Getting a Tank on Craigslist

Now this is where the cheap-ass side gambles and, more often than not, always costs me more money.

First, the tank size.  The tank is going on a granite countertop on the breakfast bar in the kitchen.  So the space is a yard wide.  Needing space on either side, I figured that 24" would be the widest I'd want it.  I was thinking that a 24"x12"x20" tank would be cool -- 25 gallons.  I saw one at Petco, but as part of a kit.  But who needs the light hood, the filter, the gravel, etc., that comes in a kit when the light doesn't give you the wattage needed for a planted aquarium, the filter isn't strong enough for a goldfish tank, and you need substrate, not decorative gravel.  I just wanted a tank.

Then the inherent urge to go as cheap as you can go struck.  By chance, I checked on Craigslist.  And guess what?  There was a woman renovating her home who wanted to get rid of an old tank.  Was a 24"x12"x24" -- 30 gallons.  My only concern would be if it would be too tall for my Mother to reach into to feed Bully.  So I took the yardstick to the breakfast bar and was satisfied she could easily drop food in.  Besides, stretching a bit would be good therapy, right?  :-)

So I e-mailed the post and the woman assured me that there was no leakage.  So on the way home from church on Sunday, I dropped by her house and traded two $5 bills for a tall 30-gallon tank.

On Monday, I took it to the backyard, put it on a level surface and cleaned it out.  Now the internet is a wonderful thing.  My first thought was to wash it out with soap.  But then I checked the net googling the question "how do you clean an aquarium".  Can't remember the site that I went to, but found sage advice.  Don't use soap -- it's a pollutant and kills fish.  That made me think back to when I was like 7 or so and I cleaned out a fishbowl with soap and I guess I didn't rinse well enough ... the next morning, the fish was dead.

But then I read some good advice.  Use bleach.  Bleach cleans really well ... just rinse it all out a few times.  And if there's residual bleach left, the chemicals you use to dechlorinate water will most likely take care of that.  Easy enough!

Then I filled the tank with water to make sure there was, in fact, no leaking.  Left it sitting for six hours and no leaking.  Phew!  I was glad I wasn't a Craigslist victim.

This morning, I cleared off space for the tank and thought that it would fit the space well.  My Mother laughed that Bully would feel like he was in the ocean.

I added a few gallons of water to make sure there was no leaking, and laughed again when I saw that 3.5 gallons in the new tank was barely at 3 inches.  Bully would definitely have more fun swimming around!

Then ....  Craigslist is too good to be true.  I noticed at the base of the aquarium, the plastic trim was cracked.  And it looked like someone used a dark resin to try to repair the crack.

So I started thinking ... with the substrate and the water, a 30 gallon tank would weigh well over 300 lbs.  I can just imagine the plastic failing and then starting to separate and then the weight of the tank causing a colossal failure.  Whoosh!  30 gallons of water, 60 lbs of substrate flooding the kitchen!  Not a good thought. So then I thought, let's see what Mr. Google says.  Some people out in cyber land reported failures that I envisioned.  Others advised that it was merely cosmetic.  Not too sure about that.  Alas, $10 down the drain. Allen Echiverri -- Craigslist victim!

But not wanting to be a victim, I sent those pics to the Wet Web Media crew to solicit their advice.  On other issues of tank trim cracking they have been cautious.  So I thought, let's see what they say about mine.  Their response?  Purely cosmetic!  Hooray!  Allen Echiverri ... not a Craigslist victim!  :-)

Still, I think to myself, you're an idiot.  Here, this tank is going to be in the house for years and years to come and your cheap-ass attitude causes you to hesitate getting a nice looking tank?  LOL!  On the other hand, the pragmatic side of me thinks, hey, the tank works and it doesn't look bad.  My Mother likes it.  LOL!  My frugal nature wins out!  Not going aquarium shopping anymore.  In the meantime, I'm thinking to myself that how cool is this?  For $10, I got a 30 gallon tank ... whereas $10 also could get me ten boxes of Mike and Ike's at Safeway.  Ah, the relative value of things in life.  Of course, let's see if I would have been better off with the Mike and Ike's if I find 30 gallons of water flooding the kitchen!  Hehehe!  We shall see!