If you wanted up upgrade later you would end up replacing a bunch of stuff (like the skimmer, the return pump, probably the sump). The equipment is all good quality, but is brands/models are ones that were popular 6-10 years ago so I would be checking the age of everything. It could be quite new, but the choices kinda make me think it might be an older setup. The third pic looks like it was taken when the tank was first setup and everything was still shiny and new and clean.
That MH pendant is waaaaay overkill for a 58-gallon tank. Is this Oceanic 58 a 36" or 48" tank? I'm not familiar with Oceanic dimensions. It's probably 48" in which case I wouldn't want more than 2x150 watt halides. Maybe if it was SPS-dedicated I would put 2x250 watt halides on it...but then a chiller would probably be needed. 3-250watt halides is way, way too much for 58 gallons of water imo. For a first tank, I usually recommend T5s because they suit the type of reefs that newbies usually want to set up (mostly LPS, Zoas, softies, etc), and work really well on smaller tanks.
The RO/DI system gets half of its value by the life left in the RO and DI cartridges which would require testing with a TDS meter at each of the stages to determine usable life left, and I'm not sure you would know how to do that yet. It sounds like that one may not have a DI stage though. 25 gpd is very slow though, so personally I would want to change the RO membrane (and flow restrictor) to 75 gpd or 150 gpd.
I think the tank/sump setup is a good price depending on condition and age (scratches? scuffs?). I would try to get the tank/sump, plus the refractometer, the TLF reactor, and the heater. I prefer to use 2 heaters instead of one though, so I would use that 100 watt one for my saltwater mixing bucket and buy two 50 watt or two 75 watt heaters for the tank. I don't like SeaChem salt, but if you got it at a good price (like $30) it would be good to start with.
I think offering $400 for everything provided it is not more than 3-4 years old would be a great deal. $450 for all of it is a fair deal.
HTH
__________________
~ Mindy
SPS fanatic.
Last edited by Myka; 09-23-2012 at 05:02 AM.
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