Moving - Sell or Take?

[bekate]

Hi everyone,

I am currently living in Los Angeles and I have a beautiful Reefer Nano tank set up. We are moving to New Zealand (read: across an ocean) this August. :wave:

There is no way for us to take the livestock or the rock or anything like that with us. But we can technically take the tank if we clean it very thoroughly. We are now trying to decide if that makes sense or not.

What are your thoughts? Should we sell the tank and start again there or should we try and take it?

Another thing is that we have a completely new upper half of the tank (Glass and pipes) due to a warranty claim. We'll definitely take that one. If we sell our old tank, we could use that to build a new one ourselves. We would need to completely redo the sump and add a new skimmer and such.

We have an apex controller in the tank with PH meter, salinity meter, and all that fancy stuff. If we sell the tank and the skimmer, we should sell this as well, as the outlets won't fit. If we keep and take everything, we would be able to add one current converter to the apex and keep our US stuff.

Any insight would help a lot.

Also, any clue what a tank like mine would sell for?
Reefer Nano, 21-gallon display, sump, apex controller with ph meter, salinity meter, and ORP meter, Kessil 160 light. Oh, and a chiller and heater. I can look up the exact names and brands of everything if that helps.
2 clowns that are paired up and hosting an ultra-green bubble tip anemone, 1 Shanghai Bengal, 1 pajama cardinal, 2 engineer gobies, 2 blue Chromis, some critters and snails.
Yes, I am aware that this is pushing the limits of the tank and that whoever gets this should reduce the amount of livestock. I didn't know better at the time.
It's been up and running for a year in August. Everything is doing well. The only issue is a light algae issue due to direct sunlight on the tank. The LFS didn't tell us this was a bad idea and set it up there sweating and cursing. We switched LFS and learned a lot...

Does it make more sense to sell everything individually or the whole setup? Where do you start to get that done?

Thank you!

[Sk8r]

Sell it all. You can get another as good and start up with more knowledge.

[Alfrareef]

Sell it and start a new, bigger tank. The corals from that region
should be amazing.

[bekate]

I am definitely starting new there, as I cannot take livestock. The question is if I take the tank.

[on the spot]

We are moving to New Zealand this August.

Does it make more sense to sell everything individually or the whole setup? Where do you start to get that done?..

Craigslist. sell it all.

likely cheap, as you are running short on time.

[zachfishman]

Echoing everyone: sell everything except maybe the APEX. You'll be glad you didn't have to pack/ship it and you can easily replace it all. The only reason to keep the APEX is if it's much more expensive to acquire over there.

[Alfrareef]

I am definitely starting new there, as I cannot take livestock. The question is if I take the tank.



Why should you tank the tank? It’s one of a kind? It has sentimental value?
There you can get a new one maybe that suits better.

[bekate]

You are right! We are selling it all. What's the best way to go about this and is there a way to find out what price we can ask for. We have a couple of months to go, so I would post soon. Thank you!

[on the spot]

We are selling it all. What's the best way to go about this...

Craigslist...likely cheap, as you are running short on time.


That guy nailed it.

HTH

[bekate]

That guy nailed it.

HTH

It only answers part of my question:
Should we sell it all in one set or should we post individual things? What usually makes more sense?

What's the worth of the tank? How do I figure that out?

Thank you!

[bekate]

Why should you tank the tank? It’s one of a kind? It has sentimental value?
There you can get a new one maybe that suits better.

Sentimentality actual had nothing to do with this thinking :D More the opposite:
The thinking was that it might be more financially sensible to take it. We thought that since we'll be selling for a lot less than we paid for and everything is expensive in New Zealand, it might make sense. But due to the different outlets and the fact that we want a bigger tank anyway, you are right and we are selling.

[bekate]

Echoing everyone: sell everything except maybe the APEX. You'll be glad you didn't have to pack/ship it and you can easily replace it all. The only reason to keep the APEX is if it's much more expensive to acquire over there.


The Apex is actually part of the reason why we ended up deciding to sell it all. If we keep the Apex, we are limited to US electronics, so if the e.g. skimmer breaks, we would need to import one from the US due to the different current and plug. We'll have to bite that bullet and get a new one there.

[bekate]

Sell it and start a new, bigger tank. The corals from that region
should be amazing.

