GoM_reefs
Community Member
Dirty secret time. I buy and sell used reef gear to support my hobby. Whether it's a full system, a cheap piece of gear from an upgrade, or a (fixable) broken piece of kit, a little bit of vinegar and "sweat equity" goes a long way to making an expensive hobby affordable. The general strategy is to roll either cash from refurbs or choice gear from full systems directly into my personal tanks. I want to make this series in part about the real costs, risks, and benefits of used gear and what is available in a medium (300k) city. I'll try to be as transparent as possible and talk about my experiences and how even a "free" (or profitable) reef really comes with work and time and whether it's the right path to take.
I've had a few tanks over the years, but I'm coming off 6 months without one due to travel and I have a big backlog of gear and an itch to tinker. So lets get a tank up.
A few things first.
1) This tank with be up for one year (March to March).
2) All the major gear will be used. Prices, condition, and source will be shared in the interest of sharing information.
3) I have no idea what I'm stocking yet, but tentatively planning either gorgonian heavy shallow Caribbean, macroalgae DT, or scorpaenid FOWLR. I don't think I take another Clown + File + Gramma stocklist.
Given the above, corals aren't something I'm interested in here. The short lifespan of the tank and the budget focus means getting a fleshed out reef tank would be impossible. On the other hand, the short life of the tank with an upgrade on the horizon also opens stocking a little bit. As long as I source juveniles, the 10 or so month residency in the tank allows for slightly larger fish than a permanent system of a similar size.
The tank.
No pictures early on, I didn't think to make a thread until the rock was already in but I'm using an Aquatop Recife Eco 40 with a beautiful piano black stand.
A previous owner graciously decided to drill bolts into the side of the stand to help with the Recife's notoriously terrible build quality, but failed to get long enough screws to actually make it through the panel to secure the pieces together. Fun times.
No worries. Bolt holes are against the wall, so no paint/filler needed, and brackets were installed inside the stand. Above is the sellers picture, no pictures from my quick fix. As an aside, the Recife stand wobble isn't really a problem when there's weight on it. As far as I can tell it's a from-the-factory issue and once it compresses down under load the furniture cams don't loosen. Regardless, a couple of brackets won't hurt. Otherwise, the tank is in great condition. No scratches on the tank or stand, acrylic isn't bad for used, and the seals are great. From new though, it's missing the lid, the light it came with, an apparently somewhat junk nano skimmer, and the return nozzle. The connector from the pump is also cracked and needs to be replaced. Tank + stand (delivered): $100, Jan 2023
Not bad off a retail of nearly $1k. Though it was technically free, given that (at least money wise) I traded a free Biocube for it.
On to the fixes.
As I mentioned the useless bolts were pulled out and while I was going to fill and paint, that side happens to be on a wall, so no fix needed. If you have an AquaTop Recife and are equaled annoyed by the lack of a bulkhead in the rear wall as I am, fear not. I've seen recommendations to drill and fit a 1/2in bulkhead, but it's not needed! The hole has an diameter nearly identical to a the OD of a 1/2 thread. I used a Rain Bird 1/2 right angle adapter ($0.75) with a female thread and an old male threaded return with an O-ring ($0.15) to make a water tight connection. This effectively upgrades the loose fit slip from Aquatop to a threaded 1/2 return that can accept Loc-line. A bit of scrap 1/2 hose finished the return.
Above is how the two parts fit together, with the O-ring in between. The O-ring compresses due to the flange around the threads, similar to a bulkhead. It's not going to hold a ton of pressure, but that's not needed and I didn't have to drill.
Supporting equipment.
Skimmer: Reef Octopus Classic 100 HOB. Free, 2021
Wavemaker: IceCap 1k. Free, 2021
This came from a 40g system I broke down a couple of years ago for my reef tank. Livestock was 2ish square feet of GSP, some xenia, 30 pounds of heavily colonized live rock, some mushrooms, a Koran Angel and a Magnificent Foxface. The fish were rehomed (to much bigger tanks) and the corals were kept (and eventually sold last year when I broke the tank down). Equipment was a Kessil 160WE in ok condition, the skimmer and wavemaker, and a Tidal 75 which went on my 20 long nano reef. The tank, fish, and light covered the $300 paid for the system and then some, with the coral netting another $70. All together maybe ~$150 over what I paid.
Lighting: AI Prime 16HD (2). $125/ea, June 2022
Oh yeah, that time I got a pair of NIB AI primes for $250. They weren't stolen, I have the receipt. Which also means I also registered the warranties. No real comments, just a lucky snag. Facebook Marketplace, especially reef and aquarium keeping groups have bizarrely good deals sometimes.
Return: Came with the system.
Will probably upgrade in the future.
Heater: Eheim Jegar 150W. $25.99
I cheated, that one is new. Used heaters just aren't worth it.
