Cheapest tank build is a puny 2.5 with pvc pipe decor with a single guppy. Holding tank I guess.
what is the cheapest fish tank build that you have ever done?
- Thread starter neontetraking
- Start date
The cheapest tank I ever built was a jar from someone's recycling bin and put rocks and plants from outside. I kept 3 ghost shrimp in there. Which cost 10 cents each. lol
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.
I've been gifted tanks, fish & equipment several times, including from a LFS, & I've given sometimes as well, karma, baby! A big stash of "fish stuff" in the garage, I've paid nothing for a tank or fish a few times 
& a few times just for special fish I wanted from hobbyist breeders or LFS. My best "purchase" was probably a custom 40g long rimless, a 10g & equipment for $5. I just happened to be on a walk & saw a garage sale...It helps to have room to store "treasures" until you need them...& to belong to clubs, I almost never buy plants. There are many generous people you just need to know them...
& a few times just for special fish I wanted from hobbyist breeders or LFS. My best "purchase" was probably a custom 40g long rimless, a 10g & equipment for $5. I just happened to be on a walk & saw a garage sale...It helps to have room to store "treasures" until you need them...& to belong to clubs, I almost never buy plants. There are many generous people you just need to know them...Building your own fish tank is not only very rewarding but can save you a pretty penny as well. It may seem very complicated, but in reality, if you are armed with patience and motivation there isn't an easier task.
You for sure tend to accumulate enough gear to create "free" setups as time goes on.
I have paid retail for some smaller tanks over the years, with my 75gal being one of them, but most of my 55's and under were purchased during $1/gal sales. I tend to re-use gravel and decor and I haven't paid for a plant in years.
The only fish food I buy somewhat regularly is for my oscar and severum. A bag of hikari bio gold+ lasts about 3-4 months for them. I buy large cans of omega one flake or dry foods and keep what I'm not using sealed and in the freezer.
Probably the lowest tech and least expensive setup I had for a year or so was a ~2.5gal bowl, with one of those utility clamp lights above it with a 75w equivalent LED bulb and a sponge bubbler filter for filtration. I kept red cherry shrimp and eventually some guppies in there. It was loaded with java moss and had some natural colored gravel in the bottom.
I have paid retail for some smaller tanks over the years, with my 75gal being one of them, but most of my 55's and under were purchased during $1/gal sales. I tend to re-use gravel and decor and I haven't paid for a plant in years.
The only fish food I buy somewhat regularly is for my oscar and severum. A bag of hikari bio gold+ lasts about 3-4 months for them. I buy large cans of omega one flake or dry foods and keep what I'm not using sealed and in the freezer.
Probably the lowest tech and least expensive setup I had for a year or so was a ~2.5gal bowl, with one of those utility clamp lights above it with a 75w equivalent LED bulb and a sponge bubbler filter for filtration. I kept red cherry shrimp and eventually some guppies in there. It was loaded with java moss and had some natural colored gravel in the bottom.
