fluffybeast Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 (edited) There is <a stocked 28 gallon nanocube for sale on a well known local classifieds site that rhymes with regslist...> I'm considering getting it as a starter tank. It looks like a complete package, could come with the extra supplies, and would be cheaper than setting this particular configuration up from scratch. It looks like all of the non-corals are 'easy' care, it looks cycled and stable. On the con side, used equipment is cheaper for a reason - is it in good shape? There could be pests. It may not have the particular inhabitants I'd want. The sand could just be powdered sulfuric phosphoric nitrate*, and the rocks mercury arsenate* (ha!). While liveaquaria said each was easy and reef safe, the descriptions make some of them sound less than reef safe if they are not fully satiated. <I certainly didn't try to put in a link to it that the administrator does not allow links to...perhaps I will describe it here: This is the ONLY cube that has metal-halide lighting and ballasts. You can grow all types of corals with this system. It has 2 dual pumps for added circulation and filtration. 4 fans up top keep the temperature fine without a chiller. 4 bulbs of actinic lighting complement the metal-halide lighting. Maintained well with regular water changes. Contains appox 50-55 lbs of live-rock, 20-25lbs of live sand. --Fish/Inverts-- 1 Pair of banggai cardinals 1 Snapping Shrimp (Alpheus sp)... He hangs out under one of the rocks 1 green and white pincushion urchin blue hermits 10+ emerald crabs 2-4 3-4 peppermint shrimp 1 blue damsel (surprisingly, ppl who don't know aquaria like this fish the best... its interesting) --Corals:-- 1 green mushroom 1 purple mushroom 1 tank raised Torch coral 2 tree corals-- large 1 tree coral small probably 7-10 other ones which you can cut and grow out more. (they grow quickly) 1 hammer coral Star Polyps coral Green/Purple Favites.. very nice ~3"x1.5 ~400, ~125 for extra supplies> Q1: Would this be a good starter tank? Q2: Is it worth the price given the risks involved? Q3: If it is a good route to go, what do I need to ask/find out about? Q4: Is the stocking level here appropriate? Seems like a lot of critters. Q5: What else am I missing? Thanks for all your advice/info in advance. *Yeppers, made up. Similarity to real chemicals purely coincidental. Edit: So erm, yeah if I leave the name in the title it probably doesn't matter that I cleverly disguised it in the body of the message. I hope that it was the link (that I certainly didn't try to put in, I bet I fooled you there too) that was the issue and not the mention of it in general. I reread the forum rules and they did not appear to ban such content, but if I am mistaken please correct me. Edited October 15, 2012 by fluffybeast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+o0zarkawater Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 (edited) So what is the final asking price? 400 for just the tank, or 525 with... extras? I wouldn't value the Livestock at more than $75 if you were going to be shopping on the forums from now on. The rock can be had for $2/lb or less for clean rock, live sand often comes up for free. The tank with stand, Ive seen go for less than $100. Does he have a skimmer, or any type of filtration or just stock bioballs etc? Did he provide any pictures? As a sidenote, I actually have the same HQI nanocube setup as a second tank. I ignore it for the most part. There is something wrong with the temp sensor in the HQI hood that causes the light to cycle off every 15min or so if I dont have a desk fan placed just right on top. I have a Reff Octo HOB skimmer and TLF reactor running carbon and gfo, and keeps the tank clean. For the most part its a leave alone system that I have overstocked with no issues. But I don't much care for JBJ's customer service, and plan to switch the tank to LED before giving it to a family friend to care for. I'd probably offer him 250 for the whole setup and see how that goes, but then again I'm cheap. Look through ARC's complete system for sale thread to get an idea of what going rate for something that size is. Edited October 15, 2012 by o0zarkawater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bige Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 So what is the final asking price? 400 for just the tank, or 525 with... extras?I wouldn't value the Livestock at more than $75 if you were going to be shopping on the forums from now on. The rock can be had for $2/lb or less for clean rock, live sand often comes up for free. The tank with stand, Ive seen go for less than $100. Does he have a skimmer, or any type of filtration or just stock bioballs etc? Did he provide any pictures? As a sidenote, I actually have the same HQI nanocube setup as a second tank. I ignore it for the most part. There is something wrong with the temp sensor in the HQI hood that causes the light to cycle off every 15min or so if I dont have a desk fan placed just right on top. I have a Reff Octo HOB skimmer and TLF reactor running carbon and gfo, and keeps the tank clean. For the most part its a leave alone system that I have overstocked with no issues. But I don't much care for JBJ's customer service, and plan to switch the tank to LED before giving it to a family friend to care for. I'd probably offer him 250 for the whole setup and see how that goes, but then again I'm cheap. Look through ARC's complete system for sale thread to get an idea of what going rate for something that size is. I 100% agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybeast Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 Thanks for the advice. 