How Much Does It Cost to Reseal a Fish Tank? Is It Worth It?

You get home from work one day and amble tiredly over to your fishy friends to check on them and to your horror, your fish tank is leaking!

What do you do?

Calm down, take five deep breaths, and follow our advice.

First, let’s talk about how much it costs to reseal your fish tank in the first place.

If you have painter’s tape, a razor scraper, and pure acetone laying around your house it will only cost you $20-$24 for silicone to reseal your fish tank because you can’t use cheap silicone. Otherwise, it will cost you $23-$37 dollars depending on which of these items you have at home.

Okay, stay calm, and let us explain why you need all of this stuff or if it is even worth it to reseal your fish tank.

Insider’s Tip: When you are buying silicone, you should always buy twice as much as you actually need.

For example, if you have 13 total feet and the glass is 6 mm thick then 13 x 6 = 78. That would mean you will need 78 milliliters of silicone to reseal your aquarium.

Supplies and Cost to Reseal Your Aquarium

We did a quick comparison of the cheapest equipment you will need from Amazon. Keep in mind prices will change but the below list will give you an idea of the costs involved.

Except for the silicone. You need to use the best silicone to reseal your aquarium so it will last for at least ten years instead of a few.

You can skimp on the other equipment used since you may only need it once for ten years.

Is It Worth Resealing Your Fish Tank? How to Decide

So the time has arrived. You’re at a crossroads.

You’ve watched countless YouTube videos on how to reseal your leaky aquarium and read countless aquarium threads on whether or not you should reseal an aquarium.

What do you do?

Here’s the kicker…

If you are confident that you will do a meticulous job and you have a large or expensive aquarium of any kind then it is absolutely worth it to reseal your aquarium. If you have a cheaper aquarium or you don’t feel like you are going to be a perfectionist then it is not worth your time to reseal your aquarium.

If you can get another aquarium for under $100 and you can afford it then go that route.

If you have a very large or any type of expensive aquarium and you can’t afford a replacement then keep reading.

How To Reseal Your Aquarium

If your tank ever springs a leak at all then you need to completely reseal it. If your tank is 10 years old or you buy a used tank and you’re not sure how old it is then you probably need to reseal it.

You can usually find the date underneath the tank around the rim.

Just follow these simple steps or watch the video below:

• Remove all fish, water, and equipment and let the tank completely dry. This is a good opportunity to really give your tank a good cleaning before you let it dry.
• Place the empty dry tank on a flat-level surface. You at least want all four corners of the tank touching the flat surface so there is no twisting pressure.
• Use your razor scraper to completely scrape away all of the silicone from the edges of the tank and vacuum the old silicone with a shop vac. This is the part where you have to be meticulous. You need to be able to run your fingernail along all of the edges and not feel any silicone. You also want to keep the razor flat against the glass without running into the seams
• After vacuuming, use the acetone with old rags or paper towels to wipe away any residual silicone.
• Run painter’s tape along the seams so you will be spreading a stream of silicone the same width as the glass or even a little thicker.
• Spread the silicone in the bottom of the aquarium first and then up the sides, so you don’t get it on your arms.
• Run your finger along the silicone to smooth it over, If you want you can put a small sandwich bag over your finger, or even use rubber gloves. Just run your finger along each seam once so you can finish before the silicone starts to dry.
• Immediately remove the painter’s tape.
• Let it dry for a minimum of 48 hours just to be on the safe side. If you can dry it longer that’s great. The longer the better.
• Slowly fill the tank up while watching for leaks.
• When you are sure your tank isn’t leaking you will have to cycle it again before you can put fish in it.

Aquarium Experts: How much silicone do you need? Measure the seams where you will be replacing the silicone. For example, if you have 13 total feet and the glass is 6 mm thick then 13 x 6 equals 78. That would mean you will need 78 milliliters of silicone to reseal your aquarium.

When you are buying silicone, you should always buy twice as much as you actually need.

Conclusion

Well, now that you know how much it costs to reseal your aquarium and what you have to do the decision should be much easier for you to make.

If you do decide to reseal your aquarium and you have never done it before we would advise you to find someone to help you out.

You could even try to get your hands on a free or extremely cheap aquarium to practice on and if it works you have an instant spare tank!

Good Luck!