Help. Buying secondhand tanks

Hi guys I need some help in buying a fish tank.
I came across a guy selling a 1500mm X 480mm X 450mm fish tank with a sump. The inlet pipe of the tank is 25mm and runs to a 2ft sump tank. The thickness of the grass is only 6mm with bracing (3 front to back) and the guy says its heavily braced at the bottom ( which I couldn't see because the tank was operational). The deal includes the tank, sump tank, stand and the hood. The hood is rotting and would need 2 be replaced, all this for R1000.

I need help on this, and the tank is 5years old (that's what the guy said) and was used 2 keep highfins.
The glass thickness makes me second think the buy

Ps I want to keep malawis in the tank.
Thanks

 

Hi Dillon, I had to also buy a new tank last week as the bottom glass of my DARO tank cracked. I went out pricing tanks and "JA" that's not a nice thing to go and buy as there are SO MANY questions one needs to ask ....I have posted a pic of one of the tanks with a price on it.

 

Hii jah the price of the tank is quite high bt I assume its because of the thickness of the glass.
My problem/situation is that the tank has only 6mm glass and I'm not exactly sure if it will be SAFE. I don't want a situation where the glass gives way and then there's a flood damaging the stuff in my house.

Can any1 else help me ?

 

Hi guys I need some advice on this plz. :sad2:

 

Hi Dillon.
I do not know how much you are willing to spend but there are 4 things you can not take a shortcut on is :-
1.) The Tank
2.) The Heater
3.) The Filter
4.) The Airpump

In the end it cost me money, time and many dead fish (Poor Buggers) and LOTS of Headaches. You need to buy the biggest that can fit in your available space, or like me moved the lounge around to fit the tank in. Also buy the best tank you can afford now , spend once and you will not regret it. Lucky for me that my tank broke as I am much better off with my new tank (By far the best tank and happy with it). I bought this tank :-

It is a Sun Sun HRPC1200H 280Litre tank a big jump from my old one that was only 110Litre. I am so happy with it. The biggest expence is your tank and the next is your filter. Donot or at least try not go cheap here. Just my 2c on this. Good luck with your choice.
Regards
Andrewv.:bigsmile::bigsmile:

 

Hi have 2 say Andrewv ur tank does look awesome. May I ask how much u spent on it?

 

If the base of that tank is also only 6mm, leave it alone. Needs to be at least 10mm, better 12mm.

For the front and back it's very much related to the bracing. Cross bracing or euro bracing?

As the tank is operational, try have a look if the glass is in any way deforming under the pressure. If visibly so, leave that tank alone.

 

From what I understand the base is 6mm with vertical and horizontal bracing with the same thickness glass.
When I saw it there wasn't any deformation visible bt it did seem weak or unstable. When I pushed against one side at the top and it seemed to move in the direction I pushed in.

What would the acceptable thickness be for a tank this size?

 

Thank you Dillon. This tank, stand, sand and background picture set me back R4755-00 (Tank and stand = R4500-00). It was marked at R5900-00 but after negotiating the price down, I walked out with a smile. This tank is built properly with the correct bracing and thick glass all over, this is why these tanks cost so much. They are worth the money that you pay for them. If I ever upgrade I will build my own tank out of 12mm or 16mm glass depending on the size/capacity needed. I have researched in how to build your own tanks and it seems not that complicated. I however will say that your first tank you should rather buy as this will get you going without delays. Just my thought on this.

 

This site lets you work out the safety factor:

Calculate Aquarium Glass Thickness - Custom tanks are great investments | Aquarium Tools

 

Dillon, I can not decide for you as what you should do but I would not buy a cheap tank as you will regret it later like I did. I however was lucky to have gone back and trade in my old broken tank on the new one and even getting it much cheaper. I would try to buy it soon as possible as the prices are going to ROCKET because of the R/$ not doing so well globally. Things are only going to get worse as the rand takes a dive. Try to buy soon as possible you can save money this way too.
Good Luck on your decision you make.

Andrewv.

 

Personally I would be very scared of a 6mm tank of that size. Not sure if this will add any value to your discussion, but my 1.2m tank is made of 12mm glass and heavily braced. I paid R2500 for it three months ago.

 

Thanks Andrewv for the advice will look for a better tank.

JJFury when I did check the tank I was concerned hence the wanted advice.

 

I know i'm going to get stoned for this post.

I don't think there is anyting wrong with 6mm glass on that size. I got 2 x 4ft tanks 240l and 270l both made from 6mm. @a3aan got a custom 5ft made from 6mm and if I'm not mistaken his tank is more than 20 years old. I think it's the way you build it that makes it stronger.

If you decide to buy it, strip it down and biuld it from sctratch.

My 2c worth

 

My entire setup comes from a gumtree purchase, if you know what to look for then buying second hand is 100% safe.

 

What system are u running ?
Could u explain what exactly one would look for when buying 2nd hand tanks?

 

OK then put it this way if the base is less than 8mm glass be careful, I would hate for you to report back here and give us all sad news that your tanks base cracked like mine did, believe me I did not enjoy running around to find a new tank in a hurry. I in turn lost many fish in this process. 106 baby guppies lost and some 25 others as well. This is the worst I have had since I started up the hobby again, never mind all the cost for the chemicals going into the water then out the tank again doing water changes. I hope that you never go through this ever. Thanks to this forum you can get advice that money can NOT buy. I hope this will help you a lot. I have learnt a lot since I started up again and it cost me a lot of money. ALWAYS Triple your estimate budget this will give you a good start, I hope NOT to scare you away from this wonderful hobby, but just some advice as the others will also give you. write them down and check them out this will help you into the right direction with the least amount of trouble.

Andrewv.

 

Look for deep scratches that have the potential too turn into cracks, check that the silicon is not peeling or that there are air bubbles that formed underneath it. And if possible buy a tank with a bottom that still has polystyrene on it, that way you know it still has/had some protection.

 

@Dillon:Everything is either second hand or built myself on a budget and still going strong no leaks or cracks:

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Hi Dillon.

I can easily believe that the tank has been running for five years.
Standard production 120x45x45cm tanks are commonly made with 6mm glass and they are unbraced.

Difference with 6mm vs thicker glass is that the glass will be less tolerant of hard knocks and bumps, such as rocks tipping over.

Due to thinner glass being more flexible, if the glass doesn't have any extreme scratches or chips along the edges,
tank failure is more likely to be caused by the silicone stretching and losing it's grip along a base seam, therefore causing a leak.

Key factor is to make sure the tank is absolutely horizontally level, wherever you place it.
The stand also needs to be adequate enough to keep the tank base completely flat and prevent the glass from bowing downwards.

With regards to Malawis, you might use some heavy rocks for décor.
Do not place such rocks directly on the glass.
Either keep them securely nestled in the gravel to disperse the weight more evenly or place some polystyrene between the rock and glass.

For example, take a 50x50cm pane of 5mm glass and sandwich it between two pieces of 50x50cm 1cm thick polystyrene.
Place the glass sandwich on a flat driveway/pavement and then gently step onto the sandwich and stand on it.
If done properly, the glass won't break.
I've done it, on one foot... that's about 72kgs over a single size 9 shoe surface area!


To conclude, I will confidently use 6mm glass to build and run any tank up to 50cm tall, e.g. 250x100x50cm, with euro and cross bracing.
My only concerns would be the condition of the glass, the supportability of the stand and the risk of foreign objects hitting the tank.


Final advice: Refrain from anything which causes doubt.