I just got into the hobby recently and found everything on Craigslist. People are selling their aquarium setups all the time for FAR cheaper than what you would pay at any retail store. I also got all kinds of cool accessories (water conditioner, salt, API test kit, spare heater, tons of extra filter media, nets, etc), and some I didn't even know I'd need (like a breeding net, light timer, etc). Just something to think about.