679x
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- Ontario, Canada
- What state or country do you live in
SO... after a few months of research and planning about a saltwater tank, and thinking I was going to get everything new (even though I kept looking on Kijiji for used saltwater setups), I did another used tank search and found a 1-year-and-4-month old Reefer 250. It comes with high quality equipment, fish, coral, rock/sand, and a bunch of other products like supplements and food. The price is $3200 in Canadian dollars.
I sent the seller a message first to make sure it is still available. If it is, I think I am going to purchase it.
Now I would like some of your advice. This will be my first saltwater tank, and while I don't think I need any advice for maintaining a tank, I would like some help with things like:
-things to check for as I inspect the tank before and after purchase;
-things to ask the seller before purchase;
-methods of transferring everything to my house;
-etc.
However, if you have any other piece of advice, big or small, please tell me it, I'm sure it will help.
----------
Here is my current plan:
----------
1. Set up quarantine tank at home but do not fill with water. (I will put the seller's tank water in the quarantine, because I won't have any fresh saltwater, and I don't want to leave the fish in their transferring bin while I wait for fresh saltwater to be made. Is this a bad idea?)
2. Prepare the area where the tank will go, e.g. move stuff out of the way
3. Rent truck to transfer everything in.
4. Drive to seller's house and thoroughly inspect tank. Any scratches, leaks, cracks? All equipment working properly?
5. If step #4 goes well, then purchase tank, and don't forget to turn everything off / unplug.
6. Remove rock (with coral attached) and place in a bin, while simultaneously emptying some of the tank water into the bin.
7. Remove rest of water and fish and place in a SECOND bin.
8. Take external equipment (lights, etc) and place in a box. (Any equipment in the sump or tank will probably stay in the sump/tank during moving.)
9. Take extra items (supplements, cleaning supplies, etc) and place in another box.
10. QUESTION TIME! How heavy is a Red Sea Reefer 250 when fully constructed (tank+stand)? If it isn't very heavy (no water in it, of course) then it should be easy enough to lift and carry into the truck with 3 people, right?
11. Once tank/stand is in the truck, carry bin of rock/coral into truck, the other bin with fish, and the boxes with other equipment/stuff.
12. Drive home. On the way home, stop at an LFS and trade in fish/coral that we don't want, and maybe see if they will take some, or all, of the rock. I would like to get new rock to make sure I won't have any pests in my tank that could have been in the seller's system.
13. Upon arrival at home, carry bins of livestock and place in quarantine, then bring in tank, then boxes of accessories.
14. Set up tank and start preparing fresh saltwater.
15. Find a place for all the other items, like supplements.
--------------------------------
So that's my plan. I have a few questions in there. Does that sound good?
I also would like to ask: when I quarantine a fish, and it doesn't show any symptoms of disease, what medication do I use, if any? And how long would I keep it in quarantine if it never shows any symptoms? As I said before this will be my first saltwater tank, and I never quarantined my freshwater fish, so I don't really know what to do when it comes to quarantining.
Remember, any advice you have will probably help me. Please don't decide not to tell me something because you assume I know it already. I'm new and may not know it, lol
Thanks in advance
I sent the seller a message first to make sure it is still available. If it is, I think I am going to purchase it.
Now I would like some of your advice. This will be my first saltwater tank, and while I don't think I need any advice for maintaining a tank, I would like some help with things like:
-things to check for as I inspect the tank before and after purchase;
-things to ask the seller before purchase;
-methods of transferring everything to my house;
-etc.
However, if you have any other piece of advice, big or small, please tell me it, I'm sure it will help.
----------
Here is my current plan:
----------
1. Set up quarantine tank at home but do not fill with water. (I will put the seller's tank water in the quarantine, because I won't have any fresh saltwater, and I don't want to leave the fish in their transferring bin while I wait for fresh saltwater to be made. Is this a bad idea?)
2. Prepare the area where the tank will go, e.g. move stuff out of the way
3. Rent truck to transfer everything in.
4. Drive to seller's house and thoroughly inspect tank. Any scratches, leaks, cracks? All equipment working properly?
5. If step #4 goes well, then purchase tank, and don't forget to turn everything off / unplug.
6. Remove rock (with coral attached) and place in a bin, while simultaneously emptying some of the tank water into the bin.
7. Remove rest of water and fish and place in a SECOND bin.
8. Take external equipment (lights, etc) and place in a box. (Any equipment in the sump or tank will probably stay in the sump/tank during moving.)
9. Take extra items (supplements, cleaning supplies, etc) and place in another box.
10. QUESTION TIME! How heavy is a Red Sea Reefer 250 when fully constructed (tank+stand)? If it isn't very heavy (no water in it, of course) then it should be easy enough to lift and carry into the truck with 3 people, right?
11. Once tank/stand is in the truck, carry bin of rock/coral into truck, the other bin with fish, and the boxes with other equipment/stuff.
12. Drive home. On the way home, stop at an LFS and trade in fish/coral that we don't want, and maybe see if they will take some, or all, of the rock. I would like to get new rock to make sure I won't have any pests in my tank that could have been in the seller's system.
13. Upon arrival at home, carry bins of livestock and place in quarantine, then bring in tank, then boxes of accessories.
14. Set up tank and start preparing fresh saltwater.
15. Find a place for all the other items, like supplements.
--------------------------------
So that's my plan. I have a few questions in there. Does that sound good?
I also would like to ask: when I quarantine a fish, and it doesn't show any symptoms of disease, what medication do I use, if any? And how long would I keep it in quarantine if it never shows any symptoms? As I said before this will be my first saltwater tank, and I never quarantined my freshwater fish, so I don't really know what to do when it comes to quarantining.
Remember, any advice you have will probably help me. Please don't decide not to tell me something because you assume I know it already. I'm new and may not know it, lol
Thanks in advance
