*** MARINER OF THE MONTH: 1st Edition! Sponsored by EShopps, Top Shelf Aquatics, and Premium Aquatics! ***

[JoJosReef]

@steveschuerger @JoJosReef @legendhua @Slocke @i cant think You guys should get in on this!

It's coming. I need to clean the glass and put on my creative backstory hat.

 

[tbrown]

It's coming. I need to clean the glass and put on my creative backstory hat.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I am not eligible. I don't have a build thread because they didn't have tank threads or computers when I started my tank in 1971.

These are the only threads we had.

Hey Paul, I adjusted the wording in the first post from "build thread" to "tank thread." Your thread is certainly the kind of thread we were intending for this contest, and I think you'd be an EXCELLENT contender for Mariner of the Month!

 

[armyvetheather]

The name of my tank is Sophie's Reef. Sophie is my little four pound hairless cat that I just adore and she adores the reef and watching the fish so we named it Sophie's Reef. I originally got into saltwater about ten years ago after my mom no longer wanted her saltwater tank and I thought "I'll give it a try". There was nowhere near the amount of coral or fish that are available now, but I did have a few of both. I recall driving pretty far at times to pick-up small pieces of leathers and various fish, I recall getting very excited about some Chromis I picked up from a guy about an hour away. Nonetheless, we ended up moving and I was beyond devastated that I did not have enough time to break down my tank and bring it with me. Fast forward ten years later and I now live on the coast where my life evolves around the ocean. From the ski boats to the 53' Hatteras we have, the ocean is our life and it only felt fitting that I get another marine tank so a little over a year ago, I did just that. I now have a 90 gallon cube and a 450 gallon acrylic tank that I just enjoy beyond measure. I think what I love most is all of the learning and the amount of research that you can do is just endless. Just when I think I've got marine tanks figured out, I learn something new and realize that I will likely never know everything about this hobby. I stare at my fish and coral for hours sometimes and think of different topics that I want to research and I feel like that's a large part of the passion. I think the other big part of what drives me to want to keep a marine aquarium is the challenge, the challenge of keeping an ecosystem perfectly in balance so as to keep everything alive. The desire to learn, challenge, and the beauty is unlike any other hobby I've ever enjoyed!

Thanks @ESHOPPS.INC for the contest!

Tank thread below avatar.

 

[Paul B]

Hey Paul, I adjusted the wording in the first post from "build thread" to "tank thread." Your thread is certainly the kind of thread we were intending for this contest, and I think you'd be an EXCELLENT contender for Mariner of the Month!

Thanks Daniel, but my "Tank Thread" is almost 500 pages long.

Anyway my tank is called "Possibly The Oldest tank in the US". It was started in 1971.

This is a link to it.

Tank birthday, 47+ years

In a couple of weeks my reef will will have reached 40 years old. Unfortunately I don't remember when I was 40 but I remember when I set it up. I was a skinny 22 year old just back from Viet Nam. It is still running very well, still using the same reverse UG filter, same dolomite substrait but...

www.reef2reef.com

I got started in fresh water in about 1954 or so. Fish were sold in toy stores and called "Toy Fish".
After raising everything that could be raised in fresh water I wanted to set up a salt water tank but I got drafted in 1969 and was sent to Vietnam. After two years I got home and started my still running reef tank in a 40 gallon glass. Of course it was fish only then as there were no corals or inverts for sale.

My Dad owned a seafood market so I grew up playing with dead fish and live lobsters and crabs.
I became a certified SCUBA diver in the early 70s and spent about 350 hours underwater.

I started my salt tank when there was no salt water creatures or equipment. Also no written material on them and of course computers were not invented so no way to get information. It was all trial and error, it still is.

 

[Brisk]

Reef Tank Name - Rookie's First Reef Tank - 150g

What got you into the hobby of Marine aquariums?

It started back in October of 2023 when my niece had asked me to take care of her tetras. At that moment, I began to reminisce my childhood, around 10 years old, when I had my first 10 gallon tank of goldfishes and tetras. I was unsuccessful at that time, no one taught me how to take care of an aquarium, but I always had a passion for it. I started to feel nostalgic and began to look into a large freshwater aquarium. I was determined I will be successful this time with the help of the Internet. I searched the Internet to gather information. Eventually I stumbled onto Reef2Reef and was amazed at the photos of others' tanks, their fishes, and their corals. At first, I thought it would be impossible to start a marine aquarium. A few days later I stumbled onto Reef2Reef again and started researching on what it takes to start a marine aquarium, how difficult would it be, and the differences compared to freshwater aquariums. After a month of going back and forth researching, I decided to go for it! I told myself that I wanted the challenge, the experience, the "wow" factor, and the relaxation of looking at my marine aquarium. So far it has been a great and exciting experience from planning it a year ago to where I am now, growing my marine aquarium.

Build Thread - Rookie's First Reef Tank - 150g

Hello everyone, So a little brief introduction. I've only had freshwater aquariums on and off since I was a child with the last tank about 35 years ago. About 3 months ago, I got inspired again to start an aquarium from watching a YouTube video on cichlids. I started to research into it and...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Thanks Daniel, but my "Tank Thread" is almost 500 pages long.

Anyway my tank is called "Possibly The Oldest tank in the US". It was started in 1971.

This is a link to it.

Tank birthday, 47+ years

In a couple of weeks my reef will will have reached 40 years old. Unfortunately I don't remember when I was 40 but I remember when I set it up. I was a skinny 22 year old just back from Viet Nam. It is still running very well, still using the same reverse UG filter, same dolomite substrait but...

www.reef2reef.com

I got started in fresh water in about 1954 or so. Fish were sold in toy stores and called "Toy Fish".
After raising everything that could be raised in fresh water I wanted to set up a salt water tank but I got drafted in 1969 and was sent to Vietnam. After two years I got home and started my still running reef tank in a 40 gallon glass. Of course it was fish only then as there were no corals or inverts for sale.

My Dad owned a seafood market so I grew up playing with dead fish and live lobsters and crabs.
I became a certified SCUBA diver in the early 70s and spent about 350 hours underwater.

I started my salt tank when there was no salt water creatures or equipment. Also no written material on them and of course computers were not invented so no way to get information. It was all trial and error, it still is.

Mask on the head = a six pack penalty...

 

[BeanAnimal]

I take it that I didn’t win..,

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

I take it that I didn’t win..,

Did you enter?

 

[JoJosReef]

Ok, let's go!

Mariner In Training: Hi, my name is Joe, but my best friends call me JoJo. You might think my middle name is John, or Jordan or Jonah or something like that, but you'd be wrong. It's Serious. As in JoJo's Serious about reefing. See?

JoJo's No Funny Business Office Tanks

I like to chronicle my reefing journey on my build thread, which you can see here:

Build Thread - JoJo's No Funny Business Office Tank Thread

Up and coming: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/jojos-im-40l-aio-please-step-into-my-office.966484/post-12606608 Current FTS: Explanation of my feeding system: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/simplicity-dosing-4-head-any-reviews.992671/post-11757257 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~...

www.reef2reef.com

What got me into the hobby of marine aquariums? For my clone's 5th birthday, my wife and I decided to get him a fish tank. I argued for freshwater, since I grew up with my dad's tanks filled with tetras, swordtails and guppies, and I repeatedly informed my wife that saltwater is a money pit and a time sink. But she wanted to get him a clownfish. Thus began a period of intense research. I am a scientist, so devouring background comes naturally, and I looked everywhere for information on starting up a saltwater tank. Going through several forums, I kept gravitating back to R2R, a website that wasn't unsightly, even aesthetically pleasing, was active and just had helpful members sharing great information. I've been snorkeling in several places: Great Barrier Reef, Carribbean islands, Hawaii and the islands of Thailand. Marine life fascinates me, so I became more and more committed to the idea. I purchased a Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon tank and took my clone to an LFS for the first time. Picking out a clown was fun, but I just went gaga for all the coral, especially euphyllia. From that point on, I was hooked. Working on my 4th tank now!

 

[AlyciaMarie]

I love reading these stories! This is going to be an amazing thing to watch unfold. Can't wait!

 

[707Nick]

A photo of yourself and a photo of your reef tank (can be separate photos or the same photo, but separating them might allow for a better pic of your tank).
I'm on the right. At a Buddhist temple in Bali.

The name of your reef tank (or name it now!)
The 180g. Third time around.

Your response to this month’s Mariner of the Month question: What got you into the hobby of Marine aquariums? (Answer should be at least 5 sentences.)
I was having a spat with my man. He was off doing his hobby and I was left unsupervised, and mad. Not a good combination. I had started getting into scuba diving and thought it would be cool to have a saltwater tank in the house. He thought it was a silly idea. I thougjt he was being a jerk, which he was. So I went out and bought a 29g starter kit just to spite him and prove him wrong. He's never second guessed something I have wanted to try since.

A link to your build/tank thread on Reef2Reef.
Thread 'Third time better be the charm' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/third-time-better-be-the-charm.845553/

Ps just got back from an epic dive trip (Bali) where I saw stuff like this.

Yep their nudis hope to bribe the judges with them.

I’m sorry but are you building a new Mariner 180g

 

[Slocke]

• A photo of yourself and a photo of your reef tank

• The name of your reef tank

Something fishy

• Your response to this month’s Mariner of the Month question: What got you into the hobby of Marine aquariums?

I have always loved the ocean and one day I was bored sitting in a work trailer watching youtube when up came a video called something like “Is an epaulette shark the right pet for you?” I thought epaulette sharks were so cool and upon learning they weren't that difficult I started looking into saltwater and eventually landed on a 110-gallon as a starter tank. Since then I have had several projects, most of them failures but I now have two large saltwater tanks; a coral and a FOWLR. In that time I have also learned to SCUBA dive and grown my passion for the ocean. However I have never, ever since considered an epaulette shark.

• A link to your build/tank thread on Reef2Reef.

Build Thread - There's something fishy about this build...

I bought a tank. It's gonna have fish and water and stuff. In all some seriousness, this tank is to replace my original tank, which was used, jerry-rigged together, and terrible. I hope to do better with this one. The tank: It's a ProStar 150 Peninsula. 48x24x24 110-gallon with a 30-gallon...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[tbrown]

• The name of your reef tank

Something fishy

• Your response to this month’s Mariner of the Month question: What got you into the hobby of Marine aquariums?

I have always loved the ocean and one day I was bored sitting in a work trailer watching youtube when up came a video called something like “Is an epaulette shark the right pet for you?” I thought epaulette sharks were so cool and upon learning they weren't that difficult I started looking into saltwater and eventually landed on a 110-gallon as a starter tank. Since then I have had several projects, most of them failures but I now have two large saltwater tanks; a coral and a FOWLR. In that time I have also learned to SCUBA dive and grown my passion for the ocean. However I have never since considered an epaulette shark.

• A link to your build/tank thread on Reef2Reef.

Build Thread - There's something fishy about this build...

I bought a tank. It's gonna have fish and water and stuff. In all some seriousness, this tank is to replace my original tank, which was used, jerry-rigged together, and terrible. I hope to do better with this one. The tank: It's a ProStar 150 Peninsula. 48x24x24 110-gallon with a 30-gallon...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[ESHOPPS.INC]

Loving the entries! Keep em coming fam!

 

[JoJosReef]

@Reefing_addiction @VintageReefer @Mschmidt @Fish Styx @fishguy242 @907_Reefer @00W ... Any other future Mariners out there? @luis angel @Calmwaters @vlangel @OrchidMiss @kevgib67 @WalkerLovesTheOcean @jkcoral ...

 

[ESHOPPS.INC]

I take it that I didn’t win..,

the voting has not even started yet.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I take it that I didn’t win..,

the voting has not even started yet.

Which means, @BeanAnimal, you still have time to enter!!

 

[BeanAnimal]

meh.. Contests are not my cup of tea and I am too lazy these days to start a tank thread or tell a story.

 

[tbrown]

meh.. Contests are not my cup of tea and I am too lazy these days to start a tank thread or tell a story.

Even if they throw in Bacon???