This all started for me back on Christmas morning of '95. I had been fortunate to have and maintain several freshwater tanks up to that point, but waking up to find Santa had brought a used 90g tank, stand, hood and hang-on-back DAS filter was a dream come true for thirteen year old me.
The tank was a lesson in patience as my parents would buy me $200 worth of live rock every time I brought home straight A's in school; at $10 a pound in those days and the rule of 1-2 pounds per gallon in those days, it took over a year for me to get the tank filled with rock. That was the good ole' days when you could get real Fiji rock and despite having nothing but rock to look at for some long, I loved it. There was so much life that came with the rocks and little creatures to keep me entertained. I spent most of high school working at a fish store and doing maintenance on tanks. The tank was pretty good for a reef tank in those days considering it was lit by four T8 bulbs and had four MJ1200s for circulation. It came down at the end of high school when I left for the military.
I had several tanks after the military while I was in school (a 40g breeder SPS tank and then a 20g AIO I made, some pics below but many of the good ones have been lost). I never had quite the time or money to devote to the hobby and so ended up tearing the last tank down 3 or 4 years ago. Thankfully, I am in a much better position now and with two small children I want to help expose to the hobby, it’s time to set up a real tank again.
The tank was a lesson in patience as my parents would buy me $200 worth of live rock every time I brought home straight A's in school; at $10 a pound in those days and the rule of 1-2 pounds per gallon in those days, it took over a year for me to get the tank filled with rock. That was the good ole' days when you could get real Fiji rock and despite having nothing but rock to look at for some long, I loved it. There was so much life that came with the rocks and little creatures to keep me entertained. I spent most of high school working at a fish store and doing maintenance on tanks. The tank was pretty good for a reef tank in those days considering it was lit by four T8 bulbs and had four MJ1200s for circulation. It came down at the end of high school when I left for the military.
I had several tanks after the military while I was in school (a 40g breeder SPS tank and then a 20g AIO I made, some pics below but many of the good ones have been lost). I never had quite the time or money to devote to the hobby and so ended up tearing the last tank down 3 or 4 years ago. Thankfully, I am in a much better position now and with two small children I want to help expose to the hobby, it’s time to set up a real tank again.
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