How To Purchase Used Equipment

[icechimpee]

Well, I've been reading around trying to figure out what items I will need for my new reef tank and find many articles with facts and information but one article I haven't found yet has been about purchasing used equipment. I know there are many people out there that only purchase used equipment due to lower prices but I'm sure almost everyone have purchased something used for there tank.

I'm curious how people decide if something is worth buying. I know people say that it depends on how the previous owner has kept it but sometimes the previous owner might not tell you that they dropped it or whatnot. Do you guys make them test it for you? Do you take it apart? How do you determine the price? I ask these questions cause I'm in times where money is short and I'd prefer to buy used. :bigeyes:

[Sk8r]

Best advice I can give is go shopping for new, examine it, understand it, figure out what can go wrong, and then look at the used and see if it's gone wrong.

For instance: say, an Urchin skimmer...the only things that can go wrong without cracking the chamber [pretty obvious] are: 1. the maxijet 1200 pump is dead [under 20.00/cheaper if it's just a shot impeller]; or the gasket is about to go. Gasket---external, easy to observe: you don't want cracks in it. Under 20.00 to replace.

Say...a BAS kalk reactor: no moving parts. Check to be sure both locline bulkheads are there and ok, and that the lid is present.

A mag 5 pump. Can't test except by plugging in, feeling flow/suction in a bucket of water.

A sump: examine for cracks. Crud can be dissolved off by white vinegar in 24 hrs.

Etc. Figure what you would buy new, and just look for the weak points in the engineering: things designed to fail to prevent worse failure; or allowed, over time, to fail because they're replaceable.

[DetectiveTofu]

^ very well put sk8r :)