And we're ready to go. All in is about $250, or $375 if I use both AI Primes (TBD with stocking), or even less if you use the same creative accounting I do to justify constantly buying stuff for "future" tanks. Next post is the scape, a full tank shot, and a colossal mistake that I'm procrastinating on fixing by writing this instead.
I've had a few tanks over the years, but I'm coming off 6 months without one due to travel and I have a big backlog of gear and an itch to tinker. So lets get a tank up.
A few things first.
1) This tank with be up for one year (March to March).
2) All the major gear will be used. Prices, condition, and source will be shared in the interest of sharing information.
3) I have no idea what I'm stocking yet, but tentatively planning either gorgonian heavy shallow Caribbean, macroalgae DT, or scorpaenid FOWLR. I don't think I take another Clown + File + Gramma stocklist.
Given the above, corals aren't something I'm interested in here. The short lifespan of the tank and the budget focus means getting a fleshed out reef tank would be impossible. On the other hand, the short life of the tank with an upgrade on the horizon also opens stocking a little bit. As long as I source juveniles, the 10 or so month residency in the tank allows for slightly larger fish than a permanent system of a similar size.
The tank.
No pictures early on, I didn't think to make a thread until the rock was already in but I'm using an Aquatop Recife Eco 40 with a beautiful piano black stand.
A previous owner graciously decided to drill bolts into the side of the stand to help with the Recife's notoriously terrible build quality, but failed to get long enough screws to actually make it through the panel to secure the pieces together. Fun times.
No worries. Bolt holes are against the wall, so no paint/filler needed, and brackets were installed inside the stand. Above is the sellers picture, no pictures from my quick fix. As an aside, the Recife stand wobble isn't really a problem when there's weight on it. As far as I can tell it's a from-the-factory issue and once it compresses down under load the furniture cams don't loosen. Regardless, a couple of brackets won't hurt. Otherwise, the tank is in great condition. No scratches on the tank or stand, acrylic isn't bad for used, and the seals are great. From new though, it's missing the lid, the light it came with, an apparently somewhat junk nano skimmer, and the return nozzle. The connector from the pump is also cracked and needs to be replaced. Tank + stand (delivered): $100, Jan 2023
Not bad off a retail of nearly $1k. Though it was technically free, given that (at least money wise) I traded a free Biocube for it.
On to the fixes.
As I mentioned the useless bolts were pulled out and while I was going to fill and paint, that side happens to be on a wall, so no fix needed. If you have an AquaTop Recife and are equaled annoyed by the lack of a bulkhead in the rear wall as I am, fear not. I've seen recommendations to drill and fit a 1/2in bulkhead, but it's not needed! The hole has an diameter nearly identical to a the OD of a 1/2 thread. I used a Rain Bird 1/2 right angle adapter ($0.75) with a female thread and an old male threaded return with an O-ring ($0.15) to make a water tight connection. This effectively upgrades the loose fit slip from Aquatop to a threaded 1/2 return that can accept Loc-line. A bit of scrap 1/2 hose finished the return.
Above is how the two parts fit together, with the O-ring in between. The O-ring compresses due to the flange around the threads, similar to a bulkhead. It's not going to hold a ton of pressure, but that's not needed and I didn't have to drill.
Supporting equipment.
Skimmer: Reef Octopus Classic 100 HOB. Free, 2021
Wavemaker: IceCap 1k. Free, 2021
This came from a 40g system I broke down a couple of years ago for my reef tank. Livestock was 2ish square feet of GSP, some xenia, 30 pounds of heavily colonized live rock, some mushrooms, a Koran Angel and a Magnificent Foxface. The fish were rehomed (to much bigger tanks) and the corals were kept (and eventually sold last year when I broke the tank down). Equipment was a Kessil 160WE in ok condition, the skimmer and wavemaker, and a Tidal 75 which went on my 20 long nano reef. The tank, fish, and light covered the $300 paid for the system and then some, with the coral netting another $70. All together maybe ~$150 over what I paid.
Lighting: AI Prime 16HD (2). $125/ea, June 2022
Oh yeah, that time I got a pair of NIB AI primes for $250. They weren't stolen, I have the receipt. Which also means I also registered the warranties. No real comments, just a lucky snag. Facebook Marketplace, especially reef and aquarium keeping groups have bizarrely good deals sometimes.
Return: Came with the system.
Will probably upgrade in the future.
Heater: Eheim Jegar 150W. $25.99
I cheated, that one is new. Used heaters just aren't worth it.
And we're ready to go. All in is about $250, or $375 if I use both AI Primes (TBD with stocking), or even less if you use the same creative accounting I do to justify constantly buying stuff for "future" tanks. Next post is the scape, a full tank shot, and a colossal mistake that I'm procrastinating on fixing by writing this instead.
Last edited:
