Buying used aquarium, HELP

[SaltyH2O]

I was just offered from a friend of a friend to buy his aquarium for $ 100. Wants me to look at it tonight. Besides a leak test and looking for scratches what other advice can you give me? Only info I have so far is it's a glass aquarium and it's about 8 feet long. I'm thinking 200 + gallons. No stand ( not a problem I'm a woodworker and know how to build to support that kind of weight), no hood or lights just the tank. I'm mainly worried about a corner blowing out. Any help much appreciated. It will be used as an upgrade from my 72 gallon saltwater tank.

 

[SaltyH2O]

Well after looking at the tank I decided not to buy. It appears to be a DIY tank build and then modified at a later date for a plywood painted background. I would have to do some surgery to the tank to get the plywood out and it overall doesn't look very well taken care of. So dirty i could not even tell if it was scratched up. He had other tanks sitting next to this one that had cracks in the glass. Not worth the work needed done and risk of tank failure.

 

[carey]

Bummer. That would have been sweet for $100!

 

[BillD]

You couldn't buy the glass for $100.

 

[SaltyH2O]

It had a metal frame around it instead of the usual plastic but the welds look like a 5 year old did them. I would have to cut the metal frame off to remove the plywood background then re-weld all of it. The metal is even on the corners of the tank and I can't inspect the joints. He said it was just up and running but was sitting on a trailer outside when I saw it. It's a great deal but not if I end up with over 200 gallons of water, broken glass, few hundred dollars of fish laying on my living room floor. I just don't want to take that risk. Am I crazy for not taking this deal?

 

[spoonman]

Sometimes you get what you pay for. Too good to be true, usually is!