400 for tank and inhabitants, and if buying the tank 125 for the extra supplies. There was a lot more information in the link, including pictures, I just took pieces out. 75 for the fish and the corals? You've seen a 28 cube w/stand for less than 100? Don't know about the filter, assume stock. Other stuff on tank: The post doesn't seem to address, but texting him, it includes a stand. There is a free 29 gallon Eclipse tank with iron stand as well with purchase of the cube. (Not necessary, but might set it up as a FW planted) Supplies: ~125 gallons worth of instant ocean salt 3 hydro koralia 900s (240 gal/hour) 2 Ehiem automated feeders 2 digital timers 100w fluval heater, 100w aqueon heater powerstrips hydrometer extra air pumps, tubing 5 - 5 gallon jugs 5-6 5 gallon buckets 3-4 magfloat algae cleaners auto top off - needs pump 75 gallon hang on Eshopps Protein skimmer "appears to work" but has fixed crack pump controller c-breeze air cooler clip on fan Supplements: 32 oz Marine S.A.T strontium/molybdeum kent essentials elements Bottles of chlorine and chloramine removers 2 reef complete reef calcium reef carbonate cupramine Test kits: partials of following: 2 API reef master test kit, 1 API saltwater master test kit approx 20 other API test bottles Activated carbon Filter wool Food: 5-6 partial bottles of phytoplex, chromoplex, zooplex liquid vitamins ReefPlus vitamin Mysis, brine shrimp Silversides, large package Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I'm gonna agree with other folks on the forum. I'd honestly hold off. I know it can be super exciting and tempting to buy a running tank, but I'd wait for a better deal. I would honestly buy a refractometer and ROdi filter right out of the gate, then start shopping around for a tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I can tell you with certainty as having sold an exact one of these a few months ago, he will not get $400, not even if he had a chiller with it. I would say $200 as is. You will likely want to get rid of livestock like the tree coral and GSP. The rest of the livestock should be fine, but I would personally ditch the urchin as they tend to knock stuff over and collect frags too much. There's a lot of individual animals but only 3 fish, so the bioload should be fairly low. Yes, it's a decent beginner tank however, it's a huge pain to keep cool. It takes a very thoughtful and well planned lighting scheduling as well as fans to keep the tank cool. $400 is way too much for a used one. I see brand new ones on DFS with a stand for $250 or so all the time. If he wont go down to at least $250, I would hold off for something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+o0zarkawater Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 If you have the money, and it looks like the tank for you then get it. I would personally hold out for either a larger tank (you'll want one in a month anyways) or talk him down some. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybeast Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 I can tell you with certainty as having sold an exact one of these a few months ago, he will not get $400, not even if he had a chiller with it. I would say $200 as is. You will likely want to get rid of livestock like the tree coral and GSP. The rest of the livestock should be fine, but I would personally ditch the urchin as they tend to knock stuff over and collect frags too much. There's a lot of individual animals but only 3 fish, so the bioload should be fairly low. Yes, it's a decent beginner tank however, it's a huge pain to keep cool. It takes a very thoughtful and well planned lighting scheduling as well as fans to keep the tank cool. $400 is way too much for a used one. I see brand new ones on DFS with a stand for $250 or so all the time. If he wont go down to at least $250, I would hold off for something else. Can you explain to me why the tree coral and the GSP are problems? Are those things I can sell/trade to others with the right tank or experience, or can trade into the LFS? And - newbie question here - if they are on a rock, do I get rid of the whole rock or can they be coaxed off? On the chiller he says in the post... "You won't need a chiller if you keep your ambient temperature adequate. I keep my home between 79-81 and I've never had an issue with the temp of the tank." Is that just misdirection to cover up the lack of a chiller, or might he just run the LED portion all of the time? The pictures he attached were super blue; seemed to have the halide off. To run it normally, how much is a chiller for this size tank? Thank you all a bunch for your input; it is very reassuring to have experienced people to bounce stuff like this off of, and I appreciate it a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I can tell you with certainty as having sold an exact one of these a few months ago, he will not get $400, not even if he had a chiller with it. I would say $200 as is. You will likely want to get rid of livestock like the tree coral and GSP. The rest of the livestock should be fine, but I would personally ditch the urchin as they tend to knock stuff