Do I stay in the hobby or leave it--the cost of a cannister

[2329]

I'm at a crossroads...

Right now I have one fish. (gravel, etc. was cleared out for a makeover)
A used 55g w/ stand
A good in-line heater
My canister is dying of a mortal leak. It's not likely to last more than a week.

Do I buy a new canister (there's one on sale, I don't know when it'll go on sale again, a good name, over $130 in savings) or do I shrink everything down to a 20L and just kind of limp along or do I get out of the hobby, loosing a few good friends, a secondary hobby and a nice place to hang out? It's one of two hobbies kind of keeping me sane. Are all those things worth $173? Is it worth $173-odd to get a good filter and stay in the hobby or not? It's a lot of money. I rarely buy myself anything, but I'm also in a bit of a financial pinch. I've been in the hobby for several decades. I'd been planning a tank make-over (so I sold off things), planning to buy fish (when I can find them locally)--this would eat up about 2/3 of my budget. If I can rationalize spending the money, I'll be able to afford probably just fish and a bit of driftwood, after buying the filter (which is said to reduce the fish workload dramatically.) What do I do?

I need a few good opinions to help sort my head out, please.

Thanks!

[2329]

Decided to take a chance on it. Turns out i like my fish people too much, so I'll just pinch pennies in other ways.

[naturalart]

I think you made a good move. There have been studies that show fish keeping lowers your blood pressure. It relaxes you. If you haven't already, you should join your local fish club if at all possible. Then you would have a larger pool of people who you could potentially, trade and swap with. Believe me you can find killer deals, as aquarist generally, tend to 'take care' of aquarist. I mean, after all, having good friends and good health is priceless.

[exasperatus2002]

check craigslist. people are always selling equip there or on aquabid. you might score a replacement for less then a new one. Good luck.

[JamesFish]

I hope you stay in the hobby as its a real pleasure to watch even the more basic fish in a home tank when they are happy and healthy. Its a stress putting them right if not.

Can't comment on where to source filters for you but if a canister is out reach perhaps an internal would keep you ticking till happier days.