Tips for buying 2nd hand tanks

[DarkReefer]

Hi all,

Thought I'd ask the question as I've been playing with the idea of buying a larger second hand tank to allow me to step up the size of my aquarium in a cost effective way and not having to foot the bill for the cost of a new system with new gear.

What are some tips and tricks you recommend when buying tanks/equipment second hand?
Anything in particular you look out for? or would recommend others to look out for ?
Are there things you swear to stay away from ?

I personally think it has potential to be a great way for people to get into the hobby or upgrade cost effectively, but it's certainly not without it's risks.

 

[blaxsun]

1. Water test for sure, if possible.
2. The overall condition, ie: has it been taken care of, neglected, etc.
3. Any issues with the seams, cracks, dings, etc.
4. At least a 50% discount - more if there's no manufacturer warranty left.

Basically with used tanks there can be a lot of unscrupulous people out there, so treat every potential seller as though they're going to lie, cheat and steal from you. Any red flags should be red flags!

Remember the old adage: If it sounds too good to be true, run!

 

[TheBear78]

As above and I assume you're looking at empty set ups? If not then the logistics of moving livestock and dealing with the water would make me reconsider the value of buying second hand!
One other thing which may be possible would be to find out if any previous owner was on any forums etc. There may be some interesting history with the tank that may not be evident.

 

[DarkReefer]

Basically with used tanks there can be a lot of unscrupulous people out there, so treat every potential seller as though they're going to lie, cheat and steal from you. Any red flags should be red flags!

True and to some degree I'd be concerned with that kind of thing based on their character etc and how the equipment looks. I like the idea and ease of an already empty tank but makes me wonder if there's potential cracks/leaks, again depending on the persons character and be less concerned if they present everything very neat/clean/undamaged/legitimate reasons for getting rid of it.

As above and I assume you're looking at empty set ups? If not then the logistics of moving livestock and dealing with the water would make me reconsider the value of buying second hand!
One other thing which may be possible would be to find out if any previous owner was on any forums etc. There may be some interesting history with the tank that may not be evident.

There's been a few different ones that I've seen so far. Some are already emptied/cleaned, others empty/dirty and others are still running with some livestock/rockwork.

For me I'm kind of looking at what I can get best value for money for the tank & equipment wise mostly. I don't mind some rock being thrown into it but not overly fussed with livestock as I'd generally like to stock what I want to stock and not what the guy before me had just cause.

If the tank was full of water though and you're getting rockwork and maybe sand (though idk if I'd prefer to just go buy some new bags myself), other than transporting things in buckets etc with water in them, can you just chuck that rockwork/sand straight into new/different water or will there be ill effects like die off etc?
I definitely don't want to be lugging 100s of litres of water for it if it did end up being a tank that still had livestock.

Whilst a good idea to check for previous history, I feel it'd be hard to do before actually getting there to look at it and discuss the purchase. Sure you can do a quick check when you're on the spot I guess but could be a little awkward lol.

 

[Jeeperz]

I would not buy a red Sea larger that the reefer 170 used, period. Other than that if all the seams look good and haven't been damaged by scrapers, I don't sea a problem, especially if it's a custom tank by some of the big names that use double bottom, etc...

 

[DarkReefer]

I would not buy a red Sea larger that the reefer 170 used, period. Other than that if all the seams look good and haven't been damaged by scrapers, I don't sea a problem, especially if it's a custom tank by some of the big names that use double bottom, etc...

Thinking more Waterbox but I have seen a couple of nice looking RedSea Reefers. What's the reasoning for not touching the larger ones?

 

[Jeeperz]

Thinking more Waterbox but I have seen a couple of nice looking RedSea Reefers. What's the reasoning for not touching the larger ones?

They seem to have seam failures and their customer service is a joke. It may not always be the tanks fault but you don't read about seam failures as much from other manufacturer. Then if you mention it on their Facebook you get deleted and banned from the group, like they are trying to hide something

 

[blaxsun]

They seem to have seam failures and their customer service is a joke. It may not always be the tanks fault but you don't read about seam failures as much from other manufacturer. Then if you mention it on their Facebook you get deleted and banned from the group, like they are trying to hide something

While this may have been true on some of the Red Sea Reefers years ago, all the new tanks above 100 gallons typically have thicker glass, corner bracing, etc. I have a friend locally who received a tank damaged out-of-the-box from Red Sea and they replaced his tank entirely - no questions asked.

 

[Jeeperz]

While this may have been true on some of the Red Sea Reefers years ago, all the new tanks above 100 gallons typically have thicker glass, corner bracing, etc. I have a friend locally who received a tank damaged out-of-the-box from Red Sea and they replaced his tank entirely - no questions asked.

