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Used Tank Advice


ItsaDreamFrodo
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Hello All,

 

I am looking to build out a new (used) 125 gallon African river aquarium and get rid of my 1 year old 55. Been in the hobby for a 10 years but never big tanks; so I was always comfortable buying petsmart for tiny tanks or spending the extra for a brand new 40-55 from Visio or Cobalt.

 

Any advice on what to avoid or look for in these two local options:

(1) Acrylic with solid wood stand (a must so I can sand and paint it white). Owner said it could use very minor buffing, the tank is 7 years old. He is asking $650 which seems high for a used 125 (albeit I don't want his substrate/equipment so maybe $500 if I am lucky). 5x2x2. Currently full of water & stock

 

(2) standard 125 glass with solid wood stand (albeit I have to replace the cabinet doors because its a horrible style). Unknown tank age, seems dirty in the photos but looks like maybe just grime at where the water level fluctuates, currently is 3/4 full of water. Asking $450, probably will come down to $350.

 

Thank you

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Biggest and most obvious: leaks. Especially if they’ve mentioned it has been sitting empty for awhile. Check all the silicone and make sure all that looks good and test for leaks before you buy if you can.

Also, for some reason, people like to store large empty items like this outside.. look over the wood stands really well for weak spots and rot just incase. A stand I bought that was supposedly “outside for about a week” had all kinds of damage I didn’t see at a first glance. Clearly had been sitting outside for at least a month upon closer inspection. Luckily I have a wood working friend who repaired and reinforced the stand for me. Check to make sure it is truly solid wood too, sometimes that pressboard crap is easy to mistake for wood (or maybe I just don’t know well enough to check each time) and can and will give out if its an older stand.

Ive never owned an acrylic tank before, so I’m sure someone else could give input on that. I usually just go ahead for glass, you can almost always get it cleaned up really well and its usually cheaper.

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I would want to see them leak checked.  3/4 full could just be whatever, or a leak near the top.

 

im guessing the acrylic can scratch easily, at least compared to glass. I’d inspect for deep scratches.  Do you know how to buff out an acrylic tank?  

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On 7/20/2022 at 7:06 PM, Ken Burke said:

I would want to see them leak checked.  3/4 full could just be whatever, or a leak near the top.

 

im guessing the acrylic can scratch easily, at least compared to glass. I’d inspect for deep scratches.  Do you know how to buff out an acrylic tank?  

No I do not know how to buff acrylic but I am sure I can figure it out. Deep scratches I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between that and surface. 

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On 7/20/2022 at 6:58 PM, EVoyager31 said:

Biggest and most obvious: leaks. Especially if they’ve mentioned it has been sitting empty for awhile. Check all the silicone and make sure all that looks good and test for leaks before you buy if you can.

Also, for some reason, people like to store large empty items like this outside.. look over the wood stands really well for weak spots and rot just incase. A stand I bought that was supposedly “outside for about a week” had all kinds of damage I didn’t see at a first glance. Clearly had been sitting outside for at least a month upon closer inspection. Luckily I have a wood working friend who repaired and reinforced the stand for me. Check to make sure it is truly solid wood too, sometimes that pressboard crap is easy to mistake for wood (or maybe I just don’t know well enough to check each time) and can and will give out if its an older stand.

oooof.

I'm so glad my unfilled tank that's on hold is not outside.  I can't even imagine.

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For me the main question with used tanks is why they are getting rid of it. If the reason is apparent (moving house, upgrading, switching hobbies) I get a lot less suspicious of tank condition. I once picked up a "perfectly good" free 55 that I soon found out had damaged braces... should've seen that one filled before I took it. Other than that I've had great experiences with used and cheap-as-free tanks.

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Check to see if the glass is etched. We’re it can be cleaned. I use lots used tanks mostly for breeding. Just be careful even if you don’t want his stuff for the acrylic he my not want it and say you have to take it. Do you have pics of the glass tank.  Etching is common at water levels. Is there a reason it’s 3/4 like a leak. The silicon is not a big deal but people often hide or just don’t notice a small leak in the glass especially if the back is painted. I can show you some tanks that are etched. They looked like they could be cleaned. Just be careful. I would never own another acrylic tank. Personally but as a show piece new they are great. If you have had them before that’s different. One of the major petstores had there 125 with stand for 500 new.  If you get the glass I would re-silicone it anyway.

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On 7/21/2022 at 11:22 PM, Brandon p said:

Check to see if the glass is etched. We’re it can be cleaned. I use lots used tanks mostly for breeding. Just be careful even if you don’t want his stuff for the acrylic he my not want it and say you have to take it. Do you have pics of the glass tank.  Etching is common at water levels. Is there a reason it’s 3/4 like a leak. The silicon is not a big deal but people often hide or just don’t notice a small leak in the glass especially if the back is painted. I can show you some tanks that are etched. They looked like they could be cleaned. Just be careful. I would never own another acrylic tank. Personally but as a show piece new they are great. If you have had them before that’s different. One of the major petstores had there 125 with stand for 500 new.  If you get the glass I would re-silicone it anyway.

Yeah, I was wondering on buffing the Acrlyic, I know glass probably has minor scratches that cant be buffed. I have had that happen with a used tank I bought before. luckily not very noticeable if not up close staring at it.

 

I did see the Petsmart 125, which is what the used one is (1 year old), I could build a better stand too which would be nice. But the non-low iron glass of petsmart I am questioning, because my current 55 is low iron Visio glass and I don't want to sell it to replace with a low quality glass. It has kind of spoiled me..... especially if I only upgrade to a 75.

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I don't know that tanks retain the amount of value we would like them to. I guess most of my used ones turned out to be good deals, though. The only one I probably should have backed away from was the 30g I bought from a local club member. I figured the scale on there was fresh and easily removed. It's like some kind of herculean variant of scale... I'm giving the guy the benefit of the doubt that he was not aware, but yea, wasn't worth what I saved compared to a new setup.

So I guess that's my advice. If it has a lot of scale, save money and buy new. Or wait for them to give up and cut the price in half.

Edited by BrettD
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Is the consensus just to buy used regardless if it looks like a great fairly new set-up for half price? Most people seem to say save money on the tank and spend more on equipment? I am assuming 90% of used tanks out there aren't low iron glass though, but rather are aqueon/top fin glass. 

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On 7/22/2022 at 1:08 PM, ItsaDreamFrodo said:

Yeah, I was wondering on buffing the Acrlyic, I know glass probably has minor scratches that cant be buffed. I have had that happen with a used tank I bought before. luckily not very noticeable if not up close staring at it.

 

I did see the Petsmart 125, which is what the used one is (1 year old), I could build a better stand too which would be nice. But the non-low iron glass of petsmart I am questioning, because my current 55 is low iron Visio glass and I don't want to sell it to replace with a low quality glass. It has kind of spoiled me..... especially if I only upgrade to a 75.

I have a homemade 200g I got second hand on a trade 5 gal honey for it and the stand. I have a place for a 450 and the room to maintain it but I saw one with the sapphire glass one of the  custom builders used a friend bought. Super clear. A year should be to bad unless they’re really didn’t maintain it or had reptiles in it. Anything I’ve ever bought that had a reptile in it broke. 

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