buying used....

Just use bleach as it kills almost all bacteria that may be hidden. Especially get up under the rim of the tank if you get one.

 

Both of my setups were bought used from friends. Both tanks I own and a lot of my LR and even some corals were bought from people getting out of the hobby. The 120 I have now was 5 months old when I bought it used for 250 bucks from a guy a work who had it set up as a small reef and then was moving and couldn't take it with him.

 

When buying used...keep in mind any bulbs in lighting systems need changing as you will not know time of use.

With pumps of any kind, age/time of use needs to be determined.
Check out condition of impeller if possible, or again, just take into account likely need for replacing.

Otherwise, buying used is great way to save $ for those on strict budget.


Good luck.