30 Year Hiatus

AKLiving

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When I was in kindergarten we visited family in Texas. I fell in love with my aunt's 10 gallon aquarium with Mollies and Guppies. When I got home I wanted guppies of my own. We didn't have much money and my mom worked days and nights to afford the trailer we lived in. So, like usual, I went scrounging for a suitable tank. What excitement I had when I spotted that huge glass jug just laying there (thrown out next to the dumptster behind the bowling alley). Did no one really want such a perfect fish tank. I thought I struck gold.

I took my treasure home and started cleaning off the labels and deciding how I could set up my very own tank. I then realized there was a drainage ditch nearby that I use to catch minnows in using one of my mom's old pantyhose (sometimes I accidentally ;) used a new pair) stretched over a bent wire coat hanger. That was the perfect place to find "fish gravel." My aunt told me how she had to clean her pretty colored gravel to keep the fish healthy so I got out the colander from the kitchen and proceeded to wash the haul I brought back.

I couldn't wait until my mom got home to show her what I found. Thankfully, I think she was too tired to ask where I found that discarded wine jug or how I cleaned the rock. How was I supposed to know I found where people hung out to drink their wine. Oh, well. She agreed that I could get some guppies. Hooray!!! Is it Christmas? I then spent a few days searching every sidewalk, gutter, and street corner. You know, where all the discarded pennies were and sometimes even a nickel or dime. It wasn't long before I had enough to get one male and one female guppy. I marched over the only pet store I knew and plopped down my coins on the counter. I don't recall how much they were but probably only 10 cents or so. I bet they were feeder guppies. It wasn't long after that I had baby guppies! Oher than figuring out I needed a fish net (again improvised from Leggs pantyhose) when doing a water change instead of losing some pouring out the water, I did well raising a bunch of inbred livebearers.

At 14y/o I got my first hourly paid job at a pet store, first as a dog washer for the grooming business, then working the retail counter and helping with aquarium maintenance. They only had fresh water but I had fun learning about all the different types, what they ate, their behaviors, and who got along with who. After moving to the coast, in High School, I worked for another pet store. The owner had a passion for saltwater aquariums so that was the main focus of the store. My then 70 gallon aquarium was converted into a soft coral reef DT. At that time there weren't many options for reef aquariums and most of all our customers had fish only tanks. I started designing and building my own HOB overflows and sumps out of plexi-glass. I look back on what my parents put up with in the front room and I'm very thankful. Especially allowing the not-so-whisper, Whisper air pumps, and non-submersible turbo jet engine I used to move water through the system. My early overflow designs had the added benefit of no one complaining of a dripping faucet keeping them up at night.

My last aquarium was 30 years ago. After moving cross-country a few times it finally split at one of the silicon seams and sent at least half of its contents onto the floor while I was sleeping of course. I couldn't afford a new tank at that time, so I made a deal with myself: After ... fill in the blank ... happens in life I'll get another tank. Well, you all know that life does happen and it usually doesn't happen how we anticipate. I set up those milestones a few times until I don't remember when the last one occurred.

A few months ago I started transitioning into another phase of my life and I was thinking about how God had blessed me even before I was saved and even more since then. I am able to provide for my family in ways I never thought possible. Then, out of the blue, I remembered how much I loved and missed having fish. My boys have not been able to experience the relaxing joy of a beautiful fish tank. I hadn't thought much about it since moving to Fairbanks, AK because there weren't any LFSs. Well, no acceptable LFS anyway. We do have a national chain "pet" store that carries fish but they are so disease ridden and poorly cared for I've thought of volunteering to care of the fish for free. When you combine the closest LFS 360 miles away in Anchorage, lower than average house temps for more than 6+ months a year, frequent power outages, and my love for taking off to remote wilderness several times a year I had written off every having a reef tank again.

