How did you get into this hobby?

[MegabiteOG]

My dad was in the hobby and then he had kids and stopped. I think me showing interest in aquariums was a back door for him into the hobby again, lol. I remember a lot of rides home from the fish store ending with, “we don’t need to tell mom how much we spent today”

Those father and son moments are priceless! I had quite a few of those with my dad and buying stuff for the boat. Great memories!

 

[Viking_Reefing]

I got my first tank (freshwater) 35 years ago when I was 3 from my grandfather. He had been in to fish keeping since the 50’s.
Keeps FW tanks until I was 13-14, mostly large predators in the end.
At that time dad got me some aquarium magazines when he was on a business trip (no way to get those in Sweden at this time). I read an article about reefing where they talked about how freaking hard it was.
Me being a cocky kid I was like “bahh losers, I can do that”.
With help from my dad and a lot of reeding books i actually managed to get a 150L tank up and running after a few months.

 

[PharmrJohn]

I fell into SW when I went to an LFS and saw a yellow-tail damsel. Yep. Just a YT. I thought it was so beautiful I JUST HAD to have a SW setup. That was back in '91 and the tank was a 29g with a standard undergravel filtration system. I had NO idea what I was doing. But I learned quickly!

 

[MasterClassReefs]

My parents set up my crib and a playpen infront of aquariums when I was a baby, I was hooked ever since. Started maintaining my own by 5 years old and by 10 I was breeding fish and selling to local stores. They even let me turn a very large pool into a pond where I grew out Sturgeon I had caught in a nearby creek. Releasing those later was one heck of a job. They get BIG! I raised crayfish, turtles, ducks, frogs and fish... it was fun and a little crazy.

By the time I got out of high-school I had bred catfish, cichlids, tetras, rainbowfish crayfish and even clams and fish caught in the local water ways. I spent a lot of time wading through the rivers and creeks out here in my youth and had a taste for crayfish dipped in garlic butter . At that point I needed more, something more challenging. So saltwater it was. I began with a fish only system and worked my way up to reefs by the time I was 19.

All the way up to high-school we didnt have internet availability where I lived so it was all book learning and experience for me. The local shops that were around in my youth were great at teaching people how to kill fish sadly. The look on their faces when a child came in and asked for fish by their latin names is something I will never forget . My pronunciation of latin may or may not have been on point . Finding books was a whole different challenge. The people at the library would look at me as if I had lost my mind with things I was looking for . By the time I was out of highschool the local fish stores all pretty much closed down within a 1 hr drive of me which made it more challenging to access some things, the internet made up for that when it became available here. When I moved to Los Angeles the hobby exploded for me. I did have a favorite shop back then in El Segundo that is sadly now closed.

 

[christinna77]

I snorkeled in Hawaii a few times and fell in love with what I saw underwater. We now visit every year and are in the water every waking moment, but somehow that still wasn't enough. So I decided it was time to bring my own little piece of the ocean home too.

My fiance secretly hoped this meant we wouldn't need to go back to Hawaii again so soon... wrong! Now with everything I've learned from having a reef tank, I actually wanna dive there even more.

 

[Oliver d]

Got my first fish tank at the age 4/5. After seeing a marine tank in 1980 I wanted one nothing came of it until I was a student and I got my first one witch was not to succesfull took it down after I emigrated to the Middle East. My wife got me a small tank witch reignited the fish keeping bug. Moved from keeping African chiclids to planted tanks and then to a 100g reef tank witch has been running for 10yrs with a lot of ups and downs.

 

[winxp_man]

Bought 8 clowns for my brother. And they starting trying to murder each other as all salt fish seem to want to do. Went from a 40 to now a 300! And still have a 150, 70, 20, 20! Haha!

 

[steveschuerger]

I’ve had fresh water tanks off and on for about 50 yrs and remember seeing tanks with clownfish at the local pet store Boston Pet next to the North End in Boston in the 70s. Loved how colorful marine fish could be and my interest was even more piqued when I volunteered at the New England aquarium for a few years in my late teens. So the interest was there, if somewhat passively for a long time. Time skip to about 4.5 yrs ago and already had a 90 gallon discus tank and decided I wanted to try salt and bought a little 16 gallon Biocube as a birthday gift to myself. And through a bunch of twists and turns here we are now with the tank I have now, a 25 gallon lagoon that isn’t the largest I’ve had but gives me a lot of pleasure nonetheless.

 

[Mebbid]

Tried a number of times to keep freshwater aquarium s as a kid and young adult. I had absolutely no guidance on how so they all ended very poorly. I decided to give freshwater tanks one last try and at that time the internet was more prevalent so I was actually able to research how to do it and ended up with a few extremely successful tanks over a number of years.


Went to a new LFS who was selling saltwater fish and corals and decided to give it a try too.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Parents had a tank in the early 00’s. Then I met @AlyciaMarie, her dad’s tank was pretty cool. One thing lead to another and now I’m pretty deep into this hobby!

