Ok, I have had enough - have been trying to cycle a new planted tank for a month (fishlessly, that is, and with tetra safe start, but that's another topic), and am just fed up. Therefore:
10 gallon tank with standard hood, $20
manual gravel vac (retail$10), $3
tetra submersible aquarium heater, 50 watt (up to 10 gals) $10
large bottle of Tetra Aquasafe, $5
small bottles of the following are gently used, I haven't done much with most of this stuff:
API test kits for nitrite, nitrate, pHDown, nutrafin plant gro, API algaefix, box of maracyn2, wardley betta pellets and dried blood worms, 7 day betta blocks --- all of it $15 or $3 each