There still seem to be a lot of threads popping up about their seams failing, especially bottom front glass. I've never seen a reefer with corner braces on the tank itself. Red Sea could probably fix the issue permanently with a double bottom like custom tank builders use. That said I've got 3 red Sea tanks, 1 is a first gen 350 that's been up 4 years. I will say the stands are trash on these as Ikea quality particle board. I believe anything over 350 is plywood but hopefully they use better hardware as what came with mine is garbage and Lowe's had better cam locks

 

[blaxsun]

There still seem to be a lot of threads popping up about their seams failing, especially bottom front glass. I've never seen a reefer with corner braces on the tank itself. Red Sea could probably fix the issue permanently with a double bottom like custom tank builders use. That said I've got 3 red Sea tanks, 1 is a first gen 350 that's been up 4 years. I will say the stands are trash on these as Ikea quality particle board. I believe anything over 350 is plywood but hopefully they use better hardware as what came with mine is garbage and Lowe's had better cam locks

I have a Red Sea 750XXL v3 (this is one of the tanks that was redesigned after some failures, and includes the aforementioned corner bracing, an aluminum brace support in the cabinet and a 2" steel lip on the top front of the cabinet to support the "floating" edge of the tank). I've had it for over a year and a half now with zero issues. My LFS has an older Red Sea 350 that they've had on display for probably 4+ years now without issues as well (probably the same model that you have).

The stand for the 750XXL is marine laminated plywood. With the G2 models Red Sea moved entirely to plywood for construction on all stands (this includes at least the 250 as well, and possibly some of the other smaller tanks).

Given a choice of Waterbox or Red Sea, I'd take Red Sea hands down any day.

 

[Jeeperz]

I have a Red Sea 750XXL v3 (this is one of the tanks that was redesigned after some failures, and includes the aforementioned corner bracing, an aluminum brace support in the cabinet and a 2" steel lip on the top front of the cabinet to support the "floating" edge of the tank). I've had it for over a year and a half now with zero issues. My LFS has an older Red Sea 350 that they've had on display for probably 4+ years now without issues as well (probably the same model that you have).

The stand for the 750XXL is marine laminated plywood. With the G2 models Red Sea moved entirely to plywood for construction on all stands (this includes at least the 250 as well, and possibly some of the other smaller tanks).

Given a choice of Waterbox or Red Sea, I'd take Red Sea hands down any day.

I did prefer the overall finish of the silicone on red Sea vs waterbox but I've since seen some pretty horrible seams on red Sea tanks, plus the bottom glass on my 350 wasn't even flat right out of the box.

 

[Rmckoy]

It’s risky ….. but I have done it many times .
even a brand new tank can fail a leak test .
What I look for is the silicone appears in good condition , not dried out or leaking .
no scratches on the glass . Chips ,
Braces and blasting moulding around the perimeter of the tank is in tact .

if possible as for it to be filled with water and sit over night . ( again you would not know if water was added or cleaned up before you got there but some things can be impossible to hide

I still have the old pricing stuck in my mind
Used tanks no more than $1/ gallon

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

My suggestion would be don't buy a used tank unless you know the person took excellent care of it and didn't scrape the silicone, etc.

I purchased a Red Sea Reefer XL 300 G2 a few months ago and it's absolutely fantastic. Red Sea service is great too.

 

[mdb_talon]

I have bought several dozen used glass tanks over the years. Many I used and many I resold. To my knowledge there was only an issue with 1 of them(including some I used for a decade or more after I got them used). I still love the oceanic tanks and try to buy any of the used 4ft 120g ones I can find.

So having said that I think the risks are overstated sometimes. It's easy to check the glass for scratches, busted corners, etc so if you buy it that way it's on you. Of course if the tank is empty you can't see the integrity of the seems just by looking, but even still you can get a good idea. It's usually the obvious if a tank has been resealed(or even more obvious when someone just puts silicone over the existing seems which was a good sign it had a leak).

Of course buying used I would pay only a fraction of the new price.

 

[RedoubtReef]

Used acrylic has much less risk in my opinion.

 

[DarkReefer]

Used acrylic has much less risk in my opinion.

Perhaps but acrylic usually scratches more doesn't it ?

 

[RedoubtReef]

Perhaps but acrylic usually scratches more doesn't it ?

It can, but you have the option to sand and polish it out. Glass will scratch also and you can never get a scratch out of glass.

 

[jabberwock]

Buying used is buying someone else's problems. Many have success with this, but I don't go there.

 

[DarkReefer]

I'm still open to the idea, although I think a lot of you are right.
Unfortunately the tank I was getting excited about turned out to be a dud. The seller had posted pics of the tank and cabinet from when it appears to have been initially set up. Said it was only had for 18 months (maybe they only had it for 18 but it looked a dang sight worse). All the hinged were rusting down the doors etc contrary to the pics they had put on their ad...
Bit disappointing but oh well. Keeping an eye out still but not rushing for it. Missus now suggesting we look at new once we've bought a place of our own but keep a loose eye out for something good in the meantime.
Certainly not against the idea !

 

[jmichaelh7]

Just dont buy older red sea reefers.