So I just got $4800 for doing nothing...

To be more precise, I found out I got a $4800 university grant (you don't need to pay back 100%) two days ago simply for applying for financial aid (I have some financial need).

I study business, so I have all the finances worked out in repaying my student loans when I graduate. In short, I pretty much have $3000 to do whatever with. I'm planning on saving $2000 for repayment of student loans / expenses, $1000 for SPENDING. The remainder was used for part of current tuition fee.

Catch my drift????? I could seriously afford to upgrade my current 20G from super low budget/everything DIY/ natural system to pressurised C02, fertilizers, real plant substrate, upgraded lighting, etc. Or even better yet, upgrade to a larger tank! If you have seen my 20g, it looks like Dr. Frankenstein's edition of an aquarium.

Extremely ugly 45W DIY lighting system: 2 scavenged kitchen cabinet hood lights / 1 used, self-retro-fitted aquarium light system / all nailed to $1 Home Depot wood canopy / maybe 1/2 of lights don't enter tank thanks to zero reflectors, massive gaps in canopy, less-than-optimal positioning of the Normal-Output 2700K, 15W Phillips For-Aquarium/Plant fluorscent tubes.
DIY Yeast-based C02 system: 2 litre soda bottle / silicon seals attached to aquarium tubing / bell-diffuser made with water bottle cut in half
Classic Iron-work Stand that's starting to bend and lean to the right causing the tank water to be slightly off-level.
Home Depot $5 Sand-blasting Sand substrate (I bought it thinking it was cheaper than LFS over-priced gravel).
Oh and for ferts / food / filtering---fish poop, detritus / flakes / HOB w/ sponge foam, ceramic media + sponge filter

On the other hand, I don't have to upgrade the current system. Instead, I can continue to learn more about everything, then brood all day about the dream tank. Then spend all the money partying, gaming, handing out to forum members, going out, partying. I love my ugly 20g aquarium, but it won't do my fish and plants justice leaving it in this state.

What should I do? Wait for a few months or a year, dreaming about the future upgrade? I would like to know what your dream aquariums would be like.

Here is a picture of the first tank that got me started into this crazy hobby. BTW Must have spooked the fish w/ camera flash at 4am.:

Is this need-based or merit-based financial aid? If the former, do you really need it since you say "I have all the finances worked out in repaying my student loans when I graduate. In short, I pretty much have $3000 to do whatever with."

Ethics aside (since those are self-determined for the most part), I don't know what legal repercussions there are on posting on a public forum with regards to receiving financial aid to which you may not be entitled. But then again, I'm 99% sure that your school doesn't know you as dekstr so they prolly won't ever find out.

But if the financial aid/grant is merit-based, go hog-wild on a new tank, I guess.

Squirrel, he is in Canado so it could be different there.

In the US the Grants automatically go first to the schooling, then you end up with the left over/loans for personal expenses. In the US the average student who gets full financial aid recieves $3,000 to $4,000 for living expenses, many don't need that much as they live with family, friends, etc... This is a standard here at least and as far as the government is concerned the student can do whatever they choose with the money.

You usually get stipends that are intended to go towards things like food. If he chooses to use it on a planted tank, hey, that's his business

The grant is financial based. Basically they give you the money, and it's up to you to choose what to do with it. They don't care what you do about the money since you don't have to pay it back. Ethically, it's for school-related expenses. So that includes tuition fees, living expenses, general entertainment expense, etc. When I work out the math, leaving aside $1000 for general expense means also paying for transportation, food, and other basic necessities for the year seems pretty reasonable. The $2000 is strictly for future expected tuition fees and book costs.

The $1000 includes entertainment expense, and since the school can't tell you how you can have your entertainment, this is my form of entertainment. So it's perfectly fine to use the money for this. It's not like I'm going to blow a couple hundred dollars on one silly fish tank, I still have other more important things to pay for. Sorry if I was misleading you guys.

Call this lab fees. your educational project is creating a aquatic bioscape.
Get yourself a nice custom made 150 gallon drop 500 or so on lighting. few hundred more on CO2 and filtration.etc etc etc Plants of the rare sort. ahh yeah.. what I would do with 4K and this hobby....