Good deal on an oceanic 58?

[bronck83]

I have the opportunity to buy a 58 gallon Oceanic reef ready tank with solid oak stand/hood, acrylic sump, protein skimmer, 300watt VHO icecap ballast with 4x75watts bulbs currently. Also extra pumps, lights, UV filter and protein skimmer included. Guy is selling it for $250.....is this a good deal?

[sawarf]

Assuming that it isn't all scratched, I would give twice that much and feel like i got a good deal. I just purchased a 55 gal setup for my son and paid much more and got less stuff.

[RayAllen]

well it sounds great, but....... You need to know the condition of the tank and equipment. Also what specs/brand. This will determine what you will pay. For example of the protein skimmer is a cheapo that doesnt work well or if the tank has a chip or major scratches etc....... All in all it sounds good just take a look and ask questions before buying.

[bronck83]

I am. It's located in another city & I'm waiting on him to send me pictures & more info on the equipment.

[bronck83]

I'm still kind of a newb and know next to nothing about lighting systems. Can anyone tell me much about that lighting system?

[RayAllen]

Break down

NO lights (Normal Output)- Low wattage, best for FO or FOWLR tanks

VHO (Very High Output)- Higher wattage, Use for FO, FOWLR, Soft and LPS coral

PC (Power Compact)- Higher wattage- Use for Soft and Some LPS

T5 Bulbs- Smaller bulbs but put out a lot of light- Use for All type of corals Great # of bulbs the better

MH light (Metal Hilades)- Really high wattage, Primarily used on reefs with LPS and SPS

Now with all that said the tank comes with a 300watt system which will alow you to keep pretty much any corals you want, but with VHO bulbs its best to replace them every 8 months or so to assure maximum light. Its all based on wattage, but you also want to pay attention to the color spectrum. That is more of a personal choice. 10000k, 20k, 65k, Actininc Blues are all diffrent spectrum of the sun. Most seem to run 10000ks and Actinic Blues together. So you could do 2 10k bulbs and 2 Actinic bulbs. I hope all this helps

Ray

[captexas]

Shoot, let me go inspect it for you. Just need to make sure I take $250 with me!

Just kidding, sounds like an awesome deal to me as long as it's all in decent condition.

[bronck83]

I'm kinda new. So just judging by pictures, what is something I should look for to see if it's "decent condition"? I won't be actually setting this tank up for a few months until after I move in February so I don't mind if I have to buy a few gallons of vinegar & elbow grease.

[TexasTodd]

What brand and model of skimmer?
Do the lights work for sure?
How old are the bulbs?
Look for lots of scratches in the front glass.
Make sure the tank doesn't leak!

This setup sounds easily worth $400+ used. Assuming abover are o.k.

TT

[devonian]

yes from the sounds of it, all sounds good, assuming there are no leaks in the tank, and it was never used for something like holding a snake, or been bleached out or something, ...