I have been looking for a used larger tank for several weeks. I found one that I am interested in and here are the items offered:

125G AGA Tank Dual Overflows 2 Years Old & plumbing Cherry Stand & Canopy 2 Years Old $450
Sump (Converted Wet Dry) Free w tank, but it has been hacked to death by me and has a crack near the top. It os acrylic.
Tunze Auto Top Off - 100.00
MR2 Skimmer Dual Becketts (One beckett may need to be replaced) $250.00
Three 250w Metal Halide Retro's (Magnetic Ballast, Reflectors, Used Bulbs) 300.00
220w VHO Ballast, Endcaps, and URI Actinic Bulbs 80.00
Aquacontroller Jr with Temp Probe and PH probe (Need a DC8 for this) 200.00
Mag 24 Pump 40.00
Quiet One 4000 Pump 30.00
Kalk Reactor (not sure of make got from a trade) 50.00
Two Seio 820's and 4 PH's 50.00
Tunze Calcium Dispenser 40.00
Phosoban Reactor 10.00
Timers, Strips, Buckets, etc...Free with big purchase

All together that's $1600 Let me know what you might want if anything.


Please give me opinions on equipment. Tell me what stuff does and how it will benefit me. I would like to know what I really need and what I don't. Also opinions on pricing for the used market would be great.

TIA! :heart:

have u done a price comparison on any of the items and factored in replacement cost? some items sound cheap but the prices are way different in the states. i heard someone say a 125 gal was hard to aquascape. personally i wouldn't have a clue what a 125gal is but hey u guys have strange ways..lol

Gwen_o_lyn, I can sure point you in the right direction for Matel Halide Retrofit kits. Their is a online based company out in California called Hello Lights Inc. (www.hellolights.com) you can get a 250 watt HQI with electronic ballast and bulb of your choice for around $200.00 with shipping. You can also customize them to your needs. They are extremely professional, knowledgable and have helped me in my decision of lighting before. I can definitely tell you that you won't go wrong with them.

The tank and stnd sound like a great deal (if its in the condition and style you want) and maybe the pumps, but not so sure if the rest is that good of a deal.

Gwen, I have Seio's and love them, they doo a great job. I also have the Aqua Controller JR. with the DC8 and it controlls all of the lights, pumps and heaters in my tank, I really like it as well. This looks like an awesome price for this system!

Ok thanks so much on the opinions. I just dont know what to do!! ahhh!!

Can someone explain the tunze auto topoff? I know what an auto topoff system is but what does the tunze part have to do with it? They make a float valve or what?

And what is a DC8?? Is the ad saying I would need to buy this?

Jay- are u thinking I can get a better deal on the MHs and I should just consider buying them new?

And the skimmer.. is it hard to replace a beckett?? And what is a beckett?? What do they cost?

I feel so clueless!

Ok I just responded to his email and requested to possibly see the tank Sunday. Today I drove 3 hours round trip responding to an ad in the paper to find out the tank was sold.. Eek!

There was no phone # in the ad and the address was unlisted as well.

The guy is coming tomorrow to put half the floors down. YAY!! Then I get to move the tank- yuck!

Gwen, the DC8 is basically an outlet strip that is controlled by the Aquacontroller Jr (ACJr.). Bacically you plug the DC8 into the wall and also plug the conrtol cable between the DC8 and the ACJr. You plug your heaters, and your pumps, and lights into the DC8 outlets. Then you can write a short program ( I can help with this) to control that equipment. Like tell the lights to come on at 7am and go out at 7pm, or turn the heater on when the temp is <79 and off when it is >81 etc.

http://www.neptunesys.com/assets/images/DC8.gif

The DC8 is like $175, but I couldn't live without it.

ive heard mixed reports with tunze top-offs. some are blinded by the fact they make orsome stream pumps which they belive carries over with all products.
they are $320 there abouts here, which certainly doesn't make it the cheapest item on the dance card! ive never actually seen one in operation personally, so i cant comment on that side ether way! tunze (http://www.tunze.com/149.html?&L=1&C=US&user_tunzeprod_pi1%5Bpredid%5D=-infoxunter036)


if its just a straight forward beckett injector thats needed, its a purely a case of screwing in a new one! (design effecient permitting) &they sell between $8-20 per injector!

Here is a pic of the tank. The shot of the tank and stand was when he had PC lighting. I won't be getting his corals or rock, but this just shows what is possible. :D

I will be seeing it tomorrow. I need to do a little more research on the equipment.

Ok, I'll take it! You go pick it up and drop it off to me! :)

Are you buying everything? If so they would probably take much less if it all went at once. That tank look great. Are they upgrading to a bigger tank?

i agree.. the equipment and prices looks good..
many people that just want to move it will take less that the asking price for the opportunity to just have it all gone..
id see if you can work them down a bit.. ;)

The seller has a thread on RC stating $1400 for everything. I am thinking of offering him $1200 for all of it except the controller. I don't want equipment that requires another $200 invested before it works.

The seller also has some of the equipment sold in the thread, but is telling me in email he will refund their money if I want it. A little shady if u ask me.

The seller is moving and plans to upgrade.

Rob- he said his wife would kill him if he took less, so I don't know. Used tanks get snatched up quick in this market.

Jay- are u thinking I can get a better deal on the MHs and I should just consider buying them new?

Gwen_o_lyn, to be quite honest I searched up and down for a good price for Metal Halide Lights whether they were Retro-Kits or Completed Lighting Strips and my search has ended with these guys. You should just go new to ensure their are no issues. These guys are great. I could not praise them any more.

1. The kit only take 5 minutes to put together after you have somewhere to mount the reflector and ballast.
2. The wiring is as simple as twisting 2 pairs of wire together and connecting the ground.
3. The reflector also include the glass UV shield and the bulb is included.

Trust me you can't go wrong for only $200.00 bucks including shipping.

Thanks Jay

It turns out the guy sold the tank right up under me :(

Oh well....

That's sucks. Sorry to hear that.

That looks like a nice setup. I love the stand and canopy. The prices seem reasonable. I'd be curious to see the crack in the tank.

I doubt the beckett in that skimmer needs replacing. It probably just needs a cleaning, they come apart pretty easily. Even if it needs replacing, I bought mine on eBay for >$5.