yinyangpete
Mostly New Member
After being without an aquarium for a couple years, I decided it was time to get a tank up again. I was all excited...my wallet wasn't. Not to be deterred, I started scouring online sale postings for something that fit my budget. I've had a tank of one kind or another (never saltwater) over a few decades so I felt I was up to the task.
After searching ads a couple times a day for weeks, I was starting to wonder if used aquarium products had somehow starting holding their value in the past couple years. I reassured myself that I wasn't being unrealistic in my expectations and pushed forward. And then, last Saturday morning, with half-opened eyes, coffee still brewing, and a headache reminding me that moderation takes on new depths of meaning with every year, I opened the lists and started with the garage sales.
Tucked inside a listing with a washing machine, couch, dishwasher, car on blocks, used motorcycle gear, and nicknacks was this...
aquarium with stand and supplies.
No other details, no price, no contact information, just an address. But the address was 10 minutes away. I put on clothing fit for public appearance, filled the travel mug with coffee, and hit the road.
First, I noticed an old pail of aquarium "supplies" and a tarp with about 10 motorcycle helmets sitting on it. No tank and no stand. I went to the front door and knocked. We had some friendly chitchat about the lovely morning (though I suspect she noticed my deathgrip on the coffee mug and my less than stellar morning breath as I'd skipped brushing my teeth) and I was escorted around to the garage to see the fish tank and the rest of the items for sale. It seems her husband and two sons are, let's politely say, "collectors." She, on the other hand, seemed to be tenuously grasping to the idea that it was nice to get from one end of the garage to the other without falling over something. We stepped around the old fake x-mas tree box filled with a dual chamber HOB, hoods and lights, a heater, and more supplies. Way in the back, sitting on top of two stainless steel table refrigerators (unplugged and also for sale) was an Oceanic 55g with a manufactured cabinet stand laying on it's back on top of the aquarium.
I gulped my coffee, put my eye on everything as closely as possible, and came to the conclusion that I was going to have a fun day. After a bit of delicate negotiation, she went inside to talk with her husband. I suspect their negotiations were less delicate, but she emerged the victor and asked "If I let it go at that price, can you take it with you right now?" I pointed to my truck and bent down to pick up the x-mas tree box of supplies and told her I'd just need help with the tank. We put the tank in the back of the truck and I took a minute to reinspect in the full sunlight. My head was killing me but my wallet smiled.
55g Oceanic, cabinet stand, hoods, lights, HOB, heater, and requisite "supplies" for $60. All those weeks of searching had finally yielded a result.
Here's a pic of the crud coming off the front glass with vinegar and a razor blade.
A quick pic of the current placement. I don't know that I have a better place in the house for a green water tank. Alas, that is not my plan....
The stand has some nicks in it. No horrible gouges or scratches. Easily resolved.
Time to drag the hose in the window and see if this is a real deal or if I brought home a terrarium.
The tank holds water. Quick tip, closely examine the brick you use to hold down the hose instead of just grabbing the first one your hand finds. Otherwise, you may soon discover that ants can swim, and a hundred of them are a real PITA to kill one by one. Never again.
Cleaning the filter with a toothbrush and cotton swabs. Notice the old media that was left in the filter to die.
Here's the hoods. They needed quite a bit of cleaning. Most of it wiped right off with the rag and vinegar. The glass is another story. It cleaned up okay, but it's definitely blocking light. Not too worried about it since I'm pretty sure I'll be changing to different lights anyway.
And here it is mostly cleaned up and holding water.
Things yet to come...
Buy a heater--the one that came with it refuses to work.
Drain the tank and get an initial aquascape. Gravel, rocks, driftwood to be sourced from my property.
The back and right side are going to need covered. No decisions yet.
Touch up the cabinet.
Make decisions about hoods and lights.
Replace and/or add filtration. The filter that came with it, considering it is used, is acceptably noisy and seems to be running well. I had a Filstar xp3 on my last tank, though, and I miss it.
FISH and some live plants.
After searching ads a couple times a day for weeks, I was starting to wonder if used aquarium products had somehow starting holding their value in the past couple years. I reassured myself that I wasn't being unrealistic in my expectations and pushed forward. And then, last Saturday morning, with half-opened eyes, coffee still brewing, and a headache reminding me that moderation takes on new depths of meaning with every year, I opened the lists and started with the garage sales.
Tucked inside a listing with a washing machine, couch, dishwasher, car on blocks, used motorcycle gear, and nicknacks was this...
aquarium with stand and supplies.
No other details, no price, no contact information, just an address. But the address was 10 minutes away. I put on clothing fit for public appearance, filled the travel mug with coffee, and hit the road.
First, I noticed an old pail of aquarium "supplies" and a tarp with about 10 motorcycle helmets sitting on it. No tank and no stand. I went to the front door and knocked. We had some friendly chitchat about the lovely morning (though I suspect she noticed my deathgrip on the coffee mug and my less than stellar morning breath as I'd skipped brushing my teeth) and I was escorted around to the garage to see the fish tank and the rest of the items for sale. It seems her husband and two sons are, let's politely say, "collectors." She, on the other hand, seemed to be tenuously grasping to the idea that it was nice to get from one end of the garage to the other without falling over something. We stepped around the old fake x-mas tree box filled with a dual chamber HOB, hoods and lights, a heater, and more supplies. Way in the back, sitting on top of two stainless steel table refrigerators (unplugged and also for sale) was an Oceanic 55g with a manufactured cabinet stand laying on it's back on top of the aquarium.
I gulped my coffee, put my eye on everything as closely as possible, and came to the conclusion that I was going to have a fun day. After a bit of delicate negotiation, she went inside to talk with her husband. I suspect their negotiations were less delicate, but she emerged the victor and asked "If I let it go at that price, can you take it with you right now?" I pointed to my truck and bent down to pick up the x-mas tree box of supplies and told her I'd just need help with the tank. We put the tank in the back of the truck and I took a minute to reinspect in the full sunlight. My head was killing me but my wallet smiled.
55g Oceanic, cabinet stand, hoods, lights, HOB, heater, and requisite "supplies" for $60. All those weeks of searching had finally yielded a result.
Here's a pic of the crud coming off the front glass with vinegar and a razor blade.
A quick pic of the current placement. I don't know that I have a better place in the house for a green water tank. Alas, that is not my plan....
The stand has some nicks in it. No horrible gouges or scratches. Easily resolved.
Time to drag the hose in the window and see if this is a real deal or if I brought home a terrarium.
The tank holds water. Quick tip, closely examine the brick you use to hold down the hose instead of just grabbing the first one your hand finds. Otherwise, you may soon discover that ants can swim, and a hundred of them are a real PITA to kill one by one. Never again.
Cleaning the filter with a toothbrush and cotton swabs. Notice the old media that was left in the filter to die.
Here's the hoods. They needed quite a bit of cleaning. Most of it wiped right off with the rag and vinegar. The glass is another story. It cleaned up okay, but it's definitely blocking light. Not too worried about it since I'm pretty sure I'll be changing to different lights anyway.
And here it is mostly cleaned up and holding water.
Things yet to come...
Buy a heater--the one that came with it refuses to work.
Drain the tank and get an initial aquascape. Gravel, rocks, driftwood to be sourced from my property.
The back and right side are going to need covered. No decisions yet.
Touch up the cabinet.
Make decisions about hoods and lights.
Replace and/or add filtration. The filter that came with it, considering it is used, is acceptably noisy and seems to be running well. I had a Filstar xp3 on my last tank, though, and I miss it.
FISH and some live plants.
