Cheap Pico Aquariums

I have recently been seeing some questions regarding inexpensive pico aquariums (a "pico" aquarium is generally an aquarium that holds 5.5 gallons or less of water). Personally, I can't see spending more than $1-$3 a gallon for an aquarium unless it comes with a light, or filtration system, etc this is because I can buy a $10 10-gallon aquarium at Petco with my bonus card (as a side note, a 10-gallon aquarium would be classified as a "nano" aquarium).

-The cheapest pico aquariums I have seen are typically at WalMart where they're often on clearance, their are many different types to choose from.

-Another idea (which I've done) for an easy cheap DIY pico tank is to purchase this $12 container of Ferrero Rocher's chocolates, although it does cost a little under $12 you do get to enjoy 27 chocolates while you create your pico (ok, you don't have to eat them all at once, haha). Just remove all the contents and stickers from the plastic container and you have yourself a nice small pico aquarium with a lid (you could even reattach the bow if you want to give someone a small fish as a gift!).

-Another route you could take would be to use some type of clear food container or similar (try the dollar stores!).

-Other places you may find things you can make a pico aquarium out of would be craft stores, yard sales, antique shops, and even some thrift stores.

Aquarium Lighting

After a visit to my cousins house recently and hearing my Mother exclaim "Wow, you can really see the fish in his tank!" it made me think how my aquarium lights were lacking in brightness. Then again, I had been going for a faux blackwater style setup awhile back and have become a bit bored with that at the moment. So, I came across an interesting little post while surfing the net about some great cheap aquarium light bulbs at... Walmart of all places. I couldn't help but check out these bulbs at my local Walmart, and well... I'll let you be the bulb judge here (you may be just as shocked as I was!).

Current Aquarium Lighting.
Two of IKEA's G4 12V LED's (these bulbs do not last long!), possibly comparable to these...

Started off with this Aquarium Lighting.
Two, 25W Blue Incandescent Aquarium Bulbs...

Second choice to lighting my Aquarium in the past.
A Single Fluorescent Tube (light bulb came with that unit)...

My most recent light venture.
Two of Walmart's, 10W Aquarium Bulbs (these may be comparable to Aqueon's Colormax)...

Yes, I do realize that these photo's may look like I had went from a dirty looking aquarium to a clean aquarium but it's honestly just the difference that lighting can make.