i got an empty 180 gal at my grandparents in need of some repair (needs to be resealed, pretty easy fix tbh). not sure if i should sell it or hang on to it for later. **** was free, i pulled it off someone's curb on trash day a few years ago.
DEFINITELY look on craigslist. ive found so many insane deals on there for tanks. you can find some that need minor repair for next to nothing.
edit: zebra pleco is like what, 200 bucks max? that isnt too bad (i am pretty anti-pleco so it does not matter to me). you wanna talk expensive freshwater?
large widebar dat, about $600-over a grand. you can get a small one for a couple hundred but they grow real slowly
now, really expensive, especially in this part of the world, asian arows. talking thousands here for rare specimens
then there are koi, which are in a league of their own. 10s of thousands of dollars for pretty carp? pass