Great Deal, Used 55g Tank, What To Ask?

[jiffy]

Someone about 4 hours from a friend of mine is selling a complete setup, 55 gal Aquarium (with wood stand, light, hood, 200W heater, filter, huge driftwood, XLL large Amazon sword plants. Included is also 1 discuss, 7 cardinal tetras + 1 green tetra, 1 baby whale, 3 hatchet fish, 1 glass knife fish, 1 panda corydas, 1 sterbai corydas, 2 Threadfin Rainbow, 2 Pseudomugil furcatus, 1 Flagtail catfish, and some apple snails.

If I got the tank I would end up trading some of the fish to the LFS, stocking only what fit and what I wanted.

Anyways, I could get this for $85 plus any gas and tolls (would be $65ish). If I came the whole way they would throw in some extras like Coralife Aqualight 48" 2x65W, Fluval 304 filter, UV sterilizer with pump head, 10G glass fish tank with stand and more.

Is there anyone that thinks I should not do this?

Also, what should I ask about the tank and stuff (like any leaks?) before I seal the deal? I'd hate to get all the way there and either have something wrong with it, or get it home and have a problem with it. They said nothing is over 2 years old and that the original price was around $800 and are selling it because they are moving in a week and couldn't find any buyers locally or on aquabid (19 feedbacks on aquabid, all positive). he is sending me more pics of it tonight.

Also, probably an important side question, will a tank this big be OK on a second floor of a house? I know 55g isn't huge, but it is pretty heavy and don't know if that would be any problem.

Replies ASAP are very much appreciated as I have to get it probably Tuesday the 27th.

EDIT---
I should add, is this a deal so great that it would be worth the drive (probably 10 hrs round trip)? Or is this a good but common deal? I mean, in all it will cost $150 - $200, so, what would you do?

 

[Durbkat]

Thats an awsome deal!!! Would you mind asking your friend how he thought the heater worked because I have one but am nervous as to if it will heat the whole tank up or not.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi jiffy

It sounds like a great deal to me. A 55 gallon tank is not too expensive, but the hood and stand, not to mention the rest of the equipment, can add up to a lot of money.

Unless you live in a very old house, a 55 gallon tank should be fine upstairs. Ask for information in the Do It Yourself section if no one tells you how to distribute the weight. I don't know much about it myself, but I've seen it mentioned.

Good luck!

 

[fish_keeper2]

wow im so jealous.....

definetly go for it!

 

[Durbkat]

Well what I heard you can do if your unsure the floor can hold the weight is to have about 10 of your friends stand really close together and if you fall through then the floor isn't made for that size tank and you could take a stud finder and go down stairs right below where you want to put the tank and use the stud finder to find out which way the studs run that way you can place the legs of the stand on the studs.

 

[cujoho78]

Hi. It sounds like a good deal to me. I think that i would jump on it if i were looking for one. As long as the tank doesn't leak and isn't all scratched to death then i don't see how you can go wrong. With all the extras thrown in you should be ready to go. As for the floor, you should try to figure out which way the floor joists go. If you can place the tank against a load bearing wall in such a way that the tank runs perpendicular to rather than parallel to the floor joists, then it should really be ok. Good luck.

 

[anvil63]

If you have the time and he is willing to throw in the extras I would definitely do it. The 55 should be fine. If you're worried about it, figure out which way the floor joists run and have the tank perpendicular to them.

Carl

Added assurance that 55gal's can go upstairs-
1. I have a 150 gal (72" x 20" footprint) on my second floor
2. Previously had a 55gal with a 40gal underneath on a cast iron stand on my second floor

 

[jiffy]

Thanks for the replies everyone, looks like this is definitely going to happen, unless something unforseeable happens.

One more thing I thought of though. My room is sorta small and I was planning on putting the tank on my dresser. It isn't some cheap $30 dresser from walmart, it is a decent model from a furniture store. Do you think this would support it?

 

[Ben]

it should,
but does it have thick wood and reasonably sturdy and could hold three/four large men sitting on it?

DD

 

[jiffy]

I'm greatly dissapointed.

I just got an email from the guy, he found a different place to move into and the tank will fit there, so no sale. Too bad, I was really looking forward to getting the tank. I guess some good news is that I am going to look at a friends landlord's old tank, which is thought to be a 35 gal including some equipment that he previously wanted to sell for $35 - $40. I got to check it out and see if he is still interested in selling...

On the other hand, I may just wait a few months to get another tank...

 

[Inchworm]

Hi jiffy

It's too bad you couldn't get that tank. I hope you have better luck with the other one and don't wait for long to get a bigger tank.

Your corys would like to be in a bigger school.

 

[sylvia]

Oh that's too bad. better luck next time