Trying To Plan A Sw Tank...need A Lot Of Guidance.

[Colin_T]

Is it out of the question to have the person fill the tank w/water to check for leaks before I buy it? I don't want to buy someone else's problem

most people won't fill a tank for you but some do. I usually have my 2nd hand tanks full of water when people arrive to see them. Then I simply use a big syphon hose to drain the water out.
You can check the silicon for damage. Look around the edges of the tank and see if the silicon is white or cream in colour. Also look for air bubbles in the silicon. If it has any bubbles or is white then try pulling at the silicon with your fingers. If it is coming away from the glass it will be easy to pull away. If this happens then the tank will need to be rebuilt before it will hold water.
If the tank has no bubbles in the silicon and the colour is clear (or black if black silicon is used) then it will probably hold water.
If the tank has been treated with any medication containing methylene blue, then the silicon will be stained pale blue. This does not affect the quality of the silicon. You will also be able to see air bubbles and any cream or white discolouration in blue stained silicon.

 

[kj23502]

canister filters are pointless and a waste of money if your going to do a hybrid berlin method (live rock and sand), full berlin (very high flow, lots of rock, no sand, heavy skimming) or deep sand bed/plenum (rock, lots of sand like 6"+ thick).

Im guessing your doing the hybrid berlin method so the canister filter would be a waste of money. Just get a 30-40 dollar phosphate reactor and a small pump.

however, I could through it on my cichlid tank...

and I still have a 29 gallon tank that I could do my south american puffers in

I need to read some more and find out what a phosphate reactor is I have my guesses but that's about it

Thanks everyone for your answers!!!

 

[kj23502]

ok, I'm hunting down another tank... LOL

180 gallon tank, attractive stand. Live rock, sump, lighting included

They aren't sure how much lr is in but said it's stacked about half way up (so that's a pretty good amount). Has metal hallide lighting. Comes w/2 damsels (I think i'd give those to my lfs).

It's drilled for the sump and the sump comes with it.

They are asking $1300 obo.

I try to figure out how much things initally cost to see what they might have paid to help determine if I'd get a good deal or not. Any idea how much lr that might be in it? They said when they moved it last they filled 2 40 gallon garbage cans 3/4 of the way up w/lr. Any idea on how much that might be? 100 lbs roughly?

They said they're selling it, b/c they went on vaction and came back to a dead tank. Apparently, the guy that was supposed to look after it for them didn't. They said they put the damsels in to have something in there, but didn't want to start all over stocking it again and the tank is really to big for their house so they're selling it.

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, used tanks typically $1/gallon for the tank, same goes for the stand, and same goes for the hood... So you'd be talking $460 just for the tank/stand/hood. Figure the sump's prolly worth $200, halide lights for a tank that size at least $250 and you're up to $1100 on just the hardware. Then lets lowball 100lbs of LR at a very cheap $3/lb and you're up to $1400 so I'd say they're probably right in line with what they should be charging, or perhaps even a little on the low side. Brand new, all that's clear into the $3000 range for sure...

Be nice to know if it came with any other typcial accessories like powerheads, filters, reactors, skimmers, etc but it sounds like a good deal. I'd go over there and take a look at the rock before purchasing it just to make sure it's not a complete loss and there's still some life left on it. I'd also love to find out what size bulkheads are in it just so you have an idea of where they are on their possible flow curve.

A lot to shell out for a tank initially but it does sound like it comes with a lot of stuff, might be a good find.

One last suggestion, take half the sand and thoroughly rinse it but leave the other half as-is. Try not to introduce new sand when you move the tank, that's just asking for a silicate induced cyano bloom.