What To Do With A 150 Gallon In Wall Tank?

[petergillett]

Hi,

I've got a 4ft L x 3ft W x 2ft D "hole in wall aquarium" that I'm in a dilema as to what to do with.

It's currently a marine tank but I'm selling the house. Now it would be great for someone to come in and say "lovey tank, are you leaving it?", however they would be taking on a hell of a responsibility, and considerable expense.

It would leave me with £2500 of kit to replace for my new tank (I had intended to take it with me) on top of the glass costs etc., and potentially leave them with an expensive stocking mission - they would need £500 of rock before they put their first fish in. There's also a lot of equipment to keep in check - a big deal for someone who's never kept fish.

So next possibility is rip it out and build the wall back again. Yes, solves all problems, but this is a fantastic feature. It's in a dining/kitchen and looks stunning from 20ft at the other end of the room.

My alternative is to convert it into a freshwater tank. This would lower the cost of running and give someone an insight into fish keeping which they can expand as they become more experienced. I will only be 1 mile away, and the guy 2 doors up has a 50g tank also, so help is at hand. I can re-house my livestock well in advance of moving, so have the opportunity to get a FW trop tank up and running

Hence my visit to this site! Assuming I convert I'd be very interested in what you guys would do with a tank this size, both in terms of stocking and things like lighting etc. (I'm used to the brightness and colour of 800W of marine halides!)

Cheers
Peter

p.s I apologise in advance for joining the site, posting one message, and leaving, but I am a reefer and will be continuing with a reef when I move - however we are all "aquatic engineers" so I didn't think you guys would mind!

Here's a view from the front

And the maintenance side from the garage - just can't get a picture that fits it all in.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

lovely reef tank, we're just setting up our first SW tank, it's ace Have a look in the marine section on here while your around

Well with a tank that size you've loads of options. If your doing it primarily to sell the house and tank with it then you need to go for what would be most popular and compliment the room best not what you'd like for yourself.

If I had a tank that big my Oscar woudl go in it with some other big cichlids, but I don't think that's the best option as it'd probably scare off people who are new to the hobby. What's I'd do is a low tech planted community tank. Just get some decent lighting on it and a sandy substrate, and plenty of plants, in fact similar to my fella's tank but on a bigger scale. Get some nice centerpiece fish like angels, maybe 6/8 of them, then about 3/4 shoals of small fish, then 2 shoals of cory's. Plenty of colour and movement, nice natural look with plants, stones, bogwood etc. It'll be fairly low maintenance, no fish that are really hard to keep or anything like that but I just think it looks dead attractive.

 

[Egmel]

Where are you and how much are you asking for the house

On the more serious side you could have it as a feature that 'can be removed' upon sale or left if the buyer wants, altering prices accordingly. You can then explain how much time it takes and suggest if they are new that they could have it as a tropical tank which would be easier to set up, at that point you can suggest that you 'gut' the tank for them leaving it clear to set up as they wish.

At the end of the day it depends on who buys the house.

 

[Mr Miagi]

If I was in your predicament, id leave it be. With all that automation and a dedicated fish room with top up and sumps etc, id leave it in wall, and leave it marine. If the new owner doesnt want the tank, take it with you, if they do want it, its on them to research their new aquasition!

Changing all that would be more effort than leaving it be IMO.

As Miss Wiggle pointed out, your best bet for the same "wow" effect would be a freshwater planted tank with some slow moving and shoaling fish.

Check out the Planted section for more information in the pinned topics on how to convert a system to planted.

And yeah, you dont have to leave, we have a marine section down further on the page!

 

[Carina]

What a beautiful tank! i so wish i had it in my house!

 

[Ava_Banana]

First and foremost..........beautiful set up............looks very professional indeed.


Secondly........selling a house (done this a few times myself) normally takes a while........if I were you......I would keep it as it was....you don't want a reef enthusiast looking for a house to come in and see an empty tank........

....that "feature" may well sell the house........because it displays the feature to the best advantage......it is a talking point and will have buyers remembering the house.

If the new buyers weren't interested.......you should still have time to take it out.


Good luck though....

....p.s......where do you live........maybe I can pursuade my wife to move again....

 

[Herbert]

Hi, I love your tank.

I think the main reason a lot of people do not choose to have marine tanks is how difficult is seems to set them up. From what I understand, if it is all set up already,a nd it is a question of maintenance, then people would be morelikely to have a marine tank, cause they look fab, and that tank will easily help to sell your house.

Plus, you mentined that you wer not moving far away, so maybe you could offer to help thenew owners out if they got baffled with it. I think that most people view tanks as serene and beautiful, and would love to have one in their home. My sugestion is to leave it in there, and use the extra money it will hopefully generate in the sale of the house to buy the new tank you will need.

 

[petergillett]

Thanks for all the nice comments about the tank!

Miss Wiggle - good luck with the SW tank. www.ultimatereef.net is my usual home, a good reef bunch - (sorry mods if this breaks rules to link other related forums)

Egmel - the idea would be a "take it or leave it". It's a stud wall in the garage then brick the hole up, re-plaster the inside wall. Not a lot of work, but may put some off before exchanging - and I wouldn't want to rush to do it unless exchanging! I'm not too worried about the prices in the overall picture of buying and selling houses, more than commitment to on going cost - reefing is an expensive hobby that you need to be sure you're going to like. Though an offer to convert it to FW or helping them might be a solution.

