Advice needed about what to do with my tank

[rz1a]

i've got a 28g bowfront with an overflowbox (hang-on), and a really nice metal halide all-in-one fixture hooked up to an IceCap 250 electronic ballast

i want to upgrade to a slightly larger tank because i have caulepra that is taking over all my rocks.. ive been thinking about a 55-75g tank. i talked to my lfs and he said i could trade my tank, lighting, and livestock in for 300 credit and pay the difference for the 75 with stand

my friend said i would lose too much money and not to bother with him.. the lfs owner knows hes not getting the tunze 6025s, the octo nw150, iwaki return, sump, phosban reactor

should i just buy a 55g rr myself, reuse the equipment and use the lighting temporarily until i scrape some money up for a T5HO and sell what i dont need?

or should i do a trade-in for the 75?

what bugged me was i told the guy i would sell the 6025s for him if he dropped the price down which was like 160 left over for the difference, but he said hed give me 10 dollars for each, ha...

im in college right now so im not really into wanting a large tank. what do you guys think i should do?

[apedroza]

http://maast.org/forums/showthread.php?t=40496 Here's a tank for under the $300

[rz1a]

hey thanks for that link, but the only problem is that i live far away from SA

[Henny]

Personally I would listen to your friend. You can get a way better deal by buying a used one then you would trading in all your stuff for $300.00. Even if you sold everything yourself I'm pretty sure you could make a lot more than that. I would look for a used 55G set-up, re-use my existing equipment and sell whatever I didn't need. A then upgrade to better equipment gradually. Trust Me something will come up. I paid $2000 for a brand new 135G Oceanic set-up from a lfs just to see the exact same tank, stand and canopy for $700 a week later.

[rz1a]

Personally I would listen to your friend. You can get a way better deal by buying a used one then you would trading in all your stuff for $300.00. Even if you sold everything yourself I'm pretty sure you could make a lot more than that. I would look for a used 55G set-up, re-use my existing equipment and sell whatever I didn't need. A then upgrade to better equipment gradually. Trust Me something will come up. I paid $2000 for a brand new 135G Oceanic set-up from a lfs just to see the exact same tank, stand and canopy for $700 a week later.

thats what ive been thinking about doing. the only problem with living in the valley is that were so far away from the larger cities; 4-5 hrs from SA, like 8hrs from Houston. im hoping i can find something worth going to SA for before the caulepra goes sexual, its either that or start up a 55g rr and reuse the equipment

[Paul28]

WOW thats a give away http://maast.org/forums/showthread.php?t=40496 What a deal

[stoneroller]

It might be worth the drive!?

[ismvel]

i want to upgrade to a slightly larger tank because i have caulepra that is taking over all my rocks..
Not to sound like a jerk or anything, but if you are having issues with Caulepra in a 28 and that is the reason why you want to upgrade, what will you do differently to keep your larger tank from being overrun? Perhaps you should look to getting that issue squared away first. I mean, if that is the reason you are wanting to upgrade.

Other than that, you you really do tend to lose your a......I mean hair :at_wits_end: when you go trade things in at an LFS. When I was moving from KC down here....this one LFS took the rest of the little bit of hair I had on my head on my deal....I gave him from my 135 gallon: 200 lbs of live rock, ALL my livestock (corals and fish), ASM G-2, 200 lbs of live sand...and got a 220 gallon.....plus he wanted an additional 200 bucks....but I told him i'd give him $50 and he took it.

Could have gotten more if I would have sold individual items, but honestly, I didn't want to deal with it, I was ready to get out of KC, so I loaded everything up..

Either way, good luck in your search....

[SoLiD]

the only problem with living in the valley is that were so far away from the larger cities; 4-5 hrs from SA, like 8hrs from Houston. im hoping i can find something worth going to SA for before the caulepra goes sexual, its either that or start up a 55g rr and reuse the equipment

Dude, a Foxface Rabbit fish will clear your caulerpa problem in a week. Really Really.

[rz1a]

Dude, a Foxface Rabbit fish will clear your caulerpa problem in a week. Really Really.


what type of caulepra? ive got the grape kind and ive also got the one that looks like feathers

btw, would it fit temporarily in a 28g and be safe with SPS? dont know too much about them

[SoLiD]

what type of caulepra? ive got the grape kind and ive also got the one that looks like feathers

btw, would it fit temporarily in a 28g and be safe with SPS? dont know too much about them

I have a Foxface and know many others who have them also. They are totally reef safe. Mine EATS everything green. And Yes I have grape and feather caulerpa that I feed it regularly. You can buy them in all types and sizes. The picture is the type that I have. -David

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=1465

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd285/SoLiDST33L/CommonFoxface.jpg

[hobogato]

.....They are totally reef safe. Mine EATS everything green......

be careful what you promise david, i had a foxface that was totally reef safe until the day he started munching on my zoas - happened with a magnificent rabbit fish also. both were great until they hit about 5" long.

