Complete New user buying second hand setup.

[Annie]

I live in a country town in Western Australia. My goal is to have a reef
tank and I thought I would research the subject as much as possible for a
couple of years before fulfilling my dream. But ...

someone locally is selling a COMPLETE system for A$2000. Included in the
price is live coral, lighting, protein skimmer, filtration system, heater,
wave maker, fish, stand and canopy. The size is (metric) 120 x 60 x 60
which is 48x24x24 inches. Does this sound like a fair and reasonable price?

Considering I am a COMPLETE novice do you recommend I go ahead and purchase
this system and learn as much as I can from the current owner and continue
to learn along the way as I go or to continue on my path of researching and
learning prior to spending any money?

I thought if I went ahead with the purchase that I would only go through
with it if the current owner was willing to set the system up for me in my
own home so I wouldn't do any damage or transport it wrongly.

Thanks in advance for any/all suggestions.

A

[George Patterson]

Annie wrote:

> someone locally is selling a COMPLETE system for A$2000. Included in the
> price is live coral, lighting, protein skimmer, filtration system, heater,
> wave maker, fish, stand and canopy. The size is (metric) 120 x 60 x 60
> which is 48x24x24 inches. Does this sound like a fair and reasonable price?

In general, a price of 1/2 the retail value or less is considered to be pretty
fair for used setups. If you can get a list of all the equipment, check prices
at shops on the web and add it all up. The fish and coral is a plus, of course.
I'm in the U.S., so A$2000 means little to me.

> Considering I am a COMPLETE novice do you recommend I go ahead and purchase
> this system and learn as much as I can from the current owner and continue
> to learn along the way as I go or to continue on my path of researching and
> learning prior to spending any money?

Everybody needs a mentor when they start out. For many of us, that was the owner
of the store where we did our shopping (which may not be a good idea). There are
distinct advantages to making a friend of the current owner and learning from
him or her. Don't be afraid to strike out on your own later.

> I thought if I went ahead with the purchase that I would only go through
> with it if the current owner was willing to set the system up for me in my
> own home so I wouldn't do any damage or transport it wrongly.

That's a good idea IMO.

George Patterson
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your neighbor.
It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

[Reptoreef]

A new system of that size and equipment would retail at approx
$3600-$6000 if it were complete. Used cost of $2000 seems fair, but
haggle as much as possible... just my 2 cents, though. Good luck!!!
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[graphixx22]

I agree wth repto, that does not seem like a bad price. I would get
as much info from the owner as possible. how long has the tank been
up. and get as much help from him as you can. I am sure he will
want his tank to go to a good home. most of us hold our tanks dear
and if anyone of us had to sell them I know we would want them to go
to a good home. That is just my 2 cents
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[miskairal]

Annie wrote:
> I live in a country town in Western Australia. My goal is to have a reef
> tank and I thought I would research the subject as much as possible for a
> couple of years before fulfilling my dream. But ...
>
> someone locally is selling a COMPLETE system for A$2000. Included in the
> price is live coral, lighting, protein skimmer, filtration system, heater,
> wave maker, fish, stand and canopy. The size is (metric) 120 x 60 x 60
> which is 48x24x24 inches. Does this sound like a fair and reasonable price?
>
> Considering I am a COMPLETE novice do you recommend I go ahead and purchase
> this system and learn as much as I can from the current owner and continue
> to learn along the way as I go or to continue on my path of researching and
> learning prior to spending any money?
>
> I thought if I went ahead with the purchase that I would only go through
> with it if the current owner was willing to set the system up for me in my
> own home so I wouldn't do any damage or transport it wrongly.
>
> Thanks in advance for any/all suggestions.
>
> A
>
>
Why is the owner selling? I'm in a country town in Qld and I've been
told that obtaining food is difficult here although I've only just got
my live rock so am a little while off getting my first fish. When I get
my first fish I will find out exactly what they have been fed and buy it
from the pet shop then try to get it online after that. Not many places
online like to sell to a credit card with a PO Box though and we don't
have a mail service which gets awkward.

Does the setup contain the fish you want? My friend who bought a second
hand setup has a few fish that really shouldn't be together. Some also
eat coral and he wanted coral so he's had to miss out on that.

I would have appreciated a "mentor" as George said so if I were you I
would be very tempted to go with this setup and the price seems
reasonable. Is this the size setup you would like to have and if not,
could you, years down the track, start a new setup exactly how you want it?

The learning curve for this hobby is steep and confusing but the best
advice I read (here I think) was to stick with one setup that you know
works, dont' try to use parts of different setups unless you know they
work together in someone else's tank.

Cheers
miskairal

[C]

He in Canada One of the best www sites out there is
www.aquariumpros.ca A lot will offer help and guidance with any
questions you may have. Chaz here Come say Hi


On Sun, 16 Oct 2005 03:06:09 GMT, "Annie" > wrote:

>I live in a country town in Western Australia. My goal is to have a reef
>tank and I thought I would research the subject as much as possible for a
>couple of years before fulfilling my dream. But ...
>
>someone locally is selling a COMPLETE system for A$2000. Included in the
>price is live coral, lighting, protein skimmer, filtration system, heater,
>wave maker, fish, stand and canopy. The size is (metric) 120 x 60 x 60
>which is 48x24x24 inches. Does this sound like a fair and reasonable price?
>
>Considering I am a COMPLETE novice do you recommend I go ahead and purchase
>this system and learn as much as I can from the current owner and continue
>to learn along the way as I go or to continue on my path of researching and
>learning prior to spending any money?
>
>I thought if I went ahead with the purchase that I would only go through
>with it if the current owner was willing to set the system up for me in my
>own home so I wouldn't do any damage or transport it wrongly.
>
>Thanks in advance for any/all suggestions.
>
>A
>