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I would like to take a moment to express frustration on two different subjects which are related: the cost and manufacture of furniture, and freshwater aquariums.

On furniture: I figured I'd have to buy a little end table or a nightstand to support this aquarium. It'll be between 40 - 50 pounds. Not too bad, right? It doesn't have to be an architectural marvel, it just has to, say, support the weight of a toddler. But to buy something in solid wood, now that's a problem. I found something at the Macy's site for $150 (originally $440) and something at City Furniture for $200 that is actually a nightstand that fits the same collection as the rest of my living room furniture. $200 is way too much, though, $150 is the maximum I'm willing to spend. But the Macy's table will cost $85 to ship. Let that sink in for a moment. Even if I spent $440 for a table, I would not buy it because like hell am I paying $85 to ship something. $85 is how much I want to spend total! It's more than the aquarium I'm buying it for!

Where the heck was I gonna get a table? Why is it so hard? I had trouble buying furniture for myself when I was just setting up, but I keep forgetting how the fiberboard junk keeps going up and up in price, pushing the real stuff further and further away in terms of expense. No, I don't think a fiberboard table is worth $80. What the hell are you smoking if you think that stuff has any inherent value? Maybe my fiberboard shelving can hold 50 pounds. I don't want to test that with a $100 aquarium or 6 gallons of water that will end up all over my hardwood floors. I just bought those shelves as a stopgap until I found some real drawers or shelves to put next to my desk. Maybe I should just put this aquarium on my media console behind me, where I'll never see it.

I was about to give up when I unpacked my shelves from Home Decorators Collection-- solid wood (I have the bruises on my arms to prove how solid they are). A catalogue fell out of the box. "Hey. Yeah!" Most of the tables I looked at were around $100 with $20 for shipping and they were solid wood. Finally. A sensible retailer!

So now I have a tentative table, but I need to find the stuff to put in the aquarium. I've been to several stores already, and they are all for saltwater. Aquarium Mart is by the university, and I figure that lots of uni students have fish, so surely they'll do freshwater, right? Especially with the proliferation of nano filtered tanks for bettas.

...Yeah, no. The guy tells me people just don't do freshwater in Miami. The cruel irony here is, I went freshwater because it's easier/cheaper than getting a saltwater, but ultimately the saltwater would've been easier because there are a ton of stores I could buy from and the only people who cater to freshwater are big chain pet stores. If I had just waited until I got a job and shelled out the cash for a 55 gallon saltwater, I'd actually be able to buy things in person! Unbelievable. So much for freshwater being for beginners. Fortunately he gave me some good hints-- use a pond substrate from Home Depot, and a Pet Supermarket 4 miles west of my apartment is actually pretty awesome according to this guy*. Aside from that, though, everything I want needs to be shipped to me. Can you imagine, shipping in $2 fish?

*He had a really great store. A lot of the stores I've been to are great, but I'm partial to this one because he was super nice and he had a fish I've had my eye on for years: a marine betta. They're even cooler in person, just a big round fish with white spots. Of course, another store had princess parrots which are super nostalgic for me (I have no intention of ever keeping parrots), so... yeah. Everyone's got something. Except freshwater.