Where did it all begin?

[ReefLady]

This hobby, for you… wondering how you got hooked.

Me? I got hooked when I was curing some LR for a FOWLR tank and a bunch of blue mushrooms popped their little heads up. In retrospect, maybe mushrooms are the most expensive corals in the world, considering what a gateway drug they are.

I started keeping SW fish in high school. With disastrous results back then, but I sure was hooked. I lived near the ocean in Corpus Christi, and my friend and I would go collect with a seine net. Or I would just throw a cast net into the canal we lived on.

Your turn, if you feel like sharing.

 

[ScottT1980]

Good thread!

Many know my story:
The seed was planted when I was studying abroad in Belize about 4 years ago. I then started to get into local species tanks but pinfish and spots get old after a while. I then saw a full blown reef at aquamain in Greensboro, NC and the rest is pretty much history.

Almost everything I learned was through either RAG or here and so the entire progression of my love and knowledge for this hobby is documented. Funny to read some of my first threads but hey, everyone starts as a newbie

 

[Gumby]

Amen ScottT1980

About 7 years ago, I got real bored with fresh water and wanted to try my hand with just a FO, I made lots of mistakes not really getting the right info, not reading enough books. I didn't know about live rock. I purchase a piece of liverock which looked real nice and had bugs (pods) everywhere in my tank!!. I can't tell you how much time I spent trying to get rid of them; if I only knew.

When I found RAG and then this site, it was a godsend. Thanks ALL. I still don't know enough about this "black hole for $$" (wife's term) hobby, but I get more info daily from you all.

 

[Icebox]

Yes, great thread...

I owe my tank to a friend... Used to be a dear friend till he cost me an arm and a leg... Anyway he gave me a 29-gallon tank. I thought it was so big... I wanted to have SW fish.

Well let’s see, in the last 4 years I had upgraded to a 55, a 75, and now I am looking for a 180... That should do it for a while till I buy a bigger house...

Needless to say I should not have tried to run the 29 as a FO tank, but it worked fairly well for the damsels I had.

I was hooked in 96 way before I ever had a tank though... as I was out in LA and staying with a guy that had a 75 gallon reef. I was memorized by his tank. The colors that were present, and the movement was just fascinating. I sat there and stared at his tank for hours... I knew right then that I wanted a tank like that in my LR. I am still working on it, but so far my tank has come a long way, and I like it...

There is still so so so so so much to learn...

 

[Witfull]

condensed version- me as a kid growing up in Samoa and hawaii. 'nuff said...LOL

 

[Reefguard]

I started when I was in Grade school back in the Philippine when my Mom brought home a 20 gallon tank. I kept Kois but couldn't keep anything alive.

When I moved here in the States I lost interest then about 8 years ago my neighbor gave a 20 gallon long I think. I started with Fresh water fish then I got bored with it rather quickly so I tried FO. I killled everyfish I put in my tank. Then I found out about sites like this and I started learning a lot from it and also buying and reading magazines and such.

So I decided to get a 55 galon tank and I took the plunge. I tell you, that was the most expensive decision I have ever made but it is all worth it.

Noel

 

[sharks]

Great thread Trav

Well I was keeping FW fish all my life. I think my first tank was a 20G when I was 5.
Well I was in my LFS about 11 years ago and the owner came up and asked if I would like to work there. I was thrilled, hated my current job, and started the next week.
Within 3 months I got my first SW tank. My 220G FO system.
I figured get the biggest right from the start since I pay wholesale and I was well paid for a fish guy
11 years later and I’m still at the LFS and love it.
I have learned so much from the store and all of you here and elsewhere on the net.
For that I thank you
Keep on Reefing!

 

[EdgeKrusher]

Well for Christmas 2002 my girlfriend got me a 12 gallon eclipse. I think she figured I'd like it after standing in front of the reef fish exhibit for over 2 hours. the tank started out as fresh water, but I soon became bored with that (are we seeing a pattern here, LOL). We stopped in the LFS and that was that. I went home, got rid of all my fresh water fish. and started my Nano which is now 13 months old. One of the employees at the LFS told me about ReefCentral. Somehow I ended up here... which is a very good thing. I've learned so much, but at the same time it's so little compared to others. I don't regret spending the money I've put into this aquarium cuz it's good therapy... and stress... but good none the less.

