Buy quality components. Buy them one at a time if you must. It is
certainly cheaper in the long run. The Wal-Mart complete setups are a place
to start but, the tank is not that great quality, the stands are terrible
(but they don't fall ;-), and you will find the pumps, heaters, etc. to be
the very minimum level of quality - just enough to keep from killing fish
regularly.

Find a couple of local fish stores near where you live. Buy a tank and
stand there. Buy a really good quality tank and stand first because once
you have it you never replace it. You will spend many hours a week looking
at it so, make sure it is the best quality you can afford (within reason).
I recently purchased a 50 gallon tank for $100. I really like the extra
height and depth of these tanks. A 24 inch tall "show" tank has a lot of
visual appeal for a main living area. The stands run ~$120 to $150 for an
enclosed model (same tank size).

Now, once you recover from that financial outlay, get a good filter and
heater. The Emperor 400 from Marineland is solid starting point and runs
$40 from http://www.bigalsonline.com, add a Rena heater ~$20 from the same
place, some dechlorinator, and fish food you are at ~$80 with shipping. I
like to add a small Tetra DeepWater air pump with a rectangular air stone
(1inch by 6 inch) for those tiny bubbles and the visual appeal and you're
done at about $100.

Now, add the water and let the tank sit about week to cycle through any
"bloom" that might occur. Now you're ready to add a few fish (not more then
4) to get the tank started right. I would suggest viewing all the fish at
several pet stores at least once a week for a couple of weeks before you buy
some. Find fish that are appealing to you and, try to avoid the "Noah's
Ark" syndrome with one or two from each species. Right now I'm into large
groups of schooling Tetra's myself and find their behavior to be much
different in large groups versus isolation in an ocean of many. If you mix
fish, make sure they are compatible (i.e. you are not buying expensive
feeder fish for an aggressive predator in the tank - like Barbs and Neon
Tetra's or similar bad combinations).

wrote in message
om...
Hello,

I currently live in Phoenix, AZ and I was wondering if anyone had any
advice about stores locally that have friendly service, knowledge, and
good prices. Please let me know if anyone has had any good
experiences here in the area.

Or if you are looking to sell an old tank, I would be interested.

Thank you,
Matt