Mr Miagi - yes, it's pretty automated. Only thing you have to do is feed, empty the skimmer cup once a week (unscrews and rinse under tap), switch the topup water on (fills a resevoir to account for evapouration, and switches off when complete), water change every few weeks (open tap to drain, then turn on pump to replace 70 litres). Everything else looks after itself, though there's longer term maintenance to understand (RO filters, carbon and membranes, phosphate removers, calcium media etc). However, it's still a lot to take in by someone that doesn't even know the nitrogen cycle!

Carina - just get a big hammer! Putting it in was relatively easy - http/www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?t=173610 if you want to read about it.

Ava Banana - I've had a number of conversations with people that have come to the conclusion that it is a selling feature - the pictures honestly don't do justice. They've said "if I was buying I'd want you to leave it". But I guess there's a big difference between someone seeing it and thinking "wow" and actually buying the house with it in place!

Herbert - I'd always be on hand to help someone. I've had people help me in the past, and I've helped a number myself. So at long as I didn't become the fish maintenance guy it'd be alright!

I suppose the estate agent will give me an idea of whether I'm mad when they come to value. There's no question that it enhances the house, but it's difficult to tell wether it actually hinders the sale.

And if anyone wants to buy a tank with supporting house, I'm in Beverley (between York and Hull).

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Thanks for all the nice comments about the tank!

Miss Wiggle - good luck with the SW tank. www.ultimatereef.net is my usual home, a good reef bunch - (sorry mods if this breaks rules to link other related forums)

And if anyone wants to buy a tank with supporting house, I'm in Beverley (between York and Hull).

thanks

not far from us actually...... hmmm with a lovely ready made reef tank you say ...... hmmmm fancy holding off selling for about a yr?? we're looking to mvoe but not just right now!!!

 

[annka5]

It's a stunning tank, I would definitely leave it in place, but almost certainly convert to freshwater - that way you get to keep your saltwater equipment to re-use.
IMO whatever you decide - freshwater or marine - you definitely shouldn't stock it before you sell, or at least not include the stock with the house. When you sell a house with contents, if those contents pack up within a few days of the new owners moving in, you're almost always legally obliged to replace them. Usually applies to washing machines, central heating boilers, etc. However, I would imagine it could also apply to fish. At the very least it would unnecessarily increase the fees your lawyer will charge you.
Also, the person buying might not actually want the tank, or might want your choice of fish, or might not want fish in the tank... then waht would happen...?

 

[wendywc]

Since you're selling the house... I would remove the tank and finish the inside of the hole to make it a big open shelf. You can always tell the potential home buyer that they can hang a flat screen there (maybe go ahead and run some wiring and an outlet and cable line on the back) or make it a built-in bookcase.

EDIT: Either way, if I were you, I would take the 150G tank and accessories with me.

 

[Jules H-T]

Tearing it down and restocking freshwater would not be a wise thing to do IMHO.

To someone who doesn't like or want fish, it'll be a white elephant. To someone who already keeps fish they will have their own stocking preferences. Almost no-one is going to want your livestock to be fair, as lovely as it is.

I would hold viewings with the attitude that the whole lot is coming with you, unless they particularly want the tank left (and left dry).

You've got to play to the masses when selling a house, and fish keeping is not the masses, reef or tropical. What you going to do when you've got 50 fw fish in there and no-one wants it?

 

[mr.dark-saint]

There are so many veriables but if I were you. I'd check the cost of "patching" the wall V.S. it increasing the profits if left there intact. Most people will remember your flat when they see something they didn't see in another place (I know I would). You may luck out with some guy who was toying with an idea of doing that "some day" and you may have done him a favor.

I'd just tack on the "money spent" and add another grand or so (to ease your trouble for the next project in your new flat). Or ask a realter (make them earn their commision ) what they think but not act on it immediately. If you gave us more of the lay out of your place (how many Loos (is that right?) bedrooms walk in closet and the likes).

 

[petergillett]

Miss Wiggle - should sell towards end of year, beginning of 2007. Sorry can't hold off!!!

annka5 - good point. I'll not even bring that one up with the solicitor! If left as a marine I would definitely take the stock. The idea with a FW would be I would leave tank and stock, but I take your point on board.

wendywc - if it comes out it would return to a wall as it makes a fair imprint into the garage where the back of the tank (or shelf) sits. As it happens I don't want the tank or sumps as they don't fit my new design, however the equipment saves a few bob!

Jules H-T - the idea was to pull it all out unless the buyer wants it. I would pull out in advance other than the number of people who come in and commented about what a superb feature it is. Good point about rehousing unwanted FW fish, but at a push cheaper to give away FW than give away marine.

mr.dark-saint - cost of patching would be minimal as I'd do it all other than skimming the indoor side. I just can't work out if the tank increases percieved value (even considering it may come out) or decreases it whilst people worry about it coming out (even though I'd be doing it before they move in). Nice furnishings usually increase the value even though you're taking them with you. As a room it's an L shaped kitchen/diner/dayroom made from a 22ft x 10ft room kitchen one end and table other end (where the tank is) and into a 15ft x 11ft conservatory. It's a "family home" (most houses in the vacinity are families with kids 5-10yrs), so the fish may appeal to the kids.

Thanks again for everyones comments.