Then I started to realize I had resources I never had before when I was younger. I also realized I also had more patience than when I was younger. So, I started reading up on reefing. Wow, I mean wow! There have been a lot of changes. One of which is the ability to order things online. The Anchorage LFS is willing to put fish or inverts on the plane for me and I can get them in about 2-3 hours door-to-door. There are now ways to automate systems for when I go out of town and not worry about the house sitter killing everything. It's easy to build battery back-up systems and many local resources if needing help since a lot of people live off grid around here. I have plenty of space of for RO/DI, mixing stations, and quarantine tanks.

While I don't have it yet I have in place my plan and started it rolling. I already have a 10g AIO for quarantine and supplies on the way to get that going. RO/DI system almost ready to set up. I already sent my wish list to the LFS in Anchorage for a quote and will visit them the weekend after this when I go there for a hockey tournament.
I'm a going with a Red Sea reefer 350 for my DT. I would get a larger one but feel that's the max I am comfortable with given my home's structure.

I have spent way too many hours already reading on this site and others. Thank you all for contributing to my knowledge update and progress in getting back to a childhood love. I will try to start a build thread but I doubt it will be anything that hasn't already been done many times. And I'm not very good at taking pics and documenting once I get focused on the work.

I can't believe it. I AM ACTUALLY GOING TO HAVE A FISH AGAIN!!
 

Peace River

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Welcome to Reef2Reef!!!

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vetteguy53081

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Fish Think Pink

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When I was in kindergarten we visited family in Texas. I fell in love with my aunt's 10 gallon aquarium with Mollies and Guppies. When I got home I wanted guppies of my own. We didn't have much money and my mom worked days and nights to afford the trailer we lived in. So, like usual, I went scrounging for a suitable tank. What excitement I had when I spotted that huge glass jug just laying there (thrown out next to the dumptster behind the bowling alley). Did no one really want such a perfect fish tank. I thought I struck gold.

I took my treasure home and started cleaning off the labels and deciding how I could set up my very own tank. I then realized there was a drainage ditch nearby that I use to catch minnows in using one of my mom's old pantyhose (sometimes I accidentally ;) used a new pair) stretched over a bent wire coat hanger. That was the perfect place to find "fish gravel." My aunt told me how she had to clean her pretty colored gravel to keep the fish healthy so I got out the colander from the kitchen and proceeded to wash the haul I brought back.

I couldn't wait until my mom got home to show her what I found. Thankfully, I think she was too tired to ask where I found that discarded wine jug or how I cleaned the rock. How was I supposed to know I found where people hung out to drink their wine. Oh, well. She agreed that I could get some guppies. Hooray!!! Is it Christmas? I then spent a few days searching every sidewalk, gutter, and street corner. You know, where all the discarded pennies were and sometimes even a nickel or dime. It wasn't long before I had enough to get one male and one female guppy. I marched over the only pet store I knew and plopped down my coins on the counter. I don't recall how much they were but probably only 10 cents or so. I bet they were feeder guppies. It wasn't long after that I had baby guppies! Oher than figuring out I needed a fish net (again improvised from Leggs pantyhose) when doing a water change instead of losing some pouring out the water, I did well raising a bunch of inbred livebearers.

At 14y/o I got my first hourly paid job at a pet store, first as a dog washer for the grooming business, then working the retail counter and helping with aquarium maintenance. They only had fresh water but I had fun learning about all the different types, what they ate, their behaviors, and who got along with who. After moving to the coast, in High School, I worked for another pet store. The owner had a passion for saltwater aquariums so that was the main focus of the store. My then 70 gallon aquarium was converted into a soft coral reef DT. At that time there weren't many options for reef aquariums and most of all our customers had fish only tanks. I started designing and building my own HOB overflows and sumps out of plexi-glass. I look back on what my parents put up with in the front room and I'm very thankful. Especially allowing the not-so-whisper, Whisper air pumps, and non-submersible turbo jet engine I used to move water through the system. My early overflow designs had the added benefit of no one complaining of a dripping faucet keeping them up at night.

