My way of answering this would be to share pictures of my bird room which would give everyone an idea about me & my experience. I haven't posted complete pictures of my setup yet because I wanted to be sure to wait until it was finished and we had moved into our new house. I specifically didn't want any half-completed photos circulating to confuse people. As of a couple weeks ago, it's finally complete. The biggest hangup was finding out how to hang hundreds of dollars worth of shelves on 100-year-old walls without studs. That's right, I said NO studs. Lots of little hangups included finding specific drill bits we didn't have, buying bulbs for the lights which weren't included, etc.
I still have a few changes to make, like hiding the wires and covering the power strip. These are also not all of my individual cages, some live in other parts of the house. I have tried introducing cages to the hand-tame Finches, but so far Miles is the only one who will use them so I keep 1 handy for him and any babies I might be raising. I also have another hexagon aviary that I haven't set up yet and am highly procrastinating on.
I used Exo-Terra lights which are marketed to reptiles, but they work the exact same as the featherbrite lights - only better. They have the best coverage and are compatible with any 13-26 watt basic CFL bulbs, including the UVA/UVB versions. The lights are about $25 each including shipping @ Amazon.
I used fresh Manzanita branches for the perches inside of the cages as well as the perches outside of the cages for the free-flying hand-tame Finches, which I bought on ebay. I asked the seller multiple questions to make sure they were untreated first. They're very malleable or 'bendy' when they first arrive - really easy to manipulate and they smell so fresh. I also used Maple branches for some of the cages, which fell from a tree we used to live near.
This is the aviary I made out of 2 - 30x18x36 cages from LL (local retailer). My original idea was to save money on an aviary but since LL only does orders of 3 I ended up paying about $150 with shipping which is the same price as an aviary. Lol! I also gave away the 3rd cage to someone with Weavers.
The way the aviary is secured is via zip ties to keep it together, and 2 small hooks on either side which are screwed into the wall to keep it from bowing or leaning forward.
I think seeing my bird room as it's finished really explains a lot about my personal beliefs about breeding & general care.
Your comments are really kind & are also refreshing my excitement. 