SECOND HAND TANK

[comet88]

Hi All

Any kind advise on what to look out for when buying a second hand tank ?? eg 4x2x2

Beside tank thickness ? no years ?? bracing ??type of wood ??? any more pls advise

[Milch_Tan]

hi bro,

I'm currently using a 2nd hand tank, and here's what might be useful to look out for in addition to your listed examples.

1) Hinges

-Might want to check the conditions of it (ie. rust, broken, etc)

-Ease of replacement, as some sizes/models are not that common

-Physical location of hinges, some are placed in high-stress area (ie. near the hydraulic doors/hoods) and such areas tend to bend the hinges causing it to eventually crack and break away

2) Cabinet Doors

- While a full flush door that is 1 or 2 cm away from the floor may look nice at the 1st owner's house, the same cannot be said when you have it transported over to your place, as the tank movers will need to remove the doors and re-fix them up at your house, and sometimes, the alignment may be slightly off, causing the door to be too close to the floor, resulting in your floor being scratched by the door (ie. hard to open as the bottom part of the door is touching the floor).

3) Hood

- If it's a full height hood, you might want to check out the hydraulics to make sure that it's still working and the screws (if any) used to secure any light railing parts is not loose etc.

4) Light Hanging System

- If the 2nd hand tank uses aluminum hanging system with rails, it is extremely important that you see that the bars are not out-of-shaped (ie. the sliding or hanging part's opening slot is not dented or bloated)

- Aluminum and stainless steel parts cannot be used together, (jut remember they are corrosive when used together, any bros/sis care to share more?) ie. the window bolt & nut replacement exercise @ old HDB flats.

5) Silicon

- Check if silicon joints have any air pockets or water pockets in them, can be detrimental if you see plenty of air pockets in 1 joint

6) Sump

- Check the condition of the glass and silicon, as it is normally thinner than the main tanks' and is more prone to stress from vibrating pumps in sump etc

7) Piping/Joints

- Check to see if any part of the pipe is leaking (or having dew-drops) of water

8) Electrical points

- Some tanks comes with electrical points/plugs, might want to check if you could reuse them or will have to do a re-wiring etc (can be quite massive if it's an tank that built into the recess of a wall).

9) Lamination/Formica surface

- Check the condition of the cabinet/hood's surface, as it is very costly to have it re-surfaced (re-lamination, re-lequer etc)

10) Screws/Nuts/Bolts

- Easily 1 of the most overlooked items, some highly corroded screws cannot be unscrewed at all, as the screw head will either break away or the screw head bit will just disintegrate/bald off, leaving the entire screw’s body stuck in the wood. While not completely impossible to remove, but can be troublesome without the right tools.

Just some personal experiences I’ve had from my 2^nd hand tank, and any bros/sis with some more points that I missed out please share them out as well, so we can all learn what are the things to look out for when taking over 2^nd hand thanks.

[tench1]

Thats a very helpful advice! great job!

[comet88]

hi bro,

I'm currently using a 2nd hand tank, and here's what might be useful to look out for in addition to your listed examples.

1) Hinges

-Might want to check the conditions of it (ie. rust, broken, etc)

-Ease of replacement, as some sizes/models are not that common

-Physical location of hinges, some are placed in high-stress area (ie. near the hydraulic doors/hoods) and such areas tend to bend the hinges causing it to eventually crack and break away

2) Cabinet Doors

- While a full flush door that is 1 or 2 cm away from the floor may look nice at the 1st owner's house, the same cannot be said when you have it transported over to your place, as the tank movers will need to remove the doors and re-fix them up at your house, and sometimes, the alignment may be slightly off, causing the door to be too close to the floor, resulting in your floor being scratched by the door (ie. hard to open as the bottom part of the door is touching the floor).

3) Hood

- If it's a full height hood, you might want to check out the hydraulics to make sure that it's still working and the screws (if any) used to secure any light railing parts is not loose etc.