My last aquarium was 30 years ago. After moving cross-country a few times it finally split at one of the silicon seams and sent at least half of its contents onto the floor while I was sleeping of course. I couldn't afford a new tank at that time, so I made a deal with myself: After ... fill in the blank ... happens in life I'll get another tank. Well, you all know that life does happen and it usually doesn't happen how we anticipate. I set up those milestones a few times until I don't remember when the last one occurred.

A few months ago I started transitioning into another phase of my life and I was thinking about how God had blessed me even before I was saved and even more since then. I am able to provide for my family in ways I never thought possible. Then, out of the blue, I remembered how much I loved and missed having fish. My boys have not been able to experience the relaxing joy of a beautiful fish tank. I hadn't thought much about it since moving to Fairbanks, AK because there weren't any LFSs. Well, no acceptable LFS anyway. We do have a national chain "pet" store that carries fish but they are so disease ridden and poorly cared for I've thought of volunteering to care of the fish for free. When you combine the closest LFS 360 miles away in Anchorage, lower than average house temps for more than 6+ months a year, frequent power outages, and my love for taking off to remote wilderness several times a year I had written off every having a reef tank again.

Then I started to realize I had resources I never had before when I was younger. I also realized I also had more patience than when I was younger. So, I started reading up on reefing. Wow, I mean wow! There have been a lot of changes. One of which is the ability to order things online. The Anchorage LFS is willing to put fish or inverts on the plane for me and I can get them in about 2-3 hours door-to-door. There are now ways to automate systems for when I go out of town and not worry about the house sitter killing everything. It's easy to build battery back-up systems and many local resources if needing help since a lot of people live off grid around here. I have plenty of space of for RO/DI, mixing stations, and quarantine tanks.

While I don't have it yet I have in place my plan and started it rolling. I already have a 10g AIO for quarantine and supplies on the way to get that going. RO/DI system almost ready to set up. I already sent my wish list to the LFS in Anchorage for a quote and will visit them the weekend after this when I go there for a hockey tournament.
I'm a going with a Red Sea reefer 350 for my DT. I would get a larger one but feel that's the max I am comfortable with given my home's structure.

I have spent way too many hours already reading on this site and others. Thank you all for contributing to my knowledge update and progress in getting back to a childhood love. I will try to start a build thread but I doubt it will be anything that hasn't already been done many times. And I'm not very good at taking pics and documenting once I get focused on the work.

I can't believe it. I AM ACTUALLY GOING TO HAVE A FISH AGAIN!!

Welcome! Glad you joined. Those upcoming fish are going to be lucky to live with you and your family after such a wonderful history! Yes, lots have changed, but the basics are still the same. 'Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can' - Arthur Ashe, tennis player (and YOU! ... that quote sounds like a summary of above (hugs))

Have you considered starting your build thread? I found its a great place to document my tank's evolution for myself. I started tank first then joined, so I'm still finding myself going back collecting pictures & updating historically as well as current state. Once you create your first post in your thread under Forum > Member Aquariums and link it to your account, they will give you build badge (look left, under my ID). I love the way you write, so I am going to enjoy following along! Its never too early to document your plans (and that way you don't lose photos & info like me...)

This might help you find people local to you:

This is a good reference book type online article I still review:
 

bnord

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Great story and THANKS FOR JOINING!

can't wait for you to get those first critters

I went from 1979 to 2020 between salt water tanks, by the way and the one thing that has not changes is that slow and steady wins the race...
Best of luck

giphy-downsized-large.gif
 
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AKLiving

AKLiving

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Welcome! Glad you joined. Those upcoming fish are going to be lucky to live with you and your family after such a wonderful history! Yes, lots have changed, but the basics are still the same. 'Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can' - Arthur Ashe, tennis player (and YOU! ... that quote sounds like a summary of above (hugs))

Have you considered starting your build thread? I found its a great place to document my tank's evolution for myself. I started tank first then joined, so I'm still finding myself going back collecting pictures & updating historically as well as current state. Once you create your first post in your thread under Forum > Member Aquariums and link it to your account, they will give you build badge (look left, under my ID). I love the way you write, so I am going to enjoy following along! Its never too early to document your plans (and that way you don't lose photos & info like me...)