 

[ReefLady]

Originally posted by EdgeKrusher
it's good therapy... and stress... but good none the less.

Amen to that.

 

[wooddood]

well for me it all started a couple of years ago with a freshwater tank a 55 gal, then last year my mother in law had a 35 gal tall freshwater tank she did'nt want anymore so we said we would take it. started the 35 with saltwater and very soon after turned the 55 into a salt tank so we had a 35 and a 55 salt tank running at the same time. then my lfs needed some work done on a rental property he owned. he also had a 120 gal tank stand in his store so we worked a trade for the tank and some lights,skimmer ect. the rest is history. im in to deep to quit now lol. but would'nt anyway i love this hobby. well thats my story and im stickin to it lol.

 

[Tarasco]

I've posted this story before, but this seems like an appropriate place to put it as well...

It all started when I began dating my current fiance. She had one of those betta bowls with the glass seperating them, so there could be three in the same little 2 gallon tank, and they would flare up when they saw each other. I loved this. So for my birthday, she bought me one of these tanks that could hold 6 of them.

This lead to a natural progression of research and learning more about fish, tanks, and reefs on the net. Around this time, we were hanging out at a mexican food joint when we took a look at their saltwater tank. Had an anenome, clownfish, some softies, shrimp, and the one fish that she loved, a flame hawk. We actually would go to this place and eat just so she could see her "swim and sit" fish. This started the "I want one of those fish" and my beginning to additional researchon saltwater tanks.

Well, my original little tank became her office tank (now with tetras), and I did research. Originally I was planning on a 55, but when we were at the LFS, she pointed to the 90 and said "I like the bigger one." Don't we all And that's how I got where I am now.

 

[BoomerD]

As a kid, I used to do very well with the goldfish I'd win at carnivals, and grow them until they were too big for the fish bowl, then trade them in on smaller ones. I got into freshwateer tanks pretty big time in the 70's and had a pretty good angelfish breding operation going for a few years. During the 80's, I got serious about the hobby, started breeding the then rare discus as well as the angels, then fell completely off my rocker and started keeping salt water fish. Bought a 100 gallon acrylic all decked out, wet-dry, fancy lights and all. Just f/o with a thin layer of puka shell gravel for looks. No skimmer...they were still "experimental" and only for rich people. I was one of the first people in our aquarium society with a "trickle filter". Woo-Woo!!
Started a 20 gallon anemonarium. with 20 lbs of rock, 1 BTA and a pair of Clarkii clowns, ended up with about a dozen splits from that anemone, and sold them eithr back to the store, or to other hobbists. The clowns spawned every 2 or 3 weeks on the rocks, and just made good fish food for the rest of the tank. My psychedelic goby (mandarin) lived there for 4 yrs. Had my first protein skimmer on this tank. SKILTER!! Found out quickly what crap they were, and did the airstone mod. Bought a Sanders in-tank co-current skimmer, and that really rocked! Paid close to $50.00 for it, and it was something! Finally had to get out of the hobby in the mid 90's because work took me away from home all the time, and my wife had a huge garage sale while I was gone. All the fish stuff I collected over the years... gone for a few bux.
Stayed out until about Nov. 2002, and fell off the wagon again, and still at it. Now, the doctors are seriously talking about back surgery, and that will force me out of the hobby for good I fear.

 

[jimeluiz]

Some of you have read this before. Our intrigue with reefs started while snorkeling in southern Thailand a couple of years ago. :snrkl:

The next year, while snorkeling off the coast of Brazil we were fortunate to come across a pair of sea horses. They were incredible and blew us away.

The following Xmas I thought I would give Luiz a "gift certificate" redeamable for a complete reef setup. Little did I know what that was going to cost me! :smack:

But we have all been living happily ever after...

