Fish Aquariums.....

I second Craigslist. You can get a nice tank and stand at a fraction of what you'd pay at a store, although you may have to buy new lights and/or filters etc...

Another thing to keep in mind is that some pet store have regular sales. Where we live Petco has a sale twice a year where they sell tanks for a dollar per gallon. So a 20 gallon tank (without filter, hood, light etc... ) will cost only $20.00. I also got my stand there (after looking on Craigslist FOREVER for just a stand), for $50. It was clearance because it had a scratch on the wood and one of the handles on the cabinet was put on backwards. If you're patient you can find good deals.

We have 3 tanks and they are a fair amount of work. The enjoyment we get out of them outweighs the trouble, but we have a lifestyle right now that works with having a lot of pets. If you don't know much about fish or the upkeep of aquariums do your homework before investing your money! On another note... we love our fishies!

We had a 29 gallon tank and we bought all the set up, etc from petco. We probably spent about $300 on total set up which was not that bad.

I will say that tanks are hard to upkeep. You have to keep all the levels just right for the fish. It is a pain in the a$$.

We had our tank over 2 years and when the last fish died, we decided to drain and clean the tank and put it on CL.

Just before I posted on CL, my house/pet sitter was here, saw it empty and asked to buy it. I told her it was a lot of work. She paid me $150 for it and her grandchildren love it to this day.

I thought $150 was high but she said she priced everything out and $150 was a deal. She was right, by the time you buy the gravel, pieces to decorate inside for the fish hideouts, etc. I also gave her my stash of water, food chemicals, etc I had left over a well as all accessories.

Be sure you don't go cheap or you'll end up with with a nightmare.

craigslist or Petco.

We got ours as a present from grandparents and I just wanted to caution you about small tanks. Our is a 6 gallon tank with filter and heater. The rule is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water, so we can have 2 x 3" fish or 6 x 1" fish. It is incredibly difficult to keep the environment perfect in a small tank since it so easy to over- or under-adjust the pH. The folks at our local great pet store (not a mega store) advised us that a larger tank is much easier to maintain since a little extra fish pee or over feeding does not immediately throw the whole system out of balance.
Make sure to google and read up about the "nitrogen cycle" and some "how to start a fresh water fish tank".
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/start_up/start_up4.html
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/cycling2.htm
In the long run I wished we had gotten a larger tank since the cycle is easier to maintain without peaks and lows in ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. We have killed many a fish over the last 2 years learning about fishtank chemistry. Go talk to someone at a good local fish store before you buy anything.

Craigslist or garage sales is a GREAT way to get used tanks... and frankly, a larger tank is easier to take care of than a smaller one.... 29 gallon is a nice size. I've picked up two 29 gallon tanks, hoods, and stands for $20-30 at garage sales, where they cost probably $150 new.

Just be sure to not overcrowd the tanks..... remember that you need to allow at least 1" of ADULT fish size per gallon of water, and preferably less.......

Also, get a water test kit and learn about how to cycle your tank properly. Otherwise, most people set up a tank, wait a day (if that much), and then dump a bunch of fish in. They are then discouraged when, 4-6 weeks later, the fish start dying off.

What is happening is that the tank is trying to cycle.... fish waste is primarily ammonia. Certain bacteria can build up over time to convert the ammonia to nitrites, and another bacteria convert the nitrites to nitrates. This takes several weeks, while your fish are sometimes succumbing to ammonia poisoning. Think of a fish having to live in a toilet... that is basically what is happening.

Even when a tank is properly cycled, you need to remove (siphon out) about 20% of the water weekly and replace it with freshly declorinated water. This removes the nitrates from the water column.....

Your "filter" doesn't do any of this. One thing a filter does, however, is provide a place for the bacteria to grow. DON'T replace the filter like the package says you should... you are throwing away the good bacteria each time you do that. I don't change the filter unless it is literally falling apart.....

Most people at chain stores (walmart, petsmart, petco, etc) know very little about PROPER care of fish.... I've had to show the associates the difference between male and female guppies and mollies.....

I've been a member of a really great online forum where they will give you good, TRUE advice..... they aren't trying to sell you anything, just want to educate people on proper aquarium care.

http://www.petfish.net/forum/

You got some excellent advice from Malia B., and I'm going to add one more word of caution: water weighs about 8lbs/gallon. Factor in the glass of the tank (glass tanks are far easier to clean then acrylic, by the way), the gravel, and the livestock, and the standard measurement about 10 pounds/gallon for a fish tank. Then factor in the weight of the stand. My 55 gallon aquarium and stand together weigh about 700 lbs - thank goodness, we live in a one story house.

As for buying a tank and equipment, I suggest finding a good Local Fish Store (there a couple of fish advice forums on-line, and you will find the acronym LFS used there). A good LFS will have knowledgeable staff, who can help you find the equipment you need for the fish you are going to have, and can help you find the right fish for your area, as well (I, for instance, can't keep goldfish - it gets too warm in the room where I keep my aquarium, and goldfish are cold water fish - the bonus there being, that I don't need a high-tech heater for my tropical fish - the heater only comes on for a couple of days in January, so I didn't need to buy an expensive fancy one; a basic model works just fine for me). In addition, many LFS's sell used equipment as well, so they can not only help you better than a big box pet shop, but may be able to help you get a good deal on it, too.

We have a small aquarium from That Fish Place. The endeavor was more $ than I anticipated, but my son and husband enjoy maintaining the tank together. I'm not crazy about fish, but my son has had the tank for two years now and he loves it just as much now as when it was purchased. We noticed when we went into Petsmart that there were a lot of dead fish in their aquariums, but That Fish Place had a separate addition to the store dedicated to aquatic life. The staff is very knowledgeable and will always test a water sample for free to make sure our tank is running properly. They have a website, but don't know if there are any storea near you. I would just make sure that the tanks in the store you buy from are fairly clean. Good luck!

Thrift stores

My husband has gotten some nice stands at thrift stores.

look at craigslist.org