4) Light Hanging System

- If the 2nd hand tank uses aluminum hanging system with rails, it is extremely important that you see that the bars are not out-of-shaped (ie. the sliding or hanging part's opening slot is not dented or bloated)

- Aluminum and stainless steel parts cannot be used together, (jut remember they are corrosive when used together, any bros/sis care to share more?) ie. the window bolt & nut replacement exercise @ old HDB flats.

5) Silicon

- Check if silicon joints have any air pockets or water pockets in them, can be detrimental if you see plenty of air pockets in 1 joint

6) Sump

- Check the condition of the glass and silicon, as it is normally thinner than the main tanks' and is more prone to stress from vibrating pumps in sump etc

7) Piping/Joints

- Check to see if any part of the pipe is leaking (or having dew-drops) of water

8) Electrical points

- Some tanks comes with electrical points/plugs, might want to check if you could reuse them or will have to do a re-wiring etc (can be quite massive if it's an tank that built into the recess of a wall).

9) Lamination/Formica surface

- Check the condition of the cabinet/hood's surface, as it is very costly to have it re-surfaced (re-lamination, re-lequer etc)

10) Screws/Nuts/Bolts

- Easily 1 of the most overlooked items, some highly corroded screws cannot be unscrewed at all, as the screw head will either break away or the screw head bit will just disintegrate/bald off, leaving the entire screw’s body stuck in the wood. While not completely impossible to remove, but can be troublesome without the right tools.

Just some personal experiences I’ve had from my 2^nd hand tank, and any bros/sis with some more points that I missed out please share them out as well, so we can all learn what are the things to look out for when taking over 2^nd hand thanks.

Hi Bro ......kum sia kum sia ....for your time & effort ....nexttime kopi on me.....will bring the list over when viewing.... ....

Anymore 2nd owner can to share their experience......many thanks in advance

[Milch_Tan]

Thats a very helpful advice! great job!

Thanks

Hi Bro ......kum sia kum sia ....for your time & effort ....nexttime kopi on me.....will bring the list over when viewing.... ....

Anymore 2nd owner can to share their experience......many thanks in advance

No probz bro, just wanna share and pass on the knowledge, hope u'll get your ideal tank!

[Solo77]

when buying second hand tank, the main concern i would consider is leak. Some defects cant be spotted by naked eyes, hence buying from responsible reefer and view while tank is still running are important. However, you still need to look at the glass edge, silicon, scratches, the frame & wood structure, etc to determine the condition. A well maintained tank can be judged from your first impression. The layout and planning are one fact to consider the well thought and plan made when making the tank. As buying second hand tank, the design, etc came from the original owner or tank maker, hence unless you are good in DIYing, you might have to stick to the existing design. Do some research on those fail-safe feature and speak to the owner to unless his design, maintenance, fail - safe features. Select the one that you feel more comfortable. Having said all these, buying second hand item always carry risk, thus you have to accept the fact. Buying new will cost you a bomb and the depreciation value for tank is easily more than 50%. Hope this help.

[comet88]

when buying second hand tank, the main concern i would consider is leak. Some defects cant be spotted by naked eyes, hence buying from responsible reefer and view while tank is still running are important. However, you still need to look at the glass edge, silicon, scratches, the frame & wood structure, etc to determine the condition. A well maintained tank can be judged from your first impression. The layout and planning are one fact to consider the well thought and plan made when making the tank. As buying second hand tank, the design, etc came from the original owner or tank maker, hence unless you are good in DIYing, you might have to stick to the existing design. Do some research on those fail-safe feature and speak to the owner to unless his design, maintenance, fail - safe features. Select the one that you feel more comfortable. Having said all these, buying second hand item always carry risk, thus you have to accept the fact. Buying new will cost you a bomb and the depreciation value for tank is easily more than 50%. Hope this help.

Thanks Bro for your kind advise