$120 Isn't Enough, Should I Give Up?

I was thinking of doing this type of "project" where I do my best to make a 10 gallon dream tank for a betta, but I don't have a source of income and I have $120 in birthday money. the total amount in mind was gonna be around that much, the only problem is that I thought the aqueon 10 gallon led kit was $30, but it turns out its like $80! should I just tough it out or give up on it and save it to spend on somethig else? I have a plan to do what I was gonna do for the betta but replacing 10 gallons for a 55 and replacing a betta with a green terror, or another aggressive cichlid.

you might wonder why I'm gonna spend money on a 55 if a 10 is too much for my budget, well my friend decided to give me his old 55 with a sponge filter, substrate that I didnt like too much, and some driftwood, nothing else. I could use my $120 to buy lights and a good quality HOB to add on if needed.

what do you think?

p.s. sorry if the tread was confusing, the main subject is basically me wanting to know how I should manage my money since I'm not smart at all on money management.

p.p.s. if you want to argue with me about the green terror in a 55, just tell me to make another thread, we can discuss that on there.

 

I was thinking of doing this type of "project" where I do my best to make a 10 gallon dream tank for a betta, but I don't have a source of income and I have $120 in birthday money. the total amount in mind was gonna be around that much, the only problem is that I thought the aqueon 10 gallon led kit was $30, but it turns out its like $80! should I just tough it out or give up on it and save it to spend on somethig else? I have a plan to do what I was gonna do for the betta but replacing 10 gallons for a 55 and replacing a betta with a green terror, or another aggressive cichlid.

you might wonder why I'm gonna spend money on a 55 if a 10 is too much for my budget, well my friend decided to give me his old 55 with a sponge filter, substrate that I didnt like too much, and some driftwood, nothing else. I could use my $120 to buy lights and a good quality HOB to add on if needed.

what do you think?

p.s. sorry if the tread was confusing, the main subject is basically me wanting to know how I should manage my money since I'm not smart at all on money management.

p.p.s. if you want to argue with me about the green terror in a 55, just tell me to make another thread, we can discuss that on there.

you can get a 10gal kit at walmart for $30-$40, that's where I got mine!

 

CRAIGSLIST !!!
Negotiate and you might be surprised at what you can get for $120 and remember ... NO TAX.
Prices for listings are often not firm - especially on craigslist. If you find a listing that is new and listed under the title of a moving sale or "must sell quickly" jump on it right away. The newer the listing, the better the chance you will have at negotiating a better price. Many people who list on Craigslist just want to get the aquarium out of their hands as soon as possible versus getting the best price for it. Even if they have a price listed, ask the seller what they would take for it to get it off their hands that day. You would be surprised how often you will get a lower number than what it is originally listed for. The worst thing that can happen is they say no and you just wait another week for a good listing to pop up. People exit the hobby all the time and good deals are literally a dime a dozen especially if you live in a big city.

GOOD LUCK

 

If you want bettas you can do them in the 55. I have mine in a 75.

 

The aqua culture 10 gal kit is $30 at walmart. But everyone here is giving good tips.

 

At my petsmart you can get a barebones 10 gallon tank for 14 dollars. This is how I set up my betta tank, on a budget:
10 gallon tank- 14 bucks
Tank Lid- Around 15 bucks
Substrate- (Pool filter sand) 5 bucks
Decor- Found rocks outside for free. I paid a few bucks to get a small portion of some cheap, fast growing plants like hornwort then I made more plants out of the one plant-via stem cutting and propogation. In all I paid around 10 dollars in total for plants.
Filter- I got the silenstream 10 for right around 15 bucks. It isn't my favorite filter, but for a betta it does just fine.
Heating- I forget the exact brand, but I got mine for 15 bucks. I think the price may have gone up a little, so let's just estimate it at 25 bucks.
Lighting- I used a desklamp to light the aquarium, hence why I got low light plants and positioned it near a window.
Fish- I rescued my betta but if you are looking to buy one, you can get one for 5 to 10 bucks.

So that brings me to right around 90 to 100 dollars, so it seems perfectly feasible to me.

 

At my petsmart you can get a barebones 10 gallon tank for 14 dollars. This is how I set up my betta tank, on a budget:
10 gallon tank- 14 bucks
Tank Lid- Around 15 bucks
Substrate- (Pool filter sand) 5 bucks
Decor- Found rocks outside for free. I paid a few bucks to get a small portion of some cheap, fast growing plants like hornwort then I made more plants out of the one plant-via stem cutting and propogation. In all I paid around 10 dollars in total for plants.
Filter- I got the silenstream 10 for right around 15 bucks. It isn't my favorite filter, but for a betta it does just fine.
Heating- I forget the exact brand, but I got mine for 15 bucks. I think the price may have gone up a little, so let's just estimate it at 25 bucks.
Lighting- I used a desklamp to light the aquarium, hence why I got low light plants and positioned it near a window.
Fish- I rescued my betta but if you are looking to buy one, you can get one for 5 to 10 bucks.

So that brings me to right around 90 to 100 dollars, so it seems perfectly feasible to me.

plus- pet smart price matches in store to their website, chewy and I think amazon. so ALWAYS check that. occasionally you can catch the $1 a gallon sale too.

 

plus- pet smart price matches in store to their website, chewy and I think amazon. so ALWAYS check that. occasionally you can catch the $1 a gallon sale too.