[SoLiD]

OH REALLY!!! My Foxface is huge. He's been in there for over a year. If he's not 5" then very close. He never eats anything other than the food he is given. I suspect that RZ1A will have to get a 2-3 incher because he only has a 28g tank. Thanks for the info, Ace. -David

[rz1a]

i think ill have to manually remove it for a while before i get the setup :|

im kind of bummed out. just when i was ready to buy a new 75g rr from the lfs, theres none. he claims that when theyre on sale from oceanic or whatever that he orders them, but if i want one new that it would cost me extra. then i asked him about the used 75g rr that is setup and holding fish, ls, and other stuff. he said he was selling it and i asked how old the tank was, but said it has been only setup for 3 months, and tank is only 6 months old. hes knocking off a whopping 20 dollars off from the original price but throwing in the bulkhead setup stuff. :rollseyes:

does anyone know if the the recent aquariums come with the oval shaped "ALL GLASS AQUARIUM" sticker on the bottom left of the tank? i want to find out how old the tank actually is. the guy claims that it might have come from a different aquarium since he said his little son likes to remove stickers and put them elsewhere, but i doubt that

[rz1a]

if not, ill go with a 55g reef ready tank so i can keep the cost low since im still in college. theres not much of a huge difference between the 55 and 75

[erikharrison]

There is a huge difference.... 55 gallon from front to back is much smaller and therefore more cumbersome to add Live Rock. Also, it sounds like the owner of that particular LFS is not very reputable. He probably switches the stickers around to make more money from cheaper aquariums. He can probably buy the badges that say "Oceanic", although I am not entirely sure.

[apedroza]

I would definitely look on line (here, craigslist etc.) You can definietly find a better deal. From what it sounds like this guy is only out for your money and not your best interest. If I was ready to upgrade now I would definietly make you a deal on my setup.

[merlin0883]

I personally will never buy another 55gal again. I have run into many problems with floor space, as far a placing live rock, etc. If you get a large and very nice piece of live rock, you have no room in front of it to place coral. If you want a tank that will take up the same amount of wall space(48" for a standard 55 and 75) then go with a 75. This is my advice to all. Don't get me wrong, I love my 55gal, but I have had many inconvienences that would be eliminated if I had the additional 6 inches from front to back.

[rz1a]

what i meant was that this is probably an old tank back from when AGA used to put the oval stickers on the tank, when that was i have no clue, but he mentions its only 6 months old. i have a feeling its older but trying to play it off as being a new tank.

what bugged me was that he knocked down the price of my tank to only 300, the lighting is worth that alone. the tank hes telling me about is being used to hold live stock, is setup with livesand, etc.

when i tried to sell him my tunze 6025s that are fairly new, he said hed only give me 10 bucks for each one because he had no idea if the impeller was working or if the motor was ok. one of the tunze 6025s was bought just a week or so ago

i think ill consider a 75 gallon, but itll have to be coming out of SA since houston is too far away from me. its a bummer that i dont live in a larger area with better stores or more people in the hobby

[erikharrison]

Dewd, talk to some of the shop owners here in SA. 10 bucks for a tunze is ludicrous. It sounds like that guy is scum from what you have portrayed.

[kaiser]

i think ill have to manually remove it for a while before i get the setup :|

im kind of bummed out. just when i was ready to buy a new 75g rr from the lfs, theres none. he claims that when theyre on sale from oceanic or whatever that he orders them, but if i want one new that it would cost me extra. then i asked him about the used 75g rr that is setup and holding fish, ls, and other stuff. he said he was selling it and i asked how old the tank was, but said it has been only setup for 3 months, and tank is only 6 months old. hes knocking off a whopping 20 dollars off from the original price but throwing in the bulkhead setup stuff. :rollseyes:

does anyone know if the the recent aquariums come with the oval shaped "ALL GLASS AQUARIUM" sticker on the bottom left of the tank? i want to find out how old the tank actually is. the guy claims that it might have come from a different aquarium since he said his little son likes to remove stickers and put them elsewhere, but i doubt that


I would try another store, that LFS Owner is ripping you off. You might have to bite the bulllet and find a friend with a truck and take a quick trip up the road to SA. You could price the different options with any of our sponsers by just sending them a PM. That'll give you an idea about how much you will need to invest. I think there were like 3 75's fors sale in the for sale forum.