I'm hoping that the proximity to Australia and the Southern Pacific islands will help. New Zealand itself is rather cold water (similar to where we dive currently here in Los Angeles) and doesn't have many corals. They do have some reefs but not as much as in the South Pacific.

[OrionN]

Pack and ship, or bring the tank along is very difficult. I am sure you make a correct decision to sell the tank. Equipment wise, if the electricity there is 220, which is very common for other part of the world, you will not be able to reuse your equipment. Best to just sell the whole thing and start new.

[bekate]

Pack and ship, or bring the tank along is very difficult. I am sure you make a correct decision to sell the tank. Equipment wise, if the electricity there is 220, which is very common for other part of the world, you will not be able to reuse your equipment. Best to just sell the whole thing and start new.

Since we have the apex it would have been an option to use one converter on the apex. But yes, it would have made replacements and such a pain. Selling seems like the right plan. Now I just need to figure out how to best do that.

[bekate]

Is there a way to adjust the title of a thread after it is started? Since the question of taking or selling is answered, I feel like "What's my tank worth?" or "How to sell a tank best" would be better. New here and not familiar with how things work yet. Thanks!

[bekate]

I figured a full list and some photos might help you guys help me.

Images: https://imgur.com/a/PvLqdir

Here's the full list:
One orange ocellaris and a black ocellaris. They are paired up and hosting an ultra-green bubble tip anemone.
One Duncan coral with 2 grown heads and 2 new small heads that are growing out.
One Banggai Cardinal
One Pyjama Cardinal
2 Blue Chromis
2 Engineer Gobies that are in the middle of switching from long stripes to small ones (growing up ;) )
A rock full of green button polyps.
2 Emerald Crabs
1 Turbosnail (the big ones)
a bunch of smaller snails and crabs
1 Serpent Seastar

Bubble-Magus Curve 5 Skimmer
DCS-8000 Pump
Apex with Salinity, OPR, and pH probe
Heater
Aqua Euro MC 1/10HP Chiller

I have absolutely no idea how to price any of this, as I've never bought anything aquarium-related used or sold anything. I would appreciate any help you can give me! Thanks, guys!


The tank itself was around $900, the apex another $900, the bubble-tip was around $100, the chiller another $450. The skimmer was around $250. The light another $250 plus the stand. And then there's the live rock, the sand, the heater, all the little bits and pieces and the fish and critters. I spent around $4500 on the tank when I bought it. What do you think I should try and post it for?

[McPuff]

Look through the selling Forum (you'll need to get to 50 posts first) here to get an idea of the prices for each of the components you have. Since you have a few months you might as well sell it off piece by piece. You'll get the best return on your equipment and probably sell it all faster. But I agree with everyone else... you need to sell everything and then start over when you get there.

[bekate]

Look through the selling Forum (you'll need to get to 50 posts first) here to get an idea of the prices for each of the components you have. Since you have a few months you might as well sell it off piece by piece. You'll get the best return on your equipment and probably sell it all faster. But I agree with everyone else... you need to sell everything and then start over when you get there.

I wasn't even aware there was a selling forum here. That's neat. I'm a long way away from 50 posts but I'll read around a little and see if I have anything interesting to say. Thank you!

[on the spot]

It only answers part of my question

Not really. It's mid May now, so you have 2½ months to get your stuff together and get on a plane.

That's not a lot of time to also monkey with the aquarium.

What it's worth and what you can sell it for are two different questions. How much is your time worth? How many people do you want showing up at your place to dicker with?

Plus the 50 posts is only part of the equation. You also need to be a member here 90 days to get that sort of access. It's a place to exchange information primarily - selling stuff is just a benefit to those that hang out for a while.

So, craigslist, and likely cheap, answers your question. You might find a local forum or club that could help you too.

HTH, and best of luck with the move.

[bekate]

That's not a lot of time to also monkey with the aquarium.

Plus the 50 posts is only part of the equation. You also need to be a member here 90 days to get that sort of access. It's a place to exchange information primarily - selling stuff is just a benefit to those that hang out for a while.


With the 90 day limit as well it's really only a last resort. Good that I didn't sign up here to sell but to get information and to learn. Thanks!

I've been planning this move since November and most ducks are in a row, luckily. There are a million things to do, of course. But I just don't want to throw out a tank I spent $4500 for less than a year ago. That's part of the reason why I originally wanted to take it. But it just doesn't make sense.

Thanks for everything!