I got my betta a 20 gallon long at Petco’s 1$/gallon sale. Already had gravel, silk plants. Sponge filter was 7$. Already had it running in my 40 long. Made him some decorations, a cave, a hammock. Bought a versa top at drs foster and smith for 12$. Total money I have (including gravel) is 61$. Still making him toys.

 

I got my betta a 20 gallon long at Petco’s 1$/gallon sale. Already had gravel, silk plants. Sponge filter was 7$. Already had it running in my 40 long. Made him some decorations, a cave, a hammock. Bought a versa top at drs foster and smith for 12$. Total money I have (including gravel) is 61$. Still making him toys.

that's how you do it! just gotta do stuff on a budget and wait for good sales.

my tank is still cycling but ive been considering getting some small diameter PVC pipe to use hides but I'm not sure. I'm just gonna have tetras

I initially got the 10gal kit at walmart for $30 then got an aquaclear 20 for $20, you can get a 25lb bag of gravel for $17 at pet smart (thatll do a 10gal at least twice) you can get a 50 watt heater at pet smart for $14 then after that id probably go amazon or something for decorations or make your own! that's only $87. and the filter is completely optional, cause the kit already comes with a tetra whisper 10I which I think would be fine for a betta. so you could get away for $61 without buying the unnecessary filter (and $5-$15 for the betta at your place of choice)


added: there's other things that people (including myself) forget to advise you about. you're also going to need a small bottle of Seachem prime ($4-$5 at petsmart) and you're going to need an API masters test kit. $20-$25 on amazon

 

that's how you do it! just gotta do stuff on a budget and wait for good sales.

my tank is still cycling but ive been considering getting some small diameter PVC pipe to use hides but I'm not sure. I'm just gonna have tetras

I initially got the 10gal kit at walmart for $30 then got an aquaclear 20 for $20, you can get a 25lb bag of gravel for $17 at pet smart (thatll do a 10gal at least twice) you can get a 50 watt heater at pet smart for $14 then after that id probably go amazon or something for decorations or make your own! that's only $87. and the filter is completely optional, cause the kit already comes with a tetra whisper 10I which I think would be fine for a betta. so you could get away for $61 without buying the unnecessary filter (and $5-$15 for the betta at your place of choice)


added: there's other things that people (including myself) forget to advise you about. you're also going to need a small bottle of Seachem prime ($4-$5 at petsmart) and you're going to need an API masters test kit. $20-$25 on amazon

I forgot my heater. Got an aqueon pro 100 on sale for 15$ at the same time I got the aquarium. I made a cave out of abs elbow I had. Covered it with silk leaves. He loves laying on it instead of in it. I had an old silicone anemone with no base. Just boiled it, filled with some gravel and hotglued the opening. Bright yellow. Jaax swims through it, lays on it, pushes it around. He doesn’t go near the “betta” log. Likes my homemade stuff better.

 

I forgot my heater. Got an aqueon pro 100 on sale for 15$ at the same time I got the aquarium. I made a cave out of abs elbow I had. Covered it with silk leaves. He loves laying on it instead of in it. I had an old silicone anemone with no base. Just boiled it, filled with some gravel and hotglued the opening. Bright yellow. Jaax swims through it, lays on it, pushes it around. He doesn’t go near the “betta” log. Likes my homemade stuff better.

sounds nice!!! I might either set up a betta tank or a puffer tank in my 10 gal

 

I got my betta a 20 gallon long at Petco’s 1$/gallon sale. Already had gravel, silk plants. Sponge filter was 7$. Already had it running in my 40 long. Made him some decorations, a cave, a hammock. Bought a versa top at drs foster and smith for 12$. Total money I have (including gravel) is 61$. Still making him toys.

wait, 12 bucks including shipping?! my 20" versa top cost me $17 at petco I looked at that website and it was the same price.

 

Putting together a 10 gallon for $120 is very doable. As HORNET1 was saying Craigslist, definitely deals out there. Also join Facebook buy and sell groups also the aquarium groups in your local area. I past up on a 300 gallon complete system on a local Facebook page for $600, no room in my current house for a tank that size. eBay can have some great deals on new equipment, it may not be the brand name equipment. But some of these off brands are actually manufacturing for the name brand companies and offer a product that is almost identical to the name brand but with a different sticker on it.

 

wait, 12 bucks including shipping?! my 20" versa top cost me $17 at petco I looked at that website and it was the same price.

I get sale notices. Jump on them. It was 12$ and free shipping. For the 40 long I got both versa tops for 28$ free shipping. (Got a toy for my Kipp too). Sometimes I get a good sale price from Chewy and email DF&S to see if they can beat it. (&vise versa) they usually will.

 

You can totally do a 10 gallon Betta tank for way less then that.
My betta tank is just a typical 10 gallon, Petco is having their dollar per gallon sale right? At least they do often.
I have black diamond blasting sand as a substrate, 7 bucks for a 50 pound bag.
I have a shop light on mine with 6.5k CFL. Light and bulb together maybe 20 bucks.
Sponge filter off Ebay for like 10 bucks + the pump.
Everything was super cheap. The plants I buy on Ebay.

For a 10 gallon, you could even buy a 25 dollar light off amazon that'll do just as good.
You have to remember, 10 gallons are pretty shallow. So most lights you buy will grow low light plants.

 

You can always sell the 55 you have and get a little more money to setup the tank you are wanting.

 

Btw I got my 10 gallon Aqueon LED tank with filter, heater, conditioner, food, net all for like $40 on amazon soo

 

To decorate for a betta, you can also go with plants instead of hides. Anubias and apongeton both grow in such a way that its easy for a betta to use them for hiding purposes