New Craigslist find

[spaceman spiff]

I found a decent 55g tank with a stand on Craigslist for about $100. This will be my first jump into the saltwater world and I can't hardly wait. I've been reading these forums for a couple years, but just hadn't been able to pull the trigger.
Anyway, the person selling the tank has some other stuff that I'm not sure is worth what she's asking, so before I spend my money, I'd love some opinions. Here's what she's got:
Cascade 700 canister filter
Rock that used to be live until she killed it by taking it out of the water
"Live" sand - the tank is completely down. Not sure if it's actually live anymore
48" hood that she says is capable of supporting corals
Is the filter any good? It seems to get mixed reviews.
Can't I reseed the rock if I buy some new live rock. She wants about $1.25 a pound for it. Is it worth it?
How long can sand stay live if the tank is down?
I'm waiting to hear what kind of light is in the hood. I'm thinking it's not a MH.
Thanks for the excellent answers I know are coming.

 

[slice]

Happy Friday!
I would say "Welcome to the site!" but you've been lurking for quite a while, so...
Thanks for stepping into the light!
Your purchase seems like a good one, I would be sure to leak test it before going further, just for sanity sake.
Also ask if you haven't already, if any medications have been used in the tank. How old is it? How do the silicone seems look?
You will be getting much more highly experienced opinions than from me soon, but until then....
If it were me, I'd probably buy the rock only. I would start with new sand. I would strongly consider starting with a new light fixture geared for whatever your ultimate stocklist might be.
As for the canister filter, if it were me, I would pass on that unless it was really cheap. Even then, I would re-purpose it as a media reactor.

 

[mproctor4]

Welcome to the saltwater world! I agree with Slice that I would just get new, clean sand unless she is selling it really cheap. Then clean it really well, it is doubtful there is still life in it if it has been out of the tank awhile. Base rock where we live is $2.99-$3.49 a pound, so what she is selling would be a good deal for us. In both of our tanks we bought about 75% base rock and then rest live rock. It is rare here that we find live rock on craigslist and the LFS we like is $9.99/pound. That is a great way to save money and works well also.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Spaceman Spiff http:///forum/thread/385566/new-craigslist-find#post_3381805
I found a decent 55g tank with a stand on Craigslist for about $100. This will be my first jump into the saltwater world and I can't hardly wait. I've been reading these forums for a couple years, but just hadn't been able to pull the trigger.
Anyway, the person selling the tank has some other stuff that I'm not sure is worth what she's asking, so before I spend my money, I'd love some opinions. Here's what she's got:
Cascade 700 canister filter
Rock that used to be live until she killed it by taking it out of the water
"Live" sand - the tank is completely down. Not sure if it's actually live anymore
48" hood that she says is capable of supporting corals
Is the filter any good? It seems to get mixed reviews.
Can't I reseed the rock if I buy some new live rock. She wants about $1.25 a pound for it. Is it worth it?
How long can sand stay live if the tank is down?
I'm waiting to hear what kind of light is in the hood. I'm thinking it's not a MH.
Thanks for the excellent answers I know are coming.

Hi...Glad you have come to the surface as well!
I have the cascade; it's a great canister filter. It takes vigilance to keep a canister clean to be good for a saltwater tank. If you don't keep up on maintenance it will cause problems.
Any light can support corals; it all depends on the coral type. A regular fish light will support mushroom coral, or non-photosynthetic. To find out what kind of coral you could keep with that light, we need the brand and wattage.
48” simply means it will fit over a 48” tank. 48” tanks are: 55g 75g 90g even a tall 110g
The rock is indeed worth it, the sand too, but it is no longer “live” either, so rinse and re-rinse until the water runs clear.
ME...I would buy new sand because rinsing in tap water could cause issues.
Good point Slice on checking for leaks, and asking about meds.