 

[addict]

My addiction started a little over a year ago...

I have a friend who was reef-sitting for a friend of his while he was away over Christmas break (he's a student), and he took my wife and I over one night to see his tank.
We stood, mesmerized for at least an hour... half the tank was xenia at the time, and we just couldn't tear our eyes away from the pulsing motion... then the wife said "We need to get one of these"... and at that moment I knew I had married the right woman.

The rest is pretty much history.

 

[Gina]

My first fish were like some of you. Throwing a ping pong ball into a small bowl and taking home a goldfish from the carnival. I got a FO tank back in 1978 I think it was a 20g. Not knowing the first thing about anything I went to work one day and it got really hot (I lived in a mobile home) needless to say, when I got home all fish were floating! My next tank came about 1992. FO again. I did well with that tank but, kept seeing all these beautiful fish in the salt water section and finally decided I had to have one. I got my first SW tank about 1995. Had a few pieces of LR , an undergravel water filter and a couple of power heads. I did everything wrong and surprising all fish did very well even the anenome that I got after the tank was set up for only a month. Kept this tank for a year and was talked into selling it.
Then last July Mark and I went into our LFS to pick up some turtle food and the bug caught me again. Once again, started out buying everything before reading or researching first. Bought everything the employee told me I needed to buy. Then one day one of the employees that work there told me about Reef Central. I checked it out and joined. Through RC I found a link to RS and here I am.

I do wish I would have thought things through first before diving in again. I've wasted alot of money in the beginning. If only I could start over! I've learned quite a bit but, have a long road ahead! But, that's good! I love watching my tank and look forward to getting a bigger and better one in the future!

 

[Cosmic]

I'll bite on this one.

I've grown up knowing about freshwater fish since I could start talking. Our basement was a plethora of tanks, in all sizes from 10's to 55's. My dad was a huge African Cichlid breeder back in the 70's, back when breeding them was a still mostly a myth. One thing led to another and eventually the basement became an LFS. I went off to college and came back a year later for a visit to find this wonderful 125 gallon saltwater reeftank set up in the shop. This was in 1990.

After growing up a bit more, I came back to the store and took over, shortly thereafter setting up my own reef, a humbling 75 gallon that has been running almost 6 years now. It will be retired soon as I finish gathering parts to setup the 300 I recently bought. Yup, still got that bug

Cos

 

[dgasmd]

Mine will be a long one, but funny too. I was 10 years old and my neighbor had a 10g tank with guppies and guramis. I couldn't get enough of it, so I asked my dad to get me a bowl thinking he wouldn't buy me a 10g tank. He turned it down. I asked my grandpa for some moolah and he did get me some money, but now I wanted bigger. I couldn't buy a bigger tank, so I talked to this kid who's dad had a little refrigerator repari shop. He tell sme his dad uses a large refrigerator shell, with the holes plugged for soaking old parts. I thought that was a great idea, so I got me one for pennies. I took some old bike tires and cut rubber patches and burned them in place to plug the hole. I brought it home and filled it up with water. I slowly had about 75 fish in there and looked awesome. Ahhh, the trials and tribulation of desire in a third world economy. I grew up and got more interested in girls than in the tank, so I gave it away and sold the fish to take Heidi to a movie, which eventually got dumped by me for being high maintenance and for me finding out that after all the heavy petting and making out that she had gone out with a friend of mine before. How dare she had been touched and tainted I was only 12.

After I moved to the states, I got a 20g tank with freshwater fish. That got switched to a 55g freshwater that later became FO. Then, that was sold to get a 125g tank that I packed to the brim with extremely hard to get and expensive goldfish. I had it for 10 years until I had to move to a rat hole for my medical internship in NJ and had to put the tank in storage. I made about $9K on the fish and put it away. Then moved to MD and set up a reef tank. That soon became a 360g tank in about 6 months. Now, I am in the process of having a 600g tank built. See a trend here?

