125 Gallon - Should I buy it?

[Deepsouth]

A friend of mine has a 125 gallon aquarium that he is selling. Here is the breakdown.

Stand and Canopy furniture - Looks high end. Costs $500 at the petshop without the glass tank.
Glass Tank - Not drilled. Think it is around $320 new
Glass Lid - Standard $60 glass tops
Lights - I priced these for $140 at Petsmart. It is a better quality light.
Filters - 3 XP3 filters that he purchased about 6 months ago.
Heater - 1 Heater that was made for a 75 gallon.
Python - Standard 25' python setup.
Misc aquarium decor - Gravel ornaments etc.

The lowest that he will take is $500 is it worth it?

 

[knicks791]

SURE.... if the tank looks like its in good shape.

 

[Red_Belly_Pacu]

In my opinion, the price is kind of high. I have seen a lot better deals than that.

 

[Conner]

It depends on availability in your area. If you never see used tanks for sale, then this is probably a good deal. If there are lots of tanks for sale all the time (or at least frequently) then a better deal may come along.

Where I live, big used tanks don't come up for sale very often. You can see 125g setups (with hobs, not xp3's) selling for anywhere from $200-1,500. Saw a guy with a 220 selling it for $900, and another 220 going for $2,000.

It just depends on the area and availability. More importantly, is it worth it to YOU?

 

[Pharaoh]

I don't think it too bad of a deal. The filters alone are worth $80-$100 a piece. So, lets say that you would be buying everything except the filters for $250. Not too bad of a price IMO.

 

[Egon]

It depends on availability in your area. If you never see used tanks for sale, then this is probably a good deal. If there are lots of tanks for sale all the time (or at least frequently) then a better deal may come along.

Where I live, big used tanks don't come up for sale very often. You can see 125g setups (with hobs, not xp3's) selling for anywhere from $200-1,500. Saw a guy with a 220 selling it for $900, and another 220 going for $2,000.

It just depends on the area and availability. More importantly, is it worth it to YOU?

Good points above!

I'm a CL fan, I never bought a new aquarium, just been lucky really.

Your buying used so you can't return it that's gota cost something?

My rule of thumb is $1 per gallon and I will double that if the tank comes with the stand and other crap (hood, lights, pumps). Maybe a little more but not much. I would say $400 at the most for what your looking for but you could do better if your not in a hurry.

I live in the 5th or 6th largest city in the U.S. so I have a lot to pick from. Sometimes it takes months but 125's are by far the most available. It all depends on your market really? And what kind of time frame your looking to buy.

 

[Conner]

Initially I would feel the system was a little overpriced, but having 3 XP3's included in the deal really changes that. Those are not cheap filters, even used, and so they make the deal pretty good, imo.

 

[stewnew]

you dont want to rip off your friend though..
bottom line is, craigslist might have better deals, but if you know this guy then you can rest knowing its in working condition, plus thos XP3s alone would gun you just under 500 from petsmart

 

[DMD123]

Because its your friend, you also know how old of a tank your dealing with and how it was maintained. Sometimes when you buy used you find surprises that you may not have known about. Like every one else has said the 3 filters alone make the purchase worthwhile.

 

[biohazardcustomz]

i found a 125 on CL with an oak stand and all filters, heaters, gravel, decoratons, everything but water and fish for 150 or best offer. i know its an expensive hobby (trust me i know) but tanks are kinda like new cars. you know after 6 months they are going to be worth half as much if that. id say look around on there but stewnew has a great point with u know him so u know it works. ive seen people get sold big tanks with hairline cracks in them and they blew out a few minutes after they had water in them. they didnt look because they was excited.ever tried to clean up a 90 gallon aquarium with a 3 gallon shop vac? not fun!