This might help you find people local to you:

This is a good reference book type online article I still review:
Thank you very much for the kind words. I do plan to start a build thread even if I am not very good at documenting. I am a DIY'er so already know that documenting is one of my weaknesses.

I agree that a lot is still the same but I know more about the 'why' now and there are more tools for the 'how'.
 
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AKLiving

AKLiving

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Great story and THANKS FOR JOINING!

can't wait for you to get those first critters

I went from 1979 to 2020 between salt water tanks, by the way and the one thing that has not changes is that slow and steady wins the race...
Best of luck

giphy-downsized-large.gif

I'm glad I can do the slow and steady now. I never would have considered a quarantine tank for 70+ days before putting an invert in. I lost an octopus that never had a chance because I didn't acclimate well. I still feel bad about that one.

Welcome to R2R!! we look forward to helping you on your journey!!

Hopefully I can contribute even a small portion of what I have already gained from here.
 

Jedi1199

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When I was in kindergarten we visited family in Texas. I fell in love with my aunt's 10 gallon aquarium with Mollies and Guppies. When I got home I wanted guppies of my own. We didn't have much money and my mom worked days and nights to afford the trailer we lived in. So, like usual, I went scrounging for a suitable tank. What excitement I had when I spotted that huge glass jug just laying there (thrown out next to the dumptster behind the bowling alley). Did no one really want such a perfect fish tank. I thought I struck gold.

I took my treasure home and started cleaning off the labels and deciding how I could set up my very own tank. I then realized there was a drainage ditch nearby that I use to catch minnows in using one of my mom's old pantyhose (sometimes I accidentally ;) used a new pair) stretched over a bent wire coat hanger. That was the perfect place to find "fish gravel." My aunt told me how she had to clean her pretty colored gravel to keep the fish healthy so I got out the colander from the kitchen and proceeded to wash the haul I brought back.

I couldn't wait until my mom got home to show her what I found. Thankfully, I think she was too tired to ask where I found that discarded wine jug or how I cleaned the rock. How was I supposed to know I found where people hung out to drink their wine. Oh, well. She agreed that I could get some guppies. Hooray!!! Is it Christmas? I then spent a few days searching every sidewalk, gutter, and street corner. You know, where all the discarded pennies were and sometimes even a nickel or dime. It wasn't long before I had enough to get one male and one female guppy. I marched over the only pet store I knew and plopped down my coins on the counter. I don't recall how much they were but probably only 10 cents or so. I bet they were feeder guppies. It wasn't long after that I had baby guppies! Oher than figuring out I needed a fish net (again improvised from Leggs pantyhose) when doing a water change instead of losing some pouring out the water, I did well raising a bunch of inbred livebearers.

At 14y/o I got my first hourly paid job at a pet store, first as a dog washer for the grooming business, then working the retail counter and helping with aquarium maintenance. They only had fresh water but I had fun learning about all the different types, what they ate, their behaviors, and who got along with who. After moving to the coast, in High School, I worked for another pet store. The owner had a passion for saltwater aquariums so that was the main focus of the store. My then 70 gallon aquarium was converted into a soft coral reef DT. At that time there weren't many options for reef aquariums and most of all our customers had fish only tanks. I started designing and building my own HOB overflows and sumps out of plexi-glass. I look back on what my parents put up with in the front room and I'm very thankful. Especially allowing the not-so-whisper, Whisper air pumps, and non-submersible turbo jet engine I used to move water through the system. My early overflow designs had the added benefit of no one complaining of a dripping faucet keeping them up at night.

