Please help me evaluate this used system

[Pantherburn]

Greetings,

A coworker and friend of mine in a different region used to be a marine aquarium hobbyist. He got out of the hobby about five years ago and stored his equipment at his dad's house. I have been talking to him for several months about my interest in marine aquariums, and he mentioned that the next time he was at his parent's house he would catalogue what he had and give me a price. His dad checked out everything, and everything still works. As a novice, I was hoping that some of you would be kind enough to give me some advice. Here's what he emailed me:


Aquarium 75 gal. rectangular shape(glass)
Sump tank 20 gal. (your filter bed for below the main tank)
Metal Halide (2 bulbs) and actinic fluorescent (2 bulbs) lighting
system and hood with double fans (Hamilton Technology Co.)
Aqua Logic Titanium Water Chiller
Venturi Protein Skimmer and tubing (sits in sump tank for operation)
Deionization Water Purifier (to make good water from tap to add to
tank)
Aquaclear Powerhead 301 (four units - for each corner of tank for water
movement)
Magnum free-standing water filter (actually used it with a freshwater
system not with the marine reef tank)
Miscellaneous accessories: aquarium heater; thermometer; crushed coral
substrate; filters; etc.

I still have some brochures/instructions on the more expensive items.
When new, everything totaled about $1,900 (I've subtracted the stand
since I don't have it anymore but I believe my wooden stand with two
front doors was around $92 or you could probably make a nice one for
less than that.)


He is asking $600 for everything. What do you think? He said for me to ask around as he has been out of the hobby for so long, he didn't know if that is a fair price or not. He would be willing to negotiate if needed. Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards,

[rabeiler]

Welcome to TRT.

Sounds like a good price. Couple of things to check out a little further would be:

Chiller - what size (usually specified in HP). These are typically quit expensive brand new, so getting one in this deal is great.

Lights - most likely you will need to get new bulbs for everything since you don't know how long the other ones were used and they probably degrade just sitting there.

Skimmer - do you know the exact make of the skimmer - this would help as well.

RO/DI - you will need to replace the membrane and filters for this unit. Membranes are expensive. You need to know the model number and flow rate to make sure you can still get the filters and membranes that go into them. Expect to spend almost 2/3rds of what you would pay new for the same system. Membranes need to be kept wet and having one put into storage for 5 years means its no good anymore.

Even with all this, you are still looking at a pretty good deal provided everything is in good shape.

Good luck,
Ross

[Geoff]

that is a pretty sweet deal. new chillers will cost that much!

you need to check the chiller out and make sure that it still cools. it could come on, but not work if the freon is gone. some of the chillers do not have easy fill ports.

other than that, where do you live.

G~

[Electrobes]

whoa! If that chiller really does work, then you are getting a helol of a deal, everyone on this forum and their mothers would probably jump on it. My question though is... you said his pops checked everything to see if it worked.. did he refill the tank to check for leaks.. and then stuck all the equipment on it to see if it worked? If you had to check anythign though... check for leaks and the chiller... if both work then you've gopt a great thing coming to you at the env of all of us.

[Phishnoob]

Welcome to TRT btw!!!




Phishnoob

[grazhopr]

Welcome !!!

Let me back everybody's opinion. If everything works great, you got yourself a great sweet deal.
As they mentioned above, you need to make sure that:

Tank and sump don't leak.
Chiller works properly.
Ask more info on the lights, brand of ballasts, etc. A complete lighting system should have, sockets, ballasts and reflectors. You may have to buy new bulbs, though.
Ask for the filter. Is it a complete RO/DI (Reverse Osmosis / Deionization) unit or just a water purifier ?
Brand of the skimmer (this is important too).

Without much more info, if the tank, the sump, the light gadgets and the chiller are ok, it's already a nice deal.

[Pantherburn]

Thank you all very much for taking the time to reply to my query. Great suggestions - I knew I had come to the right place for advice ! I'll try to get some more specific information on the equipment. I didn't think to ask what hp the chiller was, but he did say that his dad plugged it in and the coil(s) got cold? I've never seen a chiller - do you just place the coil in the sump?

I'll ask him if they checked the tank & sump for leaks - pretty obvious, but I didn't think to ask...He's also going to get back with me on the wattage of the halides. He did mention the brand - Hamilton Technology Co., and that the light hood had a fan at each end, and the ballasts were mounted in his stand? I'll probably be back once I get some more details - hope you don't mind. BTW, someone asked where I live - Mississippi. Guess I need to check my bio. Thanks again, hope I can return the favor someday.

Regards,

[grazhopr]

It is possible that he has a drop-in type chiller.
There are also in-line chillers that require to have a separate pump (rated specificly for that chiller flow rate range) that pulls water out of the sump to flow thru the chiller and back into the sump.
If you're curious about what they look like, you can go to this online store: www.premiumaquatics.com Go to the drygoods section and look for chillers. They have some basic useful info, plus you can see the price range for your brand and see some pictures. They provide some technical facts like: size, footprint, temperature pulldown vs tank size/volume, etc.
Enjoy !

[JennM]

The light fixture is worth $600 or so new.

The chiller is worth at least that new - the cheapest chiller I've seen was ~$450, assuming it's working and/or can be recharged within reason.

Do leak-test the tank before you use it, same with the sump.

Given what I've seen used systems sell for around here, I'd say it's a steal.

JMO

Jenn

[OodleyBoodely]

Hi, welcome to TRT! Can't add to whats been said except, What's your friends phone number?