 

[Will-BRS]

My dad had saltwater before I was born. Then they moved and bought a house with an in-wall tank. The plan was saltwater, but then they decided a kid is expensive and he went fresh instead. I grew up in that house with a huge arrowana, schools of silver dollars and bala sharks. Eventually one tank turned into 2, then when I was maybe 6 there was a tank in my room that was “mine”. My saltwater experience started in middle school when I set up my first reef tank in my bedroom which had a total of 5 tanks. For a long time it was a bit of a failure, I remember it was 10 gallons with a mini metal halide over it. After that kind of failed, I kept trying and get into bigger tanks. Here I am now at 30 with one home tank and 9 salt tanks at work!

When people ask how long I’ve been in the hobby it’s such a hard thing for me to answer. Is it 25 years, because that’s when my first tank was in my life? 17 because that’s when I started salt on my own? 30 because I was staring at a tank when I was born? I’m never sure, but I always say “just about my whole life”… hope that’s a good enough answer!

 

[kitti-fish]

I’ve had fish as long as I can remember. I begged for a dog throughout my childhood and instead got 2 10 cent goldfish that lived a good 10-12 years in pisspoor conditions. Then I always had some kind of betta fish. I learned a lot and will admit my original tanks were horrid. College came around and I continued to have bettas in better tanks. Eventually, I met my partner and really got into fish again. I did freshwater for a year or so but that wasn’t challenging anymore. I don’t know where I stumbled upon saltwater tanks but I had no idea it was a possibility. And here I am! Neck deep in the salt!

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

years ago, my roomate had a 10 gallon tank with goldfish. This got me to thinking of when i was a kid and my father had a freshwater tank, and somehow, it just lit a fuse for me to get into freshwater aquaria. Had no interest in salt until a friend of mine basically gave me his 20gallon salt tank with rock and a few corals. I was intrigued, and had to keep it alive. From there the obsession became real.

 

[X-37B]

In 1988 my ex wife bought me a 55g hexagon aquarium as a birthday present for some unknown reason. I was not into fish tanks and was training my German Shepard in the sport of Shutzhund and was talking to someone that had fish.
So I went to the lfs she bought it at to get equipment.
I saw the salt water section and was hooked. Took the hex back and got a standard 55 and 175 watt halide, live rock, and never looked back.

 

[MegabiteOG]

These are some very cool and amazing stories! From a lifetime of being around aquaria to those that just happen to try it out and fell in love with the hobby. Keep them coming as I think all are enjoying your stories.

Side note: For those newer to this forum (and everyone else for that matter) click on the "My Tank Thread" badge under the names of those that have posted here. There are a lot of amazing tanks on there and a lot more detail of where they are today.

 

[steallife904]

I was at a mall in Gainesville FL probably 15 or more years ago and a booth in center of the mall had these little plastic tanks with clownfish in them for sell. Like an all in one setup but was more like a betta tank with actual decor rocks and plastic plants.. I nearly got one 2. The employee told me all I had to do is feed it and pour in bottle water when it evaporates.. that was all it needed. It just didn’t feel right so I passed but the thought of saltwater stuck so I started researching at got my first actual tank. Much larger tank now and been doing the hobby 15 or so years

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

Went over board with freshwater tanks back in the late 80's and early 90's, was into breeding a few species also. There was a LFS here that actually had some saltwater stuff, so me thinking I was basically was a professional, started up a 75G. No problem keeping fish alive and healthy, it was a killing field for coral which was my main adjective. That's why I am here today, second time around was a charm thanks to unlimited information.

 

[CaptainBob's Reef]

Snorkeling is what got me into the hobby. The let down after swimming among amazing fish and corals on holiday. Finally made the decision and went to a couple of local fish shops...I was hooked. Started watching videos online and realized then what I'd gotten myself into. This allows me to bring a slice of that into our home...though I would still rather be swimming amongst the fish and coral.

 

[CKW]

I started in 1954 with a ten gallon tank, under gravel filter, two Red Tailed Sharks and too many to count Guppies.
I soon started a 55 gallon saltwater tank because I really liked the bright colors of marine fish. Here I am many, many years later and a whole lot wiser

 

[Littlejohn321]

My name is Lance and I’m a habitual relapsing coral crack addict. This is my “how I got hooked” testimony!

I got into the hobby when I had a complete mental breakdown and thought, “dang dude, I have way to much free time on my hands and way to much money just sitting in my retirement account, what should I do with all this extra time and money? Let’s pick up a hobby that starts with terms like “UGLY PHASE” and words you can’t pronounce or spell like “dinofagulantioustasia”. Go set up a system of equipment you researched for over a year only to have something better come to market 3.6 months after you just spent your kids inheritance. Then fail time after time after time. “

But then one day I come home to see an amazing piece of living art I helped create that is flowing with such beauty and ease that makes you want to book a dive trip to Fiji right then until you realize you can’t because you just spent an absurd amount of money on a fish or piece of coral you couldn’t live without you told your spouse only cost $174.99. So you sit in your favorite chair watching this piece of art that makes everything in life just better.

That is how I remember becoming a reefer!