“Refurbishing” Old tanks???

[OliveFish05]

Hello! I am not sure if this is the right place, but I would consider “refurbishing” old tanks DIY. I think?

So a while ago, my mom brought home a 10 gallon tank from Goodwill, complete with a broken light, lime scale/hard water stains, an assortment of random filter pieces, and a jumble of unidentifiable plastic pieces. I decided to try to clean up the tank, but never got past scraping away the silicone (which actually went well) before the tank got thrown out. I thoroughly enjoyed working on the tank, and am wanting to get another tank to work on, but actually finish this time! I am just wondering if anyone has any recommendations? My biggest problem is going to be dealing with hard water deposits and stains and such, I have heard you can use a blade or razor to scrape them, but are there going to be some that just can’t be fixed? Like I don’t mind sitting there for an hour or two just scraping mineral deposits with a blade, but are there going to be ones impossible to remove? That is my biggest fear. A tank lot I am looking at has minor scuffs and I am planning on them needing resealed, but the mineral deposits are real bad. Is it anything to worry about?


Any tips would be greatly appreciate!!!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Are you planning on refurbishing the tanks and then trying to sell them? Or keep them for yourself?

 

[OliveFish05]

Are you planning on refurbishing the tanks and then trying to sell them? Or keep them for yourself?

It would really just depend in the the tank! Probably both.

Edit: If my mom will let me, haha

 

[Neil Mani]

I would keep it in your room and aquascape it to look nice Maybe add some fish and breed for a profit. Get further in the hobby. I dunno.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

It would really just depend in the the tank! Probably both.

Edit: If my mom will let me, haha

If you plan on re-selling, you probably won’t make much of a profit. Usually people want to get a shiny new tank, rather than an old tank that has been refurbished.

It is good you want to put work into fish tanks, but I don’t think you will be that happy in the end.

 

[OliveFish05]

I would keep it in your room and aquascape it to look nice Maybe add some fish and breed for a profit. Get further in the hobby. I dunno.

My mom has limited me to 2 tanks unfortunately! I am hoping to someday replace both my tanks with bow fronts though!

 

[OliveFish05]

If you plan on re-selling, you probably won’t make much of a profit. Usually people want to get a shiny new tank, rather than an old tank that has been refurbished.

It is good you want to put work into fish tanks, but I don’t think you will be that happy in the end.

Even to sell as used on Craigslist? I think I would really enjoy working on the tanks, and if I even made back what I spent on the tank, I would be happy!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Even to sell as used on Craigslist? I think I would really enjoy working on the tanks, and if I even made back what I spent on the tank, I would be happy!

I mean, you could try, but you would have to buy the tanks for super cheap, and then sell for cheap to get people’s attention.

 

[OliveFish05]

I mean, you could try, but you would have to buy the tanks for super cheap, and then sell for cheap to get people’s attention.

Yeah! That’s what I mean. Like sometimes there are tanks listed for free or super cheap around here, cause they are gross and dirty you know, I mean if I were to get them looking nice, and actually clean, would I be able to sell them again for cheap on Craigslist? Like buy the tanks, enjoy fixing them up, then because we don’t have tons of extra garage space, sell them again just to cover the costs of it, more like a hobby than an investment

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Yeah! That’s what I mean. Like sometimes there are tanks listed for free or super cheap around here, cause they are gross and dirty you know, I mean if I were to get them looking nice, and actually clean, would I be able to sell them again for cheap on Craigslist? Like buy the tanks, enjoy fixing them up, then because we don’t have tons of extra garage space, sell them again just to cover the costs of it, more like a hobby than an investment

Yes, you could try to do that. Just start out small at first. (not necessarily in tank size, but in the number of tanks) Clean one or two, and if you like it, or are getting good business, continue!

 

[azvictoria]

Hello! I am not sure if this is the right place, but I would consider “refurbishing” old tanks DIY. I think?

So a while ago, my mom brought home a 10 gallon tank from Goodwill, complete with a broken light, lime scale/hard water stains, an assortment of random filter pieces, and a jumble of unidentifiable plastic pieces. I decided to try to clean up the tank, but never got past scraping away the silicone (which actually went well) before the tank got thrown out. I thoroughly enjoyed working on the tank, and am wanting to get another tank to work on, but actually finish this time! I am just wondering if anyone has any recommendations? My biggest problem is going to be dealing with hard water deposits and stains and such, I have heard you can use a blade or razor to scrape them, but are there going to be some that just can’t be fixed? Like I don’t mind sitting there for an hour or two just scraping mineral deposits with a blade, but are there going to be ones impossible to remove? That is my biggest fear. A tank lot I am looking at has minor scuffs and I am planning on them needing resealed, but the mineral deposits are real bad. Is it anything to worry about?


Any tips would be greatly appreciate!!!

Aquariums are one of the new toilet papers of the covid world. They are high demand with home offices and families in general bored at home. I think you could do well for the short term. I don't think you'll make a lot of money, it could be used to finance your own hobby but not an income. Maybe package them up as kits after cleaning them with some bubblers, plants, extra touches. The one issue you have and need to consider is that you're selling something that holds a lot of water and can create a big problem if it fails - serious insurance/potential lawsuit stuff. You'll need some documentation with a waiver of liability if seals fail. Is it worth all that?

 

[Circus]

Vineworks wonders for hard water or limescale.

 

[Circus]

*Vinegar

 

[PheonixKingZ]

*Vinegar

I forgot to mention this, yes. I used white vinegar when I got my used 20g long, and it came right off with a little sit time and some scrubbing.

 

[OliveFish05]

The one issue you have and need to consider is that you're selling something that holds a lot of water and can create a big problem if it fails - serious insurance/potential lawsuit stuff. You'll need some documentation with a waiver of liability if seals fail. Is it worth all that?

Are there liability issues when selling on Craigslist? I mean, I know I would always do my best, but if say one of the tanks were to leak after the person brought it home, either due to a mistake in the seal or poor handling on setup, isn’t that the kind of thing that when you are buying an aquarium off Craigslist you do so at your own risk?