New and not sure

Jimbhoy13 · Jan 20, 2024

Welcome to R2R and the salty world. Take things slowly. Lots of knowledgeable and helpful people here who will support and advise you when needed.

Reef By Steele · Jan 20, 2024

Welcome to the reef. I discovered this forum as it seemed to always come up when I googled a question. Finally joined, then chose to become a supporting member and later a partner member to keep the forum available for others to come. My wife @Ocean_Queenie and I started culturing copepods and phytoplankton eventually selling some on here as a hobbyist. Eventually we decided to try to make a career out of it so we are now sponsors as well. I love the Reef2 Reef community here and the wealth of knowledge. Thanks for joining us.

Reef By Steele · Jan 20, 2024

As for new vs used. $$$ are king at times. I see he is running the same return pump I use in all my tanks. Going in 2 1/2 years with my first tank since getting back into the hobby.

Lots of pros and cons as have been mentioned. I like the thought of tank that is cycled and established as it can take a lot of the stress out of the start up. I would definitely ask if the seller would help with the move if you don’t have experience.

In the early 90’s I moved two 139 gallon aquariums 280 miles and reset the same/next day with very little loss of livestock. So it can be done. I had to move all the water and everything as didn’t have RO in the new location.

Ratt · Jan 20, 2024

Reef By Steele said:
As for new vs used. $$$ are king at times. I see he is running the same return pump I use in all my tanks. Going in 2 1/2 years with my first tank since getting back into the hobby.

Lots of pros and cons as have been mentioned. I like the thought of tank that is cycled and established as it can take a lot of the stress out of the start up. I would definitely ask if the seller would help with the move if you don’t have experience.

In the early 90’s I moved two 139 gallon aquariums 280 miles and reset the same/next day with very little loss of livestock. So it can be done. I had to move all the water and everything as didn’t have RO in the new location.

I don’t have r/o setup. We do have well water but it’s hard with minerals. I would definitely have to bring the water back with me if we do this. Regardless I am going to purchase the r/o and set it up. Thank you for the advice. What should I be looking for in the filter for signs of trouble? Any other obvious things to the naked eye we should look for? Thank you so much for your help. I am looking forward to learning about this whole new world!

CO2TLEY · Jan 20, 2024

Reef By Steele · Jan 20, 2024

Ratt said:
I don’t have r/o setup. We do have well water but it’s hard with minerals. I would definitely have to bring the water back with me if we do this. Regardless I am going to purchase the r/o and set it up. Thank you for the advice. What should I be looking for in the filter for signs of trouble? Any other obvious things to the naked eye we should look for? Thank you so much for your help. I am looking forward to learning about this whole new world!

Check the sump over for any possible cracks, same with the skimmer.
Not sure if internal overflow or what. I would not get a tank with a vacuum started overflow box (old school) but either internal or drilled overflow.

Look at the tank seams and make sure they look the same, a visible difference in the appearance of the sealant could indicate sealant separating.

From the full tank shot it appears there are shims under the front to level. If so, that is good, because it is very important to keep tanks on a solid, stable and LEVEL surface. Only issue I have with the picture is the shims sticking out, I would think if they have been there since set up, the owner would have trimmed them.

Ratt · Jan 20, 2024

Reef By Steele said:
Check the sump over for any possible cracks, same with the skimmer.
Not sure if internal overflow or what. I would not get a tank with a vacuum started overflow box (old school) but either internal or drilled overflow.

Look at the tank seams and make sure they look the same, a visible difference in the appearance of the sealant could indicate sealant separating.

From the full tank shot it appears there are shims under the front to level. If so, that is good, because it is very important to keep tanks on a solid, stable and LEVEL surface. Only issue I have with the picture is the shims sticking out, I would think if they have been there since set up, the owner would have trimmed them.

Thank you, I will try to go and scope it out tomorrow.

threebuoys · Jan 21, 2024

Get more info on the tank and equipment. Brand names, model number, how long has he had each item. Definitely want to know if everything works. Be aware that some items do wear out over time. If you have the details, you can google everything to get estimated prices.

Idech · Jan 21, 2024

Buying someone else’s setup when I started would have been too much for me, but everyone is different.

I like to start slow and build my knowledge, brick by brick. I started with an Evo 13.5 to see if I liked it. I did, so a year later I transformed my 75 gallons freshwater into a reef tank (sumpless).

Then I wanted more and upgraded to a 110 gallons + sump 2 years later. Now I’m learning the sump part.

This has its advantages, but it costs a lot of money. Tank sizes were so different I practically had to buy everything over again everytime time. And I don’t like buying used…

So take your time, read a lot, and see how you want to go into this.

Gumbies R Us · Jan 22, 2024

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

CoralB · Jan 23, 2024

Welcome !!

Fish Styx · Jan 27, 2024

Greetings and welcome to the reef!

musel101 · Feb 2, 2024

Welcome to R2R

tharbin · Feb 3, 2024

Welcome to R2R!

Buckster · Feb 5, 2024

Hello and Welcome to R2R! I say go for it but see if he will take 1200. When I got back into the hobby I bought a used 180. I checked out the tank and his fish were healthy and he did not have much in the tank which I could tell did not have aiptasia. Moving the system took time as a 180 is heavy. I put the marine live into a 32 biocube and 30 long until I got the main tank up and running. I replaced the sand and had to add about 125 pounds of rock. The process took me some time because I had to build the custom cabinet. The wave makers, lights, protein skimmer and pump were all newer and in great shape. I always feel that if you can and are able to go bigger then do it. That's only my opinion as others may or will not agree.