My father & my brother always had fish tanks but I never did until September of last year. My 10 year old son asked for one for his birthday and he was doing well in school & we bribe him like that, don't judge 
Anyway, I found an already setup 20 gallon with plants, river rock, stand, hood, filter, air pump, and even came with a few fish. I already roughly knew I needed a "cycled" tank & that my son would be turned off to the hobby if he had to wait for a cycle or watch fish die so I bought it for $100. He was originally asking $150. The fish it came with were (1) Platinum Sailfin Molly that hid all the time, (5) Neons, (1) Glowlight, (2) Black Kuhlis, (1) Oto, and (3) Ghost Shrimp.
I got the bug to buy a larger tank for the master bedroom and the wife agreed so I found a great deal on a brand new 36 gal bowfront with stand, etc. This would be my first tank that was officially mine & I technically bought it for myself for my birthday, with the wife's approval of course
After some misadvantures with sick fish & mystery fluctuations in my new tank's readings, I decided I needed a hospital tank & found a complete 10 gallon setup brand new for $45 including everything but substrate. I instantly cycled that tank with donated media from the others.
My son's new female Molly was now spitting out fry so I got a fry net & put them in the new hospital tank with a couple of tankmates. Soon that tank was overstocked & I started looking for another 20 gallon to spread them out in. I found a used tank on Craigslist that included nothing but I had accumilated extra stuff & had most of everything I needed to get that tank fired up within a week.
I have future plans for a very long in my home office, maybe a 4 foot 75 gallon or even a 6 foot 100 gallon. I've come to realize that length is better than height, since most of my favorite fish prefer a larger footprint to actual depth.
My father says the same thing...... I don't think they even had chlorine in the water back then, or at least not to the extent they do today. He somehow kept Angels, Kissing Gouramis, Sharks, anmd various oddball catfsih alive in a 55 gallon without doing much of anything but feeding them.
Anyway, I found an already setup 20 gallon with plants, river rock, stand, hood, filter, air pump, and even came with a few fish. I already roughly knew I needed a "cycled" tank & that my son would be turned off to the hobby if he had to wait for a cycle or watch fish die so I bought it for $100. He was originally asking $150. The fish it came with were (1) Platinum Sailfin Molly that hid all the time, (5) Neons, (1) Glowlight, (2) Black Kuhlis, (1) Oto, and (3) Ghost Shrimp.
I got the bug to buy a larger tank for the master bedroom and the wife agreed so I found a great deal on a brand new 36 gal bowfront with stand, etc. This would be my first tank that was officially mine & I technically bought it for myself for my birthday, with the wife's approval of course
After some misadvantures with sick fish & mystery fluctuations in my new tank's readings, I decided I needed a hospital tank & found a complete 10 gallon setup brand new for $45 including everything but substrate. I instantly cycled that tank with donated media from the others.
My son's new female Molly was now spitting out fry so I got a fry net & put them in the new hospital tank with a couple of tankmates. Soon that tank was overstocked & I started looking for another 20 gallon to spread them out in. I found a used tank on Craigslist that included nothing but I had accumilated extra stuff & had most of everything I needed to get that tank fired up within a week.
I have future plans for a very long in my home office, maybe a 4 foot 75 gallon or even a 6 foot 100 gallon. I've come to realize that length is better than height, since most of my favorite fish prefer a larger footprint to actual depth.
My father says the same thing...... I don't think they even had chlorine in the water back then, or at least not to the extent they do today. He somehow kept Angels, Kissing Gouramis, Sharks, anmd various oddball catfsih alive in a 55 gallon without doing much of anything but feeding them.
