Hey..I"m sure we all use our lfs for a ton of stuff. Afterall, there IS a limit where shipping costs outweigh savings of purchases online. However, this is not the cheapest hobby and you have to use some shopping savvy or you won't be able to get that larger tank you want. Eg....my 'lfs' had the 24 gallon Nano Cube for sale for $399. With 8 1/2% NY sales tax, that totals $433. The same tank on Ebay was $290 with free shipping. That $143 savings buys a lot of filter media AT THE LOCAL LFS. SH