Bought a Used 96G Setup

[jjh302]

First time poster here...

I just purchased a 96G corner setup on Craigslist for $550usd. It is going to cost me ~$300 to rent a truck to go pick it up 2.5 hours away. (I promise this isn't a math question) So at a total of $850 can someone please confirm or deny if this was a good deal. Also any tips or tricks to help this move be successful will be appreciated.

Here is what it comes with:

96 gallon reef ready corner tank and stand in mint condition
100lbs of live rock with some soft corals
25gal wet dry underneath tank
2x150w metal halide with 2 T5 bulbs (one ballast will need to be replaced cause it gets hot and trips the breaker on it)
ASM G1X protein Skimmer
digital heater
3-4 power heads
1 large Hippo Tang
1 medium acillies Tang

 

[mr_X]

Rent a van from Enterprise or another rental company. They will cost you about 60 bucks for the day. The metal halide fixture is about worthless IMO, and you are going to need to re-home those tangs due to the limited tank size. You could sell the Achilles for at least 100 bucks.
I don't know what the tank is worth, but the rock is anywhere from 3 to 8 dollars a pound.
You are also going to want to lose that wet/dry and replace it with a sump.

 

[jjh302]

Enterprise was my first try but because I need it on a Sunday I would have to pay for two days rental plus extra mileage due to the 350 mile trip.

You are saying that 100 gallons is not sufficient for two fish?

 

[mr_X]

I'm saying those types of fish require a much larger tank. They are free swimmers and the lack of swimming room may stress them enough to compromise their immune systems. In a tank under 100 gallons, I wouldn't keep a tang larger than 4" give or take.
Tell enterprise you want unlimited mileage.

 

[jjh302]

IYO what would be good fish for a beginner to keep in a 96 gal? I prefer bigger and more colorful fish

 

[mr_X]

Well, is this going to be a reef or fish only? There are many larger fish that don't swim like tangs. If it's just a fish only, a dwarf lion might be a good fish for you. If you are going to keep shrimp and smaller fish, that won't work however.
There are many awesome looking wrasses that would work also.
Here's a good place to get an idea what you can keep. They have minimum tank req's and if they are reef safe or not-
Saltwater Fish: Marine Aquarium Fish for Saltwater Aquariums
As for tangs, the round bodied ones are better for smaller tanks, like purple, yellow, scopus, kole...

 

[jjh302]

Yes this is a reef tank. It already has some mushrooms and some leathers. There is also an urchin of some variety that comes with it.

 

[mr_X]

You are going to need a new fixture. That 150 watt halide fixture (even with new ballasts) won't allow you to keep much besides soft corals. Do you have an idea what you are thinking of keeping in terms of corals?

 

[jjh302]

My thought is start out with the easiest possible then gradually work into bigger and better.

 

[jjh302]

When I get this home should I rinse the sand thoroughly?

 

[J8kpin]

Thats a great deal, i paid 1k for a new 100g tank and stand, rock is expensive, so is livestock. Good beginner reef fish that are big are racoon butterflyfish, but they eat inverts. Another is a small tang, like a yellow, scopas, bristletooth, purple, kole, any of that body shape should do good in that tank. Heres the shape of the smaller tangs you would be looking at. Good luck!

 

[jjh302]

Awesome! Thanks. What can you tell me about wet/dry filtration? That's what it comes with and I'm not familiar with how it works.

 

[J8kpin]

Get rid of it. Sumps are the best way to go. A sump is a seperate tank that goes underneath the stand. You put your skimmer, reactor, filter socks, refugium, heater etc there.

 

[jjh302]

Oh it's not the same basic thing? This one is under the tank I believe. And will it suffice for the next two months until I can afford a different setup?

 

[Sniperhank]

Basically, you already have a sump with the wet/dry in it. You can probably just take those out if you have enough live rock in your system. They do the same thing. This will leave you with a sump and a spot for another means of filtration, by which skimmers are a good investment.

 

[jjh302]

This setup also comes with a skimmer.

 

[Sniperhank]

Then it sounds like you are stocked and ready to roll.

 

[jjh302]

Awesome. Hank did you read my original post? Do u think this is a good deal?

 

[jjh302]

This is the original ad that I'm buying this from:

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/for/4244475031.html

 

[Sniperhank]

Maybe. Depends on the area, in all reality. I would check out Mr X's post as it is solid advice.