I wanted a reef tank since I saw one in a petstore about 5-6 years ago. It was an all softy and I couldn't get enough of it.

All this because my dad wouldn't get me a 10g tank. I know 64ivy started because a landlord wouldn't let him have a dog instead. See what some people start for trying to hold others back??

 

[blueoceandiver]

growing up in the fla. keys....i was hooked at a young age

 

[SunnyX]

How it all began………
Well I was in the 12th grade at the time when I was introduced into the wonderful world of marine aquariums. I was a teachers aid in AP Biology. My job was to maintain the greenhouse, aquariums, and reptiles. The one aquarium that we had was a 55 gallon Freshwater Oscar tank. That is what sparked my interest in fish keeping.
Part of the requirement of the class was to setup and maintain a creature habitat. I had already setup the Greenhouse, Reptile exhibit, and now needed something more challenging to do. My instructor suggested that I setup an Nano marine aquarium. I thought “how hard could it be”? I was about to find out.
The Nano I started couldn't have been more than 7 gallons. I read up on the subject and decided on using crushed coral for the substrate. I then purchased a box of Instant Ocean Salt and began to add water to the tank. After a week when I knew all levels were correct I added my first fish; a domino damsel. Boy was he feisty. He ate like a cow. After a month I decided on adding another fish. This time I chose a Ocellaris Clownfish. Boy was that a mistake. The two fish went at it. They fought like mad. Next day the Domino Damsel was dead. Survival of the fittest at its best. Darwin would be proud.
After High school I wanted to keep a marine aquarium of my own. I decided to convert my 29 gallon Freshwater aquarium into a marine aquarium. I at the time was ignorant about the ways of the world and was easy prey for my local fish store. The owner of the store had a radar in his head. He seen me come in and locked on me. By the time he was through with me I had spent $600 on equipment and came out with a Queen Angel, Yellow Tang and 2 Clownfish.!!! He took advantage of me and to this day I still try to get people from going to his shop.
After a while I decided that my 29 gallon was too small. I then opted for a 55 gallon. Like the fool I was I went back to the same store. This time he didn't get me as bad but still put my wallet in a headlock. The tank was running fine for a while until I had a huge out break of algae. I tried everything to rid myself of this plague, but to no avail. At the same time my fish contacted Ich. I went back to the same store and asked the owner what I should do. He said to add copper. I ended up adding too much and killed everything. Hopefully in the year 3007 the live rock will be useable.
After the 55 gallon debacle I decided to go to a 120 gallon tank. This time I decided to read as much as I could on the subject. The single biggest factor that helped me was joining an online reefing community. Every question I had they answered. The 120 gallon had its share of problems but now is stable and doing quite well.

 

[Maxx]

Great thread Travis!
Hmmm.......I was six years old and my grandmother thought that it was very important for me to be able to swim. I think one of her younger brothers had almost drown as a young kid. I was scared at first, but she bribed me w/a 10 gallon tank and some Comet goldfish from the pet store at the mall.
I kept freshwater fish off and on until my family moved to Hawaii when I was 12. Now as an excellent swimmer, I went out snorkeling all the time, my dad decided to get into the act, and I was PADI certified by the time I was 13.
By this time I was busy reading everything I could get my hands on that had to do w/ aquatic life. There is a LFS wholesale/retail in Hawaii called Coral Fish Hawaii. Has about a million gallons of saltwater. I walked in one time and was hooked. the owner was nice enough to talk w/ me for a bit and was surprised that I knew as much as I did for a 13 year old. He offered me a job on the spot. Due to child labor laws I couldnt get paid until I was 16, but he graciously offered to let me work for store credit at the same rate as minimum wage.....I couldnt believe this guy was actually gonna pay me 3 whole dollars an HOUR to be in his store. Blew my mind..... I worked there for 2 years, bought myself several tanks and kept lots of fish that I never could have afforded otherwise. Great experiance. This is when the reefing thing was first taking off. Mushrooms and Zooanthids were considered difficult to keep.
Things have come a long way!
Nick