Unfortunately, I have to agree with Amber. You didn't rescue either of them, you just put them in a slightly less disgusting situation. But only slightly.
Trust me though, I understand where you are coming from also. Try looking on craigslist, they often times have 50gal tanks for $50-100 which is very cheap and a tank size you definitely need. They also come with stands, filters, gravel, etc. it just takes a little bit of searching.
However, sucker fish (plecos) and goldfish are extremely messy fish. They produce a lot of waste and a filter is needed to take care of that waste. It's a long process, it's called the nitrogen cycle and I highly suggest you learn about it if you plan to keep these fish and give them proper care.
Because no, water conditioner will not replace a filter. Both are required to keep happy and healthy fish. If you can't afford a proper environment for these two (they need separate tanks too, btw, for more than one reason) I suggest you start looking into rehoming them both.
There are a lot of fish forums out there, you might get lucky.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.