I work at petco and if a customer returns a leaking tank the policy is to throw it away. I dumpster dive these tanks and have a 75gal and 55gal. I was originally thinking of just resealing them and selling them. I was also thinking of turning the 55gal into a custom sump and selling it. The tanks were free for me and I already have supplies and experiance for resealing. Is there money in getting these tanks fully set up and selling them to a buisness?
Is there money in flipping tanks?
- Thread starter bridget1476
- Start date
Yes! On Monster fish keepers, you can make a post in the selling column. You could make a custom sump with the 55 gallon, and then reseal the 75 gallon. If there is no reason for you to keep them, then sell them as a pair.
What kind of money do you want to make? Is there money to make a few hundred bucks here and there on craigslist? Maybe. Are you going to be able to quit your job? No. If someone returns a tank you sealed to petco again you will probably get fired. I am not sure if you could get in trouble with the manufacturer either. They pay claims on leaking tanks and if they found out it had been resealed it could cause issues. If the person gets a $2,000 property damage claim denied over your work they may come looking for you. If you are looking at this as a tank maintenance or installation business they will definitely come after you. I never look at a business as sustainable if it has to live off of the inconsistent garbage generated by another business. Eventually people want to get paid for that raw material (trash). This is also something that takes a lot of time at scale and has a niche customer. Whenever I end up with a suspect tank I put it in the yard and keep goldfish, natives, or killis.
If you like building tanks here is a job in a tank manufacturing plant. You will learn more about making tanks than you ever dreamed of, and you can easily claim to be a master tank builder on MFK.
Spectrum Brands
If you like building tanks here is a job in a tank manufacturing plant. You will learn more about making tanks than you ever dreamed of, and you can easily claim to be a master tank builder on MFK.
Spectrum Brands
I never heard of anyone flipping aquariums for sale but I don't really see you making money continuously with available leaker aquariums GL.
Considering you got them for free, If you did a neat job resealing the tanks, you could definitely make a couple bucks selling them in "like new" condition. Probably cost you $20-30 in silicone and tape and sell the tanks for $150-200 each.
just money on the side. I don't know why they would return my resealed tanks to petco. I just want to sell them on craigslist. I have way too many tanks.
There is a ~legit business in my town, which does that (flipping) and also a bit of selling accessories (new & used), matching stand, tank, tops + filter deals, etc. All tanks are used. Has been in town longer than myself (~10 years) and seems to do Ok. I actually bought one of his ready to go deals when I first came. He has a little store, usually with about 10-15 tanks at any one time, some with pet fish. It is a small business, nobody is getting rich but seems to persist.
It is A LOT of work to properly re-seal a tank (especially tanks big enough to be worthwhile to re-seal). If you're good at it and have the time, you can expect $1 per gallon or slightly more for large tanks when you re-seal them and find a buyer
That's my take on this too if you're doing an OEM like re-seal.
These were $1/gal tanks. It would be a labor of love for me to put that kind resources into a $55-75 tank.
The good thing lately is that Petco has gone back to using Aqueons (at least in my area). For years they were using Marinelands which are really flimsy in sizes up to maybe 75.
I picked up a Aqueon 55 at the $1/gal sale a month or two ago at Petco. The glass and frames aren't quite as thick as my ~9yr/old Aqueon 55, but still pretty decent.