Too good to be true?

mellowchef87

mellowchef87

Reefing newb
I was at the LFS yesterday, and was talking to one of the guys that works there. He said that he just upgraded his tank, and is looking to get rid of his 55g octagon, with stand and lights.... for $40. I have never bought a used tank, or one of that size, so not really sure what to be looking for as in quality, or how to tell if there may be problems.He said he is looking to just get rid of it and offered it so cheap because there isnt anyone he knows of to take it. Sounded too good to be true, so I thought I would ask some people with some knowledge. I dont know anything about it, havent seen it or anything so I dont know anything about it. Thanks
 
I have never bought a new tank so nothing wrong with buying used. Being octagon is going to be more limiting vs a 4' 55g tank. Other than that get him to fill it up with water, look for scratches, chips, look at the silicone to make sure it is all in tact. Also make sure none of the braces are cracked or broken. That's all I can think of right now. Good luck!
 
Like Nick said, you're not going to have much for fish options due to an odd footprint, but clowns, hawkfish, gobies (especially clown gobies), and other small perching fish. Aside from that, as long as its watertight!
 
That would be cool. I know they are pretty difficult to care for though and I'm still Only a few months in.I'd like some more experience before I tried that. I didn't know that that shape would have an impact on what stock I would be able to have. But That's why I turn here for knowledge. You guys are awesome
 
Someday I want a seahorse/pipefish tank. You're right though, mellow. They are harder to care for. Some retailers make you take a class in caring for them before you can even purchase.
 
Upgrade time, always fun! I'd ask him if he's ever used copper in it and make sure you have the budget for a skimmer and lights as the ones he has might be worthless if he's just giving the system away.You may also need to get powerheads. The tank and stand are the cheap part, it's everything you have to put IN the dumb thing to get it going is what costs all the money. Your "free" tank may end up costing you hundreds of dollars ;)
 
If you wanted to do Seahorses, I'd recommend getting the tank and setting it up with maybe a 4 bulb t5, a couple of small powerheads (In odd locations), and have it set up for at least a year before attempting seahorses. Don't forget, seahorses don't like a lot of flow, and need a lot of perching places. I was going to attempt it with my 60g hex tank, but, there is just too much patience required for seahorses IMO. Not my type of fish lol :p. Instead, I put a snowflake eel in there :mrgreen:
 
The biggest concern I can think of is getting decent lighting to adequately light the depth while still fitting the unusual dimensions of the tank....It would make a great reeef as long as you think out the corals you are planning to put in it and tailor the lighting to the tank....
 
I guess they would probably do it but I'm not real familiar with them....the only one I have is my fuge light....
 
I did some research on them. They would do fine depth-wise, but they don't have a very wide angle unless you opt for the wide lens. But, that would lessen the par readings towards the bottom. You'd probably need 3-4 of them for a tank this size.
 

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