I started my first reef tank with all used equipment. Anybody else do this?

[Spicy Reef]

It's like anything else... you can buy a brand-new piece of junk.
If you're buying used be on your toes, inspection is everything. I would not buy a used car w/o having a mechanic go over it.

I rarely buy new stuff for the reef, and I DIY quite a bit.
To each their own

 

[Fish man]

I adopted a used 55g from a friend who was tired of it. Everything worked fine. As things wore out or broke I upgraded with new stuff. I eventually upgraded the tank to 90g. The only thing I still use from the original equipment is the skimmer. It was a good way for me to get back into the hobby for cheap and then upgrade as needed. Some people think you're not worthy if you don't go all new and top of the line. I have good quality equipment but I don't have Kessil Lights. My wave pump isn't Vortech. My circulation pump is a Jabao chinese made variable speed that has been in service for four years with no problems. My reef looks as good as any out there. I don't think my fish and corals know so don't tell them cause they'll probably start dyeing.

 

[CoralB]

I always start off with new and some used that I’ve either had from other tanks I’ve had or bought used through the years . Tanks and heaters I never buy used

 

[Dbasileccim]

I found my 144 gallon 1/2 circle oceanic tank outside of a foreclosed home. It weighed a ton and of course I was scared about the condition. I brought it home, filled with water in the garage and let it sit for a couple of months to confirm it wasn't going to explode.

Fast forward 3 years, a lot of used equipment and I have a fully functional mixed reef in my living room.

Most of my equipment was bought used and I did get burned on a couple of items but saved thousands even taking the bad used equipment into consideration.

 

[tkong]

Only thing I won’t buy used are heaters.

50-50 on buying new or used pumps. It really depends on if I can find a good gently used deal and how quickly I need it.

 

[Hairyteeth]

I buy new, but no hate on used, the right person selling that also takes care of their gear, and is known to work… probably a good buy, cause I’ve also had problems with brand new gear that’s really nice and expensive, and maintained regularly

 

[Chee-tomorpha]

I started with a second hand reefer 250. I added new stuff where it was important like lighting, wave makers, and skimmer. I found Jebao to be cost effective and pretty reliable for what my experience level was. As I gained more experience, it made sense trying a few premium stuff as I'm more invested in the hobby now.

My latest build is all new. I'm pretty excited about it. Follow my progress.

Build Thread - Reefer Peninsula 500 and Red Sea Ecosystem

Hello fellow reefers! This is my first ever post and will also be a build post too. A little intro about me. I started getting into reefing about 8 years ago, before that I was into freshwater aquariums and kept angelfish, had some breeding projects as well. I got interested in reefing after my...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Chee-tomorpha]

I started with a second hand reefer 250. I added new stuff where it was important like lighting, wave makers, and skimmer. I found Jebao to be cost effective and pretty reliable for what my experience level was. As I gained more experience, it made sense trying a few premium stuff as I'm more invested in the hobby now.

My latest build is all new. I'm pretty excited about it. Follow my progress.

Build Thread - Reefer Peninsula 500 and Red Sea Ecosystem

Hello fellow reefers! This is my first ever post and will also be a build post too. A little intro about me. I started getting into reefing about 8 years ago, before that I was into freshwater aquariums and kept angelfish, had some breeding projects as well. I got interested in reefing after my...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[jmatt]

I am literally buying things so new, they don't exist yet.

 

[sfin52]

My first t5 lights where used. I loved them so much i bought another fixture my 2nd tank. Now the used lights are setting on top of my buddys tank.

 

[AIRDADDY]

I’m cheap and my wife is cheaper when it comes to reefing so I’m primarily a used buyer. There are some great deals to be had if you keep an eye out. You can get burned if you don’t know what you’re looking at though so it’s best not to fall in love until you inspect it. It also helps to know how to DIY build a stand. I’ve built stands for a 90 gallo, 210 gallon, and just finished a 92 gallon half cylinder.

 

[dlc]

almost everything I own is used, even my husband lol. Our side gig is buying and selling used tanks. I got into saltwater when we got a free complete 120 with rock, fish, skimmer etc. I still own it 5 years later. 3 years ago I bought a used 32 biocube and a year ago a used IM 10. Unlike others I’m going smaller.. I did buy a new nicrew light on Amazon for that tank though.
I used to have freshwater breeding tanks, again all used and mostly free.
Never had a tank leak in all that time, maybe lucky or maybe like a lot of products these days older tanks are simply better made.