My last aquarium was 30 years ago. After moving cross-country a few times it finally split at one of the silicon seams and sent at least half of its contents onto the floor while I was sleeping of course. I couldn't afford a new tank at that time, so I made a deal with myself: After ... fill in the blank ... happens in life I'll get another tank. Well, you all know that life does happen and it usually doesn't happen how we anticipate. I set up those milestones a few times until I don't remember when the last one occurred.

A few months ago I started transitioning into another phase of my life and I was thinking about how God had blessed me even before I was saved and even more since then. I am able to provide for my family in ways I never thought possible. Then, out of the blue, I remembered how much I loved and missed having fish. My boys have not been able to experience the relaxing joy of a beautiful fish tank. I hadn't thought much about it since moving to Fairbanks, AK because there weren't any LFSs. Well, no acceptable LFS anyway. We do have a national chain "pet" store that carries fish but they are so disease ridden and poorly cared for I've thought of volunteering to care of the fish for free. When you combine the closest LFS 360 miles away in Anchorage, lower than average house temps for more than 6+ months a year, frequent power outages, and my love for taking off to remote wilderness several times a year I had written off every having a reef tank again.

Then I started to realize I had resources I never had before when I was younger. I also realized I also had more patience than when I was younger. So, I started reading up on reefing. Wow, I mean wow! There have been a lot of changes. One of which is the ability to order things online. The Anchorage LFS is willing to put fish or inverts on the plane for me and I can get them in about 2-3 hours door-to-door. There are now ways to automate systems for when I go out of town and not worry about the house sitter killing everything. It's easy to build battery back-up systems and many local resources if needing help since a lot of people live off grid around here. I have plenty of space of for RO/DI, mixing stations, and quarantine tanks.

While I don't have it yet I have in place my plan and started it rolling. I already have a 10g AIO for quarantine and supplies on the way to get that going. RO/DI system almost ready to set up. I already sent my wish list to the LFS in Anchorage for a quote and will visit them the weekend after this when I go there for a hockey tournament.
I'm a going with a Red Sea reefer 350 for my DT. I would get a larger one but feel that's the max I am comfortable with given my home's structure.

I have spent way too many hours already reading on this site and others. Thank you all for contributing to my knowledge update and progress in getting back to a childhood love. I will try to start a build thread but I doubt it will be anything that hasn't already been done many times. And I'm not very good at taking pics and documenting once I get focused on the work.

I can't believe it. I AM ACTUALLY GOING TO HAVE A FISH AGAIN!!

SO glad to read that you are getting back to a passion that you thought was beyond your grasp!

Welcome back to the Dark Side...


Welcome.jpg
 

tbrown

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When I was in kindergarten we visited family in Texas. I fell in love with my aunt's 10 gallon aquarium with Mollies and Guppies. When I got home I wanted guppies of my own. We didn't have much money and my mom worked days and nights to afford the trailer we lived in. So, like usual, I went scrounging for a suitable tank. What excitement I had when I spotted that huge glass jug just laying there (thrown out next to the dumptster behind the bowling alley). Did no one really want such a perfect fish tank. I thought I struck gold.

I took my treasure home and started cleaning off the labels and deciding how I could set up my very own tank. I then realized there was a drainage ditch nearby that I use to catch minnows in using one of my mom's old pantyhose (sometimes I accidentally ;) used a new pair) stretched over a bent wire coat hanger. That was the perfect place to find "fish gravel." My aunt told me how she had to clean her pretty colored gravel to keep the fish healthy so I got out the colander from the kitchen and proceeded to wash the haul I brought back.

