How Do You Afford...

[Harif87]

You can always join a local Freecycle group. There is one where you live. People offer things they don't want anymore or ask for things they need. All free. You just say you're interested and if you're first in line they will contact you with details. My group had 3 offers of free tanks this week alone.

What how do i find one near me? and once i find one how can i become a part of it?

 

[Fella]

I can't see it being more expensive than other hobbies to be honest. For instance, how much money must people my age spend on modifying their cars? More than I spend on my fishkeeping thats for sure.

 

[geo7x]

true, and there are people who go out drinking and smoking and what have you.

 

[OohFeeshy]

I use ambient room temp. to heat tanks when I can get away with it, and buy the cheapest heaters, buy as much second hand as I can, use whatever as tanks (including the poly box my fish delivery came in, any food grade plastic containers, spare jars, bottles etc.), I'm planning on getting lots of 7g plastic containers for fish as most of the ones I would like to keep are luckilly quite small, filtering them with sponge filters (quite effective and v. cheap) and breeding as many of them as I can, I buy things that can be boguht as non-fish specific at cheap shops like Wilkinsons (things like pots, fake plants etc.) and generally scrimp and save, have no social life, and buy nothing else much. My budget is about £20 per month.

 

[willtang3000]

my loving parents and knowing good wholesalers is really a good trick as you get so many things cheap

 

[madmom]

You can always join a local Freecycle group. There is one where you live. People offer things they don't want anymore or ask for things they need. All free. You just say you're interested and if you're first in line they will contact you with details. My group had 3 offers of free tanks this week alone.

What how do i find one near me? and once i find one how can i become a part of it?

You just type in your cityor county and freecycle or if nothing shows up the nearest city or county to you. When it comes up just click join. The people in these groups give away lots of things like furniture , pets, etc. You can also post asking for certain things too. I've only seen 10-20 gal tanks and some fish stands. Patience sems to be the key eventually they turn up.

 

[dgwebster]

for me its what you spend money on.

have:

quit smoking to get more money for my fish (and the fish in turn help me calm when i want to smoke )

watch where you spend money. an example is ive just blown the cylinder head gasket on my car last night (whilst on the motorway :eek ) and am considering using buses for the next month instead of fixing it in order to buy the filter i need for the 47 gallon tank. either that, or getting a loan for a new car, and adding a *tiny* bit on top of the loan for a whole new setup.

 

[PlecMama]

I afford it by having no social life what so ever my life consists of going to work, eating, feeding the fish and sleeping, and when i'm not doing any of those things im either on here or at the supermarket or LFS. I dont have foreign holidays, i dont own a car and i dont do anything else that costs money if i can help it.

That is SO like us too, except we bought a 200 quid car off ebay the other month. We don't go out in it though, it's just an incentive car, I am taking lessons. That's what I define as "going out", lol, once a week Steve comes and gets me in the little blue driving school car and I have my "fun night out".

Oh and of course we have Dylan & Sasha who take a large chunk of our time but are totally worth the effort

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I do OK from xmas and bday pressies, my birthday's in July so I know every 6 months I've a wedge of money coming, use that for the initial outlay on setting up a new tank and the maintenance costs aren't too bad. I have a monthly spending money budget, if I need something for the tanks it goes on that, if not I buy shoes and clothes....... only problem is my house gets a bit neglected, there's so many things I need I never get round to getting cos I always want more fish.

 

[4ftguppy]

join a fish club / aquarist society.

As a young member people will fall over themselves to keep you hooked - donating fish, tanks, plants etc.

Tanks and equipment are always hanging around my local dump. Help your parents clear out the garden, and take a trip to the dump with them. If you work hard you might earn enough for a whole setup

My dump sells tanks for a few pounds - make sure they are not too scratched, or leaking (even leaky ones can be fixed with new sealant). Theres always a few in when I go.

 

[dgwebster]

That's what I define as "going out", lol, once a week Steve comes and gets me in the little blue driving school car and I have my "fun night out".

We al know your type!!! Try it with the examiner though, thats the one you need to persuede lol!!!

actually im good friends with an instructor and some of the stories he has come away with have been hilareous.

 

[dwarfgourami]

I was lucky enough to get some unexpected proofreading work this year, which is how my Rio 240 is going to happen. Otherwise, I would have had to just stay with the small tanks and enjoy them.

 

[Nina]

Alot of our tanks and equipment is second hand. We are luck to have an LFS which sells just about everything second hand including some fish!

Buy as much as you second hand and the rest is built up over time. We (and that is the royal we as I surpervise and Andy builds) all of our stands ourself and don't buy shop ones.

As for sumps and anything that can be done DIY we do it DIY. Save loads that way.

 

[andywg]

I afford it by having no social life what so ever my life consists of going to work, eating, feeding the fish and sleaping, and when i'm not doing any of those things im either on here or at the supermarket or LFS. I dont have foreign holidays, i dont own a car and i dont do anything else that costs money if i can help it.

*CoughDrinking!Cough*

B)

 

[Mr Short Radius]

Get good grades, go to collage, and get a good job. I'm sure you've heard all that before, you'll be the one to benefit. I'm new to this hobby and i'm getting hooked pretty badly. I just dumped $1000 into my first tank and it's just the beginning. My girlfriend was pretty pissed off though. Oh well.