I didn't see this thread till recently. Whoops!
So about me. I'm in my twenties, happily married with 3 kids (two in heaven, one still here), and work from home as a doula. I've kept aquariums most of my life, though with incomplete education of how to properly start, stock and maintain them. Because of life changes I stopped keeping aquariums for about 4 years but have recently started up a few smaller ones (the only ones I can fit in our cozy home!) because I just love how relaxing it is to sit and watch them. This time I decided to thoroughly research and bring my education to an acceptable level on how to be a responsible fish owner. I am so grateful to a lot of the articles and people on this site for helping me do that. My other goal was to do it on a
VERY tight budget which I think I managed quite nicely (especially thanks to my father and lady luck)!
Currently my set ups are:
10 Gallon Tetra Tank [Free from Dad]
Black Hood w/ Florescent lights [Free: Friend throwing away]
Black Metal Stand [Free from Curb-I got so lucky with this!]
Aqua Tech 10-20 Filter [$23]
Old (but works!) Non-submersible Heater [$1 Thriftstore]
Glass Thermometer [Free from Dad]
Natural looking Background [$.25 Thriftstore]
Gravel [Free from Dad]
Plastic Plants [Free Dad and Friend throwing away]
Coconut [I've had since I was 10 and has been in nearly all my aquariums!]
Rocks [Free from the Creek]
6 Neon Tetras [$7]
5 Gallon Tetra Tank
Flat Hood,
LED lights
Whisper 3i Filter (new in package!)
Submersible heater (non-adjustable)
Stick on Thermometer
Gravel
Castle, Log, & Plant Decor
Background
Male Crowntail Betta: Cute Fish (don't let his name fool you, he's allpersonality!)
Misc. Supplies
[$15]
1 Gallon Cheapo Plastic Tank [$1 Thriftstore]
Hood [included]
Under gravel Filter [included]
Old bubbler [Free from Dad]
Light-bulb (4pack) [$2]
Plants [$6]
Pond Snails [included-haha
]
Background [Free: saw a nice landscape print someone was throwing out and cut it to size]
Miscellaneous Supplies:
Water Conditioner [$6]
Betta Water Conditioner [included]
Betta Food [included]
Parasite Meds [Free: Friend throwing away]
Flake Fish Food, Unopened [Free: Friend throwing away]
Medium Net [Free: Friend throwing away]
Small Net [Free: Friend throwing away]
Vacuum [Free: Friend throwing away]
Aqua Tech 5-15 Filter (filthy!) [Free: Friend throwing away]
So really I spent a little over $60 to start up
three small tanks. (Although a lot of my 10 gallon set up was purchased years ago). Pretty good eh? Really, if you want to do aquariums cheaply, it can be done. You just have to have luck, LOTs of patience, willing to look second hand, and be willing to admit that your fish probably are not going to have the highest quality food.
Anyway, I love my fish and am looking forward to the 3 dalmatian platy I have on order at the
LFS to complete my 10 gallon. "cow fish" as my son calls them.
I enjoy helping people learn, as many people have helped me learn and hope to pass on my enjoyment of aquariums to my son (who is already in love with his cute fish, so I think I'm successful).
Hopefully I'll post pictures of my aquariums soon and I look forward to meeting everyone here.
Linear Mode
