USED TANKS? GOOD OR BAD?

[djarmstrong]

All my tanks are used/ Secend hand and i have never had a problem with mine .

Tanks are ~ 2x 100Gals and 1x 70Gal .

 

[12 Volt Man]

+1!!!!!!!

i got into a huge fight on another forum over this topic...


i used the words cheap and crappy though..

yeah, in 20 years of fishkeeping I have only had one tank leak, a 30g back in 1994 or so. never a crack, break, explosion etc.


many of my setups lasted from the early 90's right through to 2008 constant, with no reseals or anything.

I attribute this relative lack of problems mainly to the fact that all my tanks are new when set up.

might be coincidence.

might not. I don't know.

 

[MonsterMinis]

All my tanks are brand new purchased... including the 55 I inherited from my father thats now going on the 30yr. mark... and it's never been resealed... I wouldn't hesitate to buy a used tank at a good price.. strip and re-seal it for 1/2 the price of brand new would be worth it to me. long as the bracing and glass itself was in excellent shape. I wouldn't have the first clue to fixing a major crack or something more complicated. If it was free.. well I'de grab it and fiddle 'n see if I could work some magic.. if not. it was a learning experiance and a few bucks on attempted repair costs.

I've had a brand new 10gal leak, and 20gal leak on me though -.-.. being able to return them was nice.

 

[yogurt_21]

yeah, in 20 years of fishkeeping I have only had one tank leak, a 30g back in 1994 or so. never a crack, break, explosion etc.


many of my setups lasted from the early 90's right through to 2008 constant, with no reseals or anything.

I attribute this relative lack of problems mainly to the fact that all my tanks are new when set up.

might be coincidence.

might not. I don't know.

see based on that you're exactly the type I would buy my used tank from then. After all you have to upgrade eventually and you can't keep every tank forever. If it weren't for guys like you , everyone would be recycling old tanks without buying new ones and it would cost you 5-10$ a gallon for used rather than new.

which is exactly what i like. a smooth and clear market. Those who buy new, use it for years without issue and then sell when they upgrade or scale back. these are the tanks I want.

I don't want joe schmoe's tank that he "couldn't quite get goin" and has sat for 3 years in the AZ sun.

 

[12 Volt Man]

After all you have to upgrade eventually and you can't keep every tank forever.

send me some cash, I can upgrade my 150 to a 220 and the 150 could be yours lol

but this brings up a point you made about tanks sitting around.

even when buying new, I still make them order me in a tank. you never know how long the tanks have been sitting at the LFS for either.

the nice thing about getting custom work done, is that you know your tank was 'made to order'. not sitting around for 2 years at the store..

 

[Yanbbrox]

The main issue is seeing the tank filled and then testing it yourself before you buy. If you get an ok and yes to the above then you good to go if the price is right.

I got a mini second hand tank that I've had for a while now and in the end setup over some expensive AV equipment and a neighbors, been running a few months after testing with no issues, large or small the risk is still the same

 

[Red_Belly_Pacu]

Here are the used tanks I bought from craigslist in the past 4 years:

50 gallon with stand and eveything
55 gallon with stand and everything
110 gallon with stand and everything
55 gallong with stand and everything
60 gallon tank only.

The 50 gallon tank cracked and spilled 50 gallons of water to the floor in less than 3 minutes. This was about a month after I bought it.

The 55 gallon had a slow leak already and I bought it like that.

Only problem I had was with the 50 gallon cracking.

But overall, all the tanks are holding and I will buy used again.