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RiptideAquaculture

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tbrown

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I started with freshwater when I was 7 and eventually had 7 tanks. Then I got married and my wife let me have a tank which graduated to 6 tanks - 4 of them planted. I found a 75 gallon tank for $5 at a thrift store and decided it would be perfect for a reef tank. My wife didn't agree with me so I set it up to her wrong. It's been all uphill from there (unless you ask my wife).
 

OrchidMiss

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11-14-06.jpg

This was my very first salt tank of my own, about 16-17 years ago now. I grew up with my parents having fish only tanks, and I wanted to try some easy corals in my little ~29g tank.
Started out super basic, I changed from the penguin filter to a Coralife HOB skimmer, and on Christmas morning we woke up to a house filled with smoke, no power, and all the smoke alarms going off.
The skimmer had gone haywire overnight and overflowed. It has been running for several months, so it wasn't just the break in period.
Ok, not the end of the world, wouldn't be the first time the skimmer overflowed. However, it WAS the first time it overflowed all night, and unbeknownst to me, directly below the tank in the super scary basement (I swear there were bodies buried down there) was the breaker box.
Several hours of salt water dripping into the breaker box = BAD NEWS. Luckily the 118y/o house didn't go up like a box of matches. But, that was the end of salt tanks for me for quite a while.
Now, my oldest reef tank is almost 2 years old and looking amazing! Also, on a concrete slab in the den, there's no basement!
20220225_170148.jpg
 

Stang67

KEEP CALM AND REEF ON
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Had freshwater on and off for years. Got bored one day and thought I would try salt. Love scuba diving and didn't think it would be that hard. Lesson I have learned : patience.
 

billyocean

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Had a 75 gallon with breeding jack Dempseys and a 125 aggressive freshwater tank when I was young. Always wanted to go saltwater because the fish were much more appealing to me. I studied/researched information for about 10 years before I decided to take the plunge. Bought my first tank, 28 nanocube, and off I went. By this time I wanted to dabble in corals with fish still being the priority...which lasted for about six months..lol. Now, even though I love fish..they are more of a means to an end for my coral. Had 4 tanks going for a while and took 2 down..too much work..before work. Now I run a 125 and 29 gallon. In the next year or two I'm going to get either a 96"×24" or 84x24 tank. The 18" wide 125 is too narrow IMO. The biggest thing I've learned is husbandry on a daily basis..whether test kits or visual inspection. Still haven't hooked up my skimmer because my parameters stay where I want them. Even had to dose nitrate and phos for a bit to reach those numbers.

First tank

20210212_175734.jpg

20210228_154036.jpg
 

ninjamyst

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My dad had a saltwater reef tank when I was growing up. This was 30 years ago when things were much harder. Biggest lesson learned is keep things simple. Expensive equipments are nice but not necessary
 

Gtinnel

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I started as a teenager with a freshwater aquarium with oscars, and when I would go to Petland to buy feeder fish I was always fascinated with how pretty the saltwater fish were. I eventually sold my oscars and converted to saltwater.

The biggest thing I've learned about this hobby is that patience is key. Nothing happens quickly in this hobby
 

LeeLoo Lola

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My husband and I started out with cichlids. We soon Befriended a LFS owner who started giving us his rarest fish to breed and return fry to sell. It was fun and challenging, but the need for more challenges continued. We dove into the world of reef aquariums about 17ish years ago. Between moving and life events we had to start over a few times. We started back up a few months ago after a 6 year break. Biggest lesson is that things are constantly changing. We had to relearn how to care for a reef tank. The good thing is that a lot of awesome technology also came out in the meantime.​
 

Fatmike92

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Started off with a freshwater and got really into it

moved to a brackish with archer fish and a string ray (miss that tank so much)

then took the jump into saltwater when I worked for my LFS!

geez I also forgot to add what my valuable lesson was

for me it’s definitely to take things slow and think it out. It saves you time, money, and heartache

not that I actually follow my own advice….
 
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tbrown

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I started with freshwater when I was 7 and eventually had 7 tanks. Then I got married and my wife let me have a tank which graduated to 6 tanks - 4 of them planted. I found a 75 gallon tank for $5 at a thrift store and decided it would be perfect for a reef tank. My wife didn't agree with me so I set it up to her wrong. It's been all uphill from there (unless you ask my wife).
I forgot to add my valuable lesson. The biggest thing I've learned is that it's not about how much money you spend, you have to take your time and just do it the right way not the fast way.
 

Melanie Fish

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I got into it from my dad. We did a 120 gallon fish only tank back in the 90s. It really wasn't about coral back then. We used to wake up early and wait in line for new fish deliveries at a fish store in Flatrock Mi. These days I'm the opposite. Way more into the coral than the fish. I do love my fish tho.
Most important lesson was using good source water. Just makes such a big difference
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 58 49.6%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 64 54.7%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 28 23.9%
  • None.

    Votes: 28 23.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 7.7%
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