 

[Crotalus]

My first tank was a 125 gallon display tank. All used.
My next tank was a 200 gallon Oceanic. Everything was used, including the fish. The tank came complete with livestock, fish only.
After a few years I started introducing a few corals.

 

[Pacific North Reef]

So there's no doubt this hobby CAN BE expensive, but IMHO it doesn't have to be. I started off in the reef hobby with a 29g tank off of craigslist. I bought my first equipment all used. Now...there are some things I wouldn't buy used today, but there's no doubt that if I couldn't have started off cheap, I probably wouldn't have started at all. Anybody else have a similar story?

So...a few questions for this discussion:

1) How many of you started off in this hobby buying used equipment?
2) What are some things you would still buy used today?
3) What are some things you would NOT buy used today?

Btw, for anyone looking for some good deals on used stuff from other hobbyists, check out our R2R Marketplace forums!

Photo by @aquariumcarecenter

When I first got into the hobby I started with all new equipment. However, there wasn't a Craigslist and finding used equipment was more challenging, but with this build I started with a used tank, refurbished it and the 20gal long I am using for the sump I found used, everything else will be new. I'm pretty frugal and will attempt to do everything on the cheap, but spend money were needed.

 

[aurora.k]

You have to do all the indepth research (live stocks and equipment) that you are going to use and do it right at the beginning.

This is more important than new or used IMO. I started new but cheap and then I had to upgrade everything so wasted a lot of money that way - when I upgraded to my Red Sea 900 I pre-planned everything and bought it all new (I still have my 250 set up so didn’t reuse any lights or anything). I think used is fine if you’re careful and you can get deals from other reefers on “pre-owned” but never actually used. That said, I generally prefer to buy new and high quality (and no longer on impulse… usually) because I think it saves money in the long run as you won’t have to replace things as often - but I am not super technical/able to fix gear, so others have different calculations on cost savings. I am lucky that I can afford to do so.

 

[mwilk19]

When I started in the reef hobby in the early 90's there wasn't much used equipment to be had. Not many people at that time had reef tanks or even knew what they were. I bought my metal halides new along with VHO fittings. The tank was new and my buddy and I built our own sumps out of acrylic and we built our own protein skimmers out of PVC.

 

[glennf]

As a real hobbyist i love building and designing my own stuff.
The first equipment i build were: customsump with tricklefilter and bioballs, protein skimmers from glas with airstones, calcium reactor from sewerpipes.
I even build my own light fixtures, before T5, now fullLEDS.
Now i don't use any of those filtering equipment anymore. My sump is just empty and i use my own developed dosing system with the support of only a powerfilter. Somehow it looks vintage, but there is nothing vintage about my system. It's a recircular ecosystem witout waterchanges.

Ik use modern dosings/monitoring system like GHL profilux and KHD, because they make life easy and looks cool.....

This is 100% own build and design
Not sexy , but very effective and saves a lot of time on equipment maintenance.

 

[Wasabiroot]

Agree - I think this is one of the things preventing more from entering the hobby.

You can grow a BEAUTIFUL tank with Gen 4 radions, clean and inspected protein skimmers, cheap grow bulbs and a decent, reliable pump like a Tunze or something else.

In the past (I was not part of the old days) I hear the focus was much more about DIY solutions and innovating with what equipment you had. I can't remember who (maybe Paletta or someone else?) Who decided one day to try fluorescent bulbs over a reef tank and created a new wave of lighting and the actinic look. I doubt whether or not the fixture was brand new affected its ability.

There are some great deals in the classifieds. Hundreds off if you look carefully. Just caveat emptor and vet the person. Or even a local LFS swapping equipment out.

I'm sure some reefers still have their old school calk reactors.

 

[Projects with Sam]

Mostly used. A lot DIY / Restored.

 

[kaylajoy]

For nano size I wouldn't buy a used tank, a 40 gallon or under tank is too cheap new. What I do wish I hadn't done is bought reef specific everything because an Aqueon will hold water just the same.

Havent thought about buying things like hearers and pumps used because well, those break, but I might buy used once I get into more expensive things like reef controllers for sure.