump, that looks like an old wet to dry sump. Wet to dry sumps are mostly for fish only as they process ammonia well but can lead to very high nitrates.

So if you are serious, plan on a new sump as well. Petco when they have $1 per gallon would be the cheapest then have glass cut for baffles and plumb yourself.

So at minumum, I would plan on a different sump, skimmer, and NEW heater to get this running in the right direction.

I bought a used heater which is the one I am still using on my main tank, it runs good and has been running good since September. All the new ones were expensive at that time for some reason but I will just get a new one. That adds like maybe $30?

 

[Exotrezy]

do not buy used heaters, buy NEW for those.

I would buy a different sump, that looks like an old wet to dry sump. Wet to dry sumps are mostly for fish only as they process ammonia well but can lead to very high nitrates.

So if you are serious, plan on a new sump as well. Petco when they have $1 per gallon would be the cheapest then have glass cut for baffles and plumb yourself.

So at minumum, I would plan on a different sump, skimmer, and NEW heater to get this running in the right direction.

As for the new sump, that is my problem. I will see if I can find some good ones but petco near me doesn't have $1 per gallon. Do you happen to know any good videos for plumbing and making the sump?

 

[Exotrezy]

do not buy used heaters, buy NEW for those.

I would buy a different sump, that looks like an old wet to dry sump. Wet to dry sumps are mostly for fish only as they process ammonia well but can lead to very high nitrates.

So if you are serious, plan on a new sump as well. Petco when they have $1 per gallon would be the cheapest then have glass cut for baffles and plumb yourself.

So at minumum, I would plan on a different sump, skimmer, and NEW heater to get this running in the right direction.

I found this sump: Is it also wet and dry? https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...wse_serp:637463ed-d4d1-4b48-9cdf-4cef927c19cd

 

[Tamberav]

I found this sump: Is it also wet and dry? https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/494359823758079/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp:637463ed-d4d1-4b48-9cdf-4cef927c19cd

Yes it is

 

[Tamberav]

I bought a used heater which is the one I am still using on my main tank, it runs good and has been running good since September. All the new ones were expensive at that time for some reason but I will just get a new one. That adds like maybe $30?

The problem is they work until they don’t. They can fail on and kill everything. They fail more often then anything else in the hobby.

Most will tell you to put the heater on an ink bird.

The loss of life of fish and corals will be much more costly then a inkbird controller and heater.

 

[Exotrezy]

The problem is they work until they don’t. They can fail on and kill everything. They fail more often then anything else in the hobby.

Most will tell you to put the heater on an ink bird.

The loss of life of fish and corals will be much more costly then a inkbird controller and heater.

Okay, do you have any videos or anything for sumps and plumbing cause i’m pretty new to sumps and if I end up getting this then it would be my first sump. I need a video on like how to make the sump if I am going to make one. Thanks

 

[Keithb22]

Yeah I wouldn’t touch a used heater unless it came from me and was bought new. Still last tank I set up a couple were done already just from sitting. Helios controller isn’t bad but ink bird will be cheaper and absolutely a minimum. Find a basic sump on market place and you should be fine or see if you can convert the one that comes with it.

 

[Exotrezy]

Yeah I wouldn’t touch a used heater unless it came from me and was bought new. Still last tank I set up a couple were done already just from sitting. Helios controller isn’t bad but ink bird will be cheaper and absolutely a minimum. Find a basic sump on market place and you should be fine or see if you can convert the one that comes with it.

How would I convert it? I think what I might do is transfer the corals from his tank to mine just to help them survive in good light and then once I finish with that sump, I will transfer everything to the 120 gallon. My problem is that my main tank is going through a fallow rn cause I had brook.

 

[Tamberav]

Are you not in the states? Pretty sure all petcos run that sale quarterly.

 

[Keithb22]

You’d have to get more pictures once you get your hands on it. But essentially you would have to see if you could safely remove the seams of the current baffles and get the sump completely emptied. Then put new baffles in it, have to make sure it’s capable and not oddly drilled. Market place should have a 40 breeder for next to nothing, that would make a decent home made sump.

 

[Tamberav]

Okay, do you have any videos or anything for sumps and plumbing cause i’m pretty new to sumps and if I end up getting this then it would be my first sump. I need a video on like how to make the sump if I am going to make one. Thanks

There should be lots of videos. It’s very basic. Just cut glass or acrylic to slightly smaller then the inside dimensions and silicone it in. 2 or 3 sections depending on what size tank you can fit down there. The most basic one is just one baffle.

You may be able to rip the guts out of this one and use it. Rip all the guts out of the first chamber. All the egg crate and bio balls and crap. Try and fit a skimmer in there since hopefully water level would not fluctuate on that side.

The other side for the return pump but keep in mind you may need an ATO if you don’t have lids on the tank or such. Large tanks evaporate more and that return pump could be sucking air pretty fast. You might be able to get away with topping off twice a day though.

If you are ever away for more than a day, you will need an ATO.

I don’t know if you live in your own or with parents but expect a bump in electric costs too. I just mention this since you are in a budget. Big tanks means more RODI, more salt, eventually dosing, more electric costs, etc.