How long have you been in this hobby?

[crusso1993]

"Computers" were also made of wood.

And so were teeth.

 

[vlangel]

Most people on here don't realize they didn't have much of anything made of plastic until the end of WW2 and bags were not common until way after that. TVs and Radios were made of wood and things like telephones that looked like plastic were Bakelite which is a type of glass. Milk came in glass bottles and toothpaste came in a metal tube.

"Computers" were also made of wood.

And fish were sold in toy stores.

Is that a slide rule? Uhhg, I had a chemistry teacher who spent 9 weeks trying to teach us to use those and I never did get it. As much as I am not crazy about technology, I will take a computer over a slide rule any day.

 

[Snoopy 67]

Want to try an Abacus?

 

[vlangel]

Want to try an Abacus?

No way!

 

[Zach B]

I will be 37 this summer and have had pieces of liverock that have been in my tanks since I was 18

 

[Roatan Reef]

Wow guys! I’m in awe from reading all the posts. Please photos of your old tanks/setups or progress shots! I’d love to see them!

This is a really great thread on R2R...I'm blown away by some of the people who've been in this hobby for over 50 years...that's crazy!!

Started with a 55g fresh, had different 75g fresh, currently a 125g fresh that was originally a Saltwater Tank, but converted it...got it for $225 because it had some minor issues that I fixed, but it's a cool tank, that seems bigger than it is, it's an acrylic bowfront....all South American Cichlids, + plecos, algae eaters, Cory's.

This is mostly the wife's tank, a 5.5 planted fresh with a few fish. Used to have a cool Beta, but he croaked after 1.5 years.

And here are shots of my 40B Saltwater Tank. Almost 1 year to the day...many ups and downs, but it's starting to settle in nicely!!

 

[Mirkus]

First reef tank was a 7 gallon mini bow in 2001, so 22 years of “fun”.

 

[jtone_philthy_aquatics]

I’m reaching one year with my tank really soon and I’m looking forward to many more….so I’m curious to how long have you been in the hobby? It doesn’t have to be straight and not including gap years without a tank!

Congrats on the 1 year mark! reef aquariums are one of the few things throughout my life that have consistently held my interest to the point of actually being obsessive lol. I’ve managed to continue keeping reef tanks through the good times and during some of my worst times which I’ve never managed to do with anything else over the years. I started in 2005ish and I believe I began logging tanks on YouTube In 2008. I was young when I began so during all of my crazy teens/ early 20’s i could have easily gotten distracted and drifted away but thankfully something always stopped me from doing so. As an adult I’m grateful for sticking it out because it’s something that motivated me to continue reading a healthy amount/ continuing diy carpentry projects/ 3d printing/ aquaculture/ actually led to horticulture also. One very special piece that I enjoy the most is when I was little my mom would drive me ANYWHERE to go to a frag swap lol she has supported me in such a massive way that I can’t really even put into words and we kept that tradition alive throughout all of these years. Any swap I go to my mom comes with me to this day. As you get older those things can easily dwindle away but I’m proud to say that we still have that type of relationship. It’s really cool because even tho she doesn’t keep reef tanks herself after all of these years of being involved in shows with me I can have pretty in-depth conversations with her. I booked our cross country trip to rap Florida recently because we did the Texas show last year. Happy reefing everyone! See ya at rap fl soon!!

 

[Slicktop]

fresh water in early 90's started my first saltwater tank in 1995. My purple tang in my banner is still going strong. I bought her in 1998.. 3 different tanks, now custom cube, 90% SPS

 

[jtichenor]

Since '96

 

[muzikalmatt]

It's pretty awesome to see how many people here have been reefing for literally decades! I've only been reefing a little over 4 years now having started my first tank in January 2019. I'm looking forward to many more years and hopefully reaching that double-digit mark!

 

[Paul B]

Please photos of your old tanks/setups or progress shots! I’d love to see them!

Ayden, my "reef" which of course was fish only, started like this in 1971. It has never been restarted and is still running in its third glass. It was moved 3 times. I also look "exactly" the same only I cut my hair differently now

 

[Labridaedicted]

It's been about 25 years keeping freshwater, and about 20 keeping salt