over and collect frags too much. There's a lot of individual animals but only 3 fish, so the bioload should be fairly low. Yes, it's a decent beginner tank however, it's a huge pain to keep cool. It takes a very thoughtful and well planned lighting scheduling as well as fans to keep the tank cool. $400 is way too much for a used one. I see brand new ones on DFS with a stand for $250 or so all the time. If he wont go down to at least $250, I would hold off for something else. Can you explain to me why the tree coral and the GSP are problems? Are those things I can sell/trade to others with the right tank or experience, or can trade into the LFS? And - newbie question here - if they are on a rock, do I get rid of the whole rock or can they be coaxed off? On the chiller he says in the post... "You won't need a chiller if you keep your ambient temperature adequate. I keep my home between 79-81 and I've never had an issue with the temp of the tank." Is that just misdirection to cover up the lack of a chiller, or might he just run the LED portion all of the time? The pictures he attached were super blue; seemed to have the halide off. To run it normally, how much is a chiller for this size tank? Thank you all a bunch for your input; it is very reassuring to have experienced people to bounce stuff like this off of, and I appreciate it a lot. I can tell you he is totally lying If he says his tank isn't hitting those temps. I run my house at 70-75 and my tank gets 79-80 with led retrofit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Can you explain to me why the tree coral and the GSP are problems? Are those things I can sell/trade to others with the right tank or experience, or can trade into the LFS? And - newbie question here - if they are on a rock, do I get rid of the whole rock or can they be coaxed off? On the chiller he says in the post... "You won't need a chiller if you keep your ambient temperature adequate. I keep my home between 79-81 and I've never had an issue with the temp of the tank." Is that just misdirection to cover up the lack of a chiller, or might he just run the LED portion all of the time? The pictures he attached were super blue; seemed to have the halide off. To run it normally, how much is a chiller for this size tank? Thank you all a bunch for your input; it is very reassuring to have experienced people to bounce stuff like this off of, and I appreciate it a lot. They tend to grow extremely fast under any condition and can smother corals around them. If you are planning on having a tank with them, you're probably fine. Otherwise, people often add them because they're easy corals, and they can't get rid of them when they change their mind down the road and they're taking over everything. As far as temp goes, my house is a constant 70 - 72 degrees and I couldn't run my MH more than about 6 hours. With 4 cooling fans, plus the stock ones, and the hood open, I would hit about 82 degrees after 6 hours of MH. The azoo double fan directly in the hood opening is the best way I found to cool it without a chiller. The stock fans are completely insufficient for running the MH. If I were to run the MH version of this again, I would go with a 1/10 HP chiller. That way I could keep the lid closed and not need to use any additional cooling fans which are very noisy and look messy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bimmerzs Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 If you want it get it....I ran 1300Watts of lighting over a 130G, my house at 78* and could keep the tank at 77*-78* with just fan's over the sump. I evaporated about 5G a day buy water costs are cheap with your own ro/di unit. Same with the temp 90G I had with 800Watts of MH over t, my chiller in both cases was strictly for backup and rarely cycled on. Plan ahead and you can have a manageable setup....buying strictly by price ain't alway's cheap in the end, evaluate the equipment etc., and make an educated decision. You have folks that value a rio pump the same as an ehiem pump, be smart and you will be better off in the end. Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Lik 90% of the tanks on craigslist are overpriced. More fun and less expensive to just do it yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesreyn Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Lik 90% of the tanks on craigslist are overpriced. More fun and less expensive to just do it yourself. And 90% of them are negotiable as well. I got a killer deal on mine off of Craislist when I got mine. You could probably get it for half of that if you are patient. Just tell him you want it but have seen them much cheaper and if he doesnt get what he wants for it, you are willing to give him $xxx for it. There is a good chance he will eventually just wanna get rid of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybeast Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 Did that actually, so if he comes back with a deal I may get it, but sounds like he doesn't have to sell because he is not moving yet. So...I'll get the next one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 You'll be glad. I'd start accumulating a lot of the accessories you're gonna need to run the tank if you haven't already. My "extras" have cost more than the tank and its inhabitants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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