Definitely do not do tapes.
I’d also recommend Backblaze. Their S3 compatible storage is pretty affordable. I backup to a Kopia repo and then replicate to Backblaze nightly.
Tapes require so much more work to keep up to date and mght not even be cheaper over time.
I really like using the PopShell extension on Gnome. I’m hoping it doesn’t die out when Pop moves to their new Cosmic DE. So far I still prefer Gnome.