Hello! I dove into this hobby last fall with a Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon AIO. Long backstory made short: When I was in college and we had a house with a basement I had many freshwater tanks going, mainly new world cichlids and almost exclusively South American fish. Moved downtown, downsized, ended up losing my favorite fish (8" Oscar we had raised from 1" fish) and lost interest.
After that it's been a world of kids, work and about 5 years in a very small house. We've recently moved into some more space so I treated myself with returning to a hobby I have always loved. There is just something about recreating and maintaining an ecosystem that really gets my brain going! Not sure why I went marine this time but I have to say I NEVER expected to like coral this much. I figured I would get some fish and live rock and maybe some coral to spice it up a bit. Fast forward a few months and all I want is to buy more coral. Reminds me a lot of gardening: there is just something about watching something grow that I find fascinating. Really developed an interest in propagation and I would love to contribute to growing/fragging coral to (ideally) reduce strain on natural stocks.
Despite being a decently experienced photographer I don't have too many pics of my tank. I need to get some filters to be able to photograph under blues. I will post what I have, probably do a few different posts to kinda show the progression. I will admit I rushed things, I cycled with biospira and was not as patient as I should have been with letting the tank mature. I haven't really been bit by it, but that doesn't mean it was a good idea or something that should be repeated. Happy to answer any questions about my experience!
Annnd just an example of what I plan to do with this tank and reef keeping in general:
After that it's been a world of kids, work and about 5 years in a very small house. We've recently moved into some more space so I treated myself with returning to a hobby I have always loved. There is just something about recreating and maintaining an ecosystem that really gets my brain going! Not sure why I went marine this time but I have to say I NEVER expected to like coral this much. I figured I would get some fish and live rock and maybe some coral to spice it up a bit. Fast forward a few months and all I want is to buy more coral. Reminds me a lot of gardening: there is just something about watching something grow that I find fascinating. Really developed an interest in propagation and I would love to contribute to growing/fragging coral to (ideally) reduce strain on natural stocks.
Despite being a decently experienced photographer I don't have too many pics of my tank. I need to get some filters to be able to photograph under blues. I will post what I have, probably do a few different posts to kinda show the progression. I will admit I rushed things, I cycled with biospira and was not as patient as I should have been with letting the tank mature. I haven't really been bit by it, but that doesn't mean it was a good idea or something that should be repeated. Happy to answer any questions about my experience!
Annnd just an example of what I plan to do with this tank and reef keeping in general:
- 3d printed media chamber. Currently 2/3's printed but I decided to upgrade my printer and now everything is broken =)
- Frag Tank. Likely 1-2 50 gallon low boy's
- Large living room display tank. Probably something with a 6ft dimension. Not in any rush as I want to acquire and grow some more coral.