Used fish tanks

hey guys,

i'm curious as to the cost of 2nd hand tanks.

there's a std dimension 4ft tank up for sale but in 10mm glass without bracing.

1.the owner doesnt want to state a price.....what's a fair offer to make?

2. the tank has no bracing at all,none - how safe is this tank overall??

3. would i be better off with a new tank....what can i expect to pay for a 4ft tank made of 10mm glass??

thanks in advance.:blink1:

 

hi catfreak - i don't know what a good second hand price will be but i saw a new 4ft tank for R1149.00 . hope helps

 

@Catfreak, if by standard 4ft you mean 1220x450x450 then it should be fine unbraced in 10mm

 

I was quoted R1350 for 1.2x0.45x0.45 with 10mm glass from my LFS 2 weeks ago. Standard 4ft are made with 6mm glass unbraced and cost R445.00.

 

llewellynkearney : the price of new 4ft tank varies from place to place - cheapest i saw in dbn is R650 but these are all 6mm glass tanks, average is like R800.

@GOJ : yeah its a 12220x450x450 tank...ok so the lack of bracing isn't an issue.....good.

now the price......i'm really unsure of what offer to make. i don't want to offent the seller nor do i want to be taken for a ride.

calling for quotes on a new tank isn't a fast process so i cant use that as a yardstick to gauge.

 

How old is the tank?

 

@MarcHawke : guy said its a few months old......saw bits of silicon kinda "shredded" on parts on the tank..not on the actual joins but as it thins out....if that makes sense.

there are a few scratches as well.....overall not in bad shape visually BUT far from perfect/pristine. tank is standing empty also, so not sure for how long its disused for...concerned about leaks.

i'm thinking that R700 is the max i'm willing to pay based on a new tank costing R1350 and will offer that much......any ideas on cost of stripping and resealing the tank for peace of mind?

 

I think a lot of people here just do it themselves. I have no idea as I've never had to do this but try calling your LFS for a quote? The thinning out/shredding is possibly just where the gravel has pulled/scratched the silicone. Is it happening on the base and if so it's probably fine. HTH

 

redoing the silicone is easy enough provided you remove ALL of the silicone and rebuild, I saw a new 4ft on a online shop for about R900 with standard dimensions and they a re based in edenvale...

 

thanks guys,

im going to call a few lfs and see whats the general ideas and feelings, after all they will have to help me out should anything go wrong.

 

My 4ft was sold to me at R600. It had bracing and is 6mm.
I would offer the guy R800 and try and get something to brace it with just to be sure.

 

@Firefly, was that a new 4ft for R600?

thats a very good price.

 

That's not a bad price. As I said I can get 1 for R445 but that is unbraced.

 

you guys are lucky,

dbn seems to be more pricey overall, be it tanks or equipment.

this isnt fair.

 

Rule of thumb - if a tank was in use, and stood empty for more than a month, then check the silicone carefully, and my personal preference is to redo it. (I even did it for my curved Aqua H20 tank which only have silicone at the back).

 

Mine was second hand. Previously marine so it had some salt residue on the glass.