Deal or No Deal?

[EDJFA]

Found a tank on CL that I'm interested in and would like some expert opinions. 75g, oak stand, 120lbs LR from Drs. F&S, sand, Marineland 100 Protein Skimmer, Maxijet 1200 PH and a couple other smaller ones, 20g sump (glass aquarium), mag 7 return pump, two little fishes phosban reactor, cpr overflow, all plumbing for the setup, plus some salt, test kits, two fish, etc. Whole setup is about 7 months old.

Only thing it doesn't have is a RO/DI kit, which I can add when I'm ready.
All for the low, low price of $550.

I currently have a 55g, stand, and lights. Was in the planning stages of getting it all set up. Thinking about ditching, or selling that one, and going with the bigger setup.

Any thoughts?

[DoubleM 10]

sounds like a steal. i would go over that tank with a fine tooth comb cause the low price makes me think their is something wrong with it

[mtnbiker44]

IMO there's not much difference between 55 & 75. I currently have a 90 that is only 18" from front to back. I would go with a 120 next time which is 24" front to back. Gives more room for aquascaping & fish can swim front to back.

[Chriskk]

Awesome Deal If you want it jump on before someone else does.

[sophelia76]

I bought a 60g off Craigslist when I first started. I quickly went to a 125 and then 300g. In the LA area, 125g systems with everything included come up for that price. I don't know about your local Craigslist, but if tanks come up often and you have room for it, you might want to wait for a larger tank because that tank will fill up quickly!

[cside]

http://cdn.blogs.sheknows.com/realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/2008/08/howie-mandel-deal-or-no-deal.jpg Deal. But only if you will be happy with a tank that size.

[dlterry85]

marineland skimmers are junk, imo.

[Raggamuffin]

Locally here he would be lucky to get $250 out of that, as an example I just sold a 220 for $200, didn't have anything else with it but just tank,stand,canopy and t5/VHO installed in canopy. I see 125's all the time for that or less. Then again where you are may be drastically diffrent. I didn't see lights listed.. you are looking at a chunk of change more for them.

[EDJFA]

I've seen bigger tanks go for less than that, but they've never had the rock, sand, lights (T5's 3 bulb setup BTW), etc with it. Around here a "complete" reef system goes for over $1000.

The guy says he's just not interested in it any longer. Doesn't have the time. The whole setup is about 7 months old.

I found some reviews on the skimmer and I figured out I'll probably have to replace it in the future. What I have to figure out now is if it would be more cost effective to build out my current tank with what I want or buy this one already set up.

Thanks for the advice.

[cside]

Locally here he would be lucky to get $250 out of that, as an example I just sold a 220 for $200, didn't have anything else with it but just tank,stand,canopy and t5/VHO installed in canopy. I see 125's all the time for that or less. Then again where you are may be drastically diffrent. I didn't see lights listed.. you are looking at a chunk of change more for them.

I would love a 220 for $200. I guess it must depend on where you are located bc on cr here I see used 180s go for $800 and this is with nothing but the tank!

[gveng]

IMO there's not much difference between 55 & 75. I currently have a 90 that is only 18" from front to back. I would go with a 120 next time which is 24" front to back. Gives more room for aquascaping & fish can swim front to back.

75g 48x18x18 has probably one of the best footprints for a "smaller" tank.

[evo@32psi]

I dont think its worth all the trouble to upgrade 20 gallons. You are just going to want bigger again in a few months.

[vorm]

If I was wanting a 75, I would say DEAL. :)
Even if you end up replacing the skimmer and having to get lights, I think it's still a really good buy for all that.
In my area, I'd think it was a decent deal if it was just the tank, stand, and 120lbs of LR for $550. Heck, just buying that much LR at my LFS would be $660. :p

[geaux xman]

average deal. i see 90-120 complete setup going for 500 around me all the time.

[Ron Reefman]

I just saw a very nice 75g with stand, sump, pump and plumbing go for $150 in our local club... and it was for sale for a couple of months! And I agree with an earlier post, the Marineland skimmer isn't worth much.

[anaya]

I say deal! If it turns out you don't like some of the accessories that come with the purchase you can replace them as needed and keep what came with the deal for back up parts if the situation ever arises.

Just food for thought, I recently set up a new 75 for one of my eels. The total cost was $1000.00+ and I have no spare parts yet but one happy eel.

Go for it! Keep your 55 and set it up as money or time allows. Everyone I know in the hobby has ended up with 2-5 regular sized (29-90gal) tanks and one big one.

[Chris27]

Folks, look past the equipment on the list, and then you'll see why this is a deal. Sure you can get a 75 Gal system for $250 in places, but it's not usually running, and it's certainly not stocked with 100+ lbs of cured rock.

120 lbs of rock is the main part of the deal.....everything else is pennies compared to it. Any LFS in North America is going to hit you for at least $5.99 / lb for rock, so for 120lbs of it you would be looking at spending $700-$1200 locally and at least $500 online.

[mjwz06]

It's a pretty good deal, but not amazing. As Chris said, the LR is the biggest value here. But you can't really base it on LFS prices...they are hugely inflated. Some private sellers have cured LR for less than $3/lb.

Regardless, just understand that the "75g tank + stand" is probably the cheapest component of a good quality setup. It's all the other stuff that adds up (good skimmer, lights, reactors, etc).

Take a look at what I paid for this 72g setup:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1860846

You may think that was an amazing deal...and I would agree. But a lot of it was basically garbage, and I've spent over $2500 in upgrades over the last year.

I'm sure you'll need to do the same if you buy this.

HTH and good luck!