i had a 72g bowfront with a 40g breeder as a filter.. just paid for plexiglass, pvc pipes and some shop tube lights. the 72 was given to me.. the 40g i had, everything else i had.. plants were given to me from clippings of a friend, pump i already owned, so setting up everything was literally buying plexi, some pipes to cut down as a dock and the bulbs for the plants. the tank was crystal clear the entire time i owned it until i had to move and couldnt take the setup with.