I couldn't wait until my mom got home to show her what I found. Thankfully, I think she was too tired to ask where I found that discarded wine jug or how I cleaned the rock. How was I supposed to know I found where people hung out to drink their wine. Oh, well. She agreed that I could get some guppies. Hooray!!! Is it Christmas? I then spent a few days searching every sidewalk, gutter, and street corner. You know, where all the discarded pennies were and sometimes even a nickel or dime. It wasn't long before I had enough to get one male and one female guppy. I marched over the only pet store I knew and plopped down my coins on the counter. I don't recall how much they were but probably only 10 cents or so. I bet they were feeder guppies. It wasn't long after that I had baby guppies! Oher than figuring out I needed a fish net (again improvised from Leggs pantyhose) when doing a water change instead of losing some pouring out the water, I did well raising a bunch of inbred livebearers.

At 14y/o I got my first hourly paid job at a pet store, first as a dog washer for the grooming business, then working the retail counter and helping with aquarium maintenance. They only had fresh water but I had fun learning about all the different types, what they ate, their behaviors, and who got along with who. After moving to the coast, in High School, I worked for another pet store. The owner had a passion for saltwater aquariums so that was the main focus of the store. My then 70 gallon aquarium was converted into a soft coral reef DT. At that time there weren't many options for reef aquariums and most of all our customers had fish only tanks. I started designing and building my own HOB overflows and sumps out of plexi-glass. I look back on what my parents put up with in the front room and I'm very thankful. Especially allowing the not-so-whisper, Whisper air pumps, and non-submersible turbo jet engine I used to move water through the system. My early overflow designs had the added benefit of no one complaining of a dripping faucet keeping them up at night.

My last aquarium was 30 years ago. After moving cross-country a few times it finally split at one of the silicon seams and sent at least half of its contents onto the floor while I was sleeping of course. I couldn't afford a new tank at that time, so I made a deal with myself: After ... fill in the blank ... happens in life I'll get another tank. Well, you all know that life does happen and it usually doesn't happen how we anticipate. I set up those milestones a few times until I don't remember when the last one occurred.

A few months ago I started transitioning into another phase of my life and I was thinking about how God had blessed me even before I was saved and even more since then. I am able to provide for my family in ways I never thought possible. Then, out of the blue, I remembered how much I loved and missed having fish. My boys have not been able to experience the relaxing joy of a beautiful fish tank. I hadn't thought much about it since moving to Fairbanks, AK because there weren't any LFSs. Well, no acceptable LFS anyway. We do have a national chain "pet" store that carries fish but they are so disease ridden and poorly cared for I've thought of volunteering to care of the fish for free. When you combine the closest LFS 360 miles away in Anchorage, lower than average house temps for more than 6+ months a year, frequent power outages, and my love for taking off to remote wilderness several times a year I had written off every having a reef tank again.

Then I started to realize I had resources I never had before when I was younger. I also realized I also had more patience than when I was younger. So, I started reading up on reefing. Wow, I mean wow! There have been a lot of changes. One of which is the ability to order things online. The Anchorage LFS is willing to put fish or inverts on the plane for me and I can get them in about 2-3 hours door-to-door. There are now ways to automate systems for when I go out of town and not worry about the house sitter killing everything. It's easy to build battery back-up systems and many local resources if needing help since a lot of people live off grid around here. I have plenty of space of for RO/DI, mixing stations, and quarantine tanks.

While I don't have it yet I have in place my plan and started it rolling. I already have a 10g AIO for quarantine and supplies on the way to get that going. RO/DI system almost ready to set up. I already sent my wish list to the LFS in Anchorage for a quote and will visit them the weekend after this when I go there for a hockey tournament.
I'm a going with a Red Sea reefer 350 for my DT. I would get a larger one but feel that's the max I am comfortable with given my home's structure.

I have spent way too many hours already reading on this site and others. Thank you all for contributing to my knowledge update and progress in getting back to a childhood love. I will try to start a build thread but I doubt it will be anything that hasn't already been done many times. And I'm not very good at taking pics and documenting once I get focused on the work.

I can't believe it. I AM ACTUALLY GOING TO HAVE A FISH AGAIN!!
Welcome! Thanks for joining us. A lot has changed since you've been in the hobby, most for the better. Your boys are going to enjoy it!
 
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