 

[spaceman spiff]

The tank is only supposed to be about a year old. She said she just got tired of messing with it. Among the things she says she has are red slime control and parasite control. I'll ask her if she used them or other medications.
I know there are different kinds of lights. I suspect these are not MH. Possibly T5's. She's supposed to let me know tonight. She's wasn't at home and she said the only thing she knew was that there were 4 plugs to plug in and it had fans on each end. I'll post what kind of light it is when I find out. I'd eventually like to have an LED setup, but that's going to have to wait.
If I buy new sand, is the kind of sand I buy important? I know I want sand that is aragonite and live. Are the different grades of sand only important for asthetic purposes or do they serve a higher function? Are sands from different areas better than others? I found one place that has sand from Samoa, some that is black sand, some that is from the Atlantic, and some that is from Australia. Some are really course some are super fine. What should I be looking for?

 

[mproctor4]

You don't NEED to buy live sand. If you buy some live rock it will eventually seed your sand or agronite. It didn't take too long to see little critters in the substrate in the two tanks we have. We have had both agronite and sand (and crushed coral ages ago). I personally prefer the agronite just because it doesn't blow around as much. It is mostly an issue if you have corals on or near the bottom of your tank. You don't want anything too coarse or it tends to trap more particles. It would be okay, you just need to keep on top of your maintenance. It is mostly a matter of personal preference. Another thought is to buy dry substrate and just get one bag that is alive or if you have a friend who could give you a handful of theirs to get it started. Just beware though if you get a start from a fellow reefer, there is the possibility that parasites could get in your tank. You would need to let it set without fish for up to 8 weeks to get rid of it. Have you thought of setting up a QT tank? It sounds like a hassle when you are starting a tank, but trust me, it can save you alot of hassle and money in the long run if you QT before adding anything to your tank. Been there, done that, NOT fun.

 

[mproctor4]

Just another thought---at one point my husband had black sand in his tank. We both thought it would look great with his black background and edges of his tank. A couple of people had warned us that it didn't look as nice with the corals, but we did it anyway. It really did make the colors of the coral look more dull. It absorbed some of the light. He has since replaced it with agronite and the corals look much brighter and crisper (is that a word??). It is always fun setting up a new tank. Just take your time and enjoy it. Even when the tank was "empty" and cycling we always found lots of critters to watch with our magnifying glass and flash lights. It is amazing how much life you can find in a few pieces of live rock.

 

[deejeff442]

welcome to the hobby,
i found a 55 tank,stand,hob filter and some ph's on clist for $100 great find.
funny after 28 years at this i still have never used a magnifying glass or a red light at night to look in my tank.maybe some day?

 

[gemmy]

Welcome to the site! Do you plan on a reef tank? If so, I would recommend not getting a 55 gallon. It is narrow and it makes it very difficult to aquascape and allow for proper powerhead placement to eliminate dead spots. I speak from my experience with my 55 reef. Also, if you can I would go the sump route as opposed to canister filter.

 

[spaceman spiff]

I got my new tank home this weekend. I ended up buying the rock, about 57 lbs of it, and the light. I believe the light is a T5, but I haven't had the chance to examine it closely. It was relatively inexpensive and better than nothing. Eventually I'd like to have an LED system, but my wife has to get over the sticker shock of setting this thing up first.
I have a few questions -
Sand - How deep should the sand bed be? I'm thinking 2 inches, which would mean around 50lbs for my 48X12 tank. Are some brands better than others? I've seen Ocean Direct, Carib Sea, and Nature's Ocean lots of different places all of it saying live sand. Is it a preference thing?
Filtration - I've read a ton of old posts here that say if you have enough LR and LS you shouldn't need any additional filtration. Is a different kind of filter, like the canister filter I left behind, necessary or redundant? I realize I'll need a protein skimmer and a good CUC, but is that really all I'll need?

 

[slice]

All I can tell you is that I currently have a 47g tank, 2-3" sand (I bought dry Carib Sea aragonite), ~60# LR, and a HOB skimmer/refugium.
No other filtration, and I am able to keep good stable water parameters, however....
I will never go sumpless again.