Freshwater

purchase a 125-gallon aquarium if that leaves you five bucks to spend on
equipment. It’s better to purchase a small tank and have more than enough
money left over for substrate, plants, equipment, and other essentials.
Checking out starter kits
One easy option is to purchase a starter kit. A starter kit is a system-in-a-box
that usually contains the following:
Tank
Filter
Food
Hood
Lights
Heater
Fish net
Thermometer
Water conditioner
A beginning aquarium book
Chapter 4: The Tank and Stand
Not every kit contains exactly the same things, so read the label carefully. If
you purchased the kit in the previous list, all you would need to buy afterward
is gravel and a few plants to get the tank up and running, plus a stand
(unless you’re using furniture instead). Many starter kits don’t have gravel,
decorations, plants, or stands, so they’re not really complete.
Don’t be nickel-and-dimed to death
If you’re not careful, you can go broke purchasing
“extras” for your tank. Skip the fancy decorations
when you first set it up and use your
money instead to purchase the aquarium you
really want and the equipment you really need to
keep it running properly. Make sure you figure in
the price of filters, lights, gravel, chemicals,
hoods, plants, air hose, nets, pH test kits, heaters,
medications, and of course, your fish — which
you will be buying later on, after the tank is set
up and ready.
Aquariums are really a good value in the long
term, and generally cost quite a bit less than
many other expensive hobbies such as skydiving
and bungee jumping. The money you invest in a
beautiful aquarium now will pay you and your
family back with years and years of pleasure.
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