Just finding this reefing hobby was a huge accomplishment for me.
Let me make a short story long:
I moved out of Hawaii about 5 years ago to spend some time with my father in Utah. I just had a little girl and I wanted her to spend time with him. While living in Utah, my father got ill. Found out it's Parkinson's disease. He fell shortly after and suffered a stroke. So now I take care of him. He's quite fine. Just a little slow on cognition and needs me to "spot" for him whenever he wants to get up and walk. (Told you it was long)
So... Reefing:
I lived in Hawaii my whole life. I'm very much s "local boy". I was in the ocean before kindergarten. I had a 41' ketch rigged sailboat when I was 26, I'm 52 now and just sold it when I moved. I worked fulltime on a 50' catamaran in my early 20s. And I free dove at least 3 time a week for about 20 years before I moved.
So, being on and in the ocean so much, I never considered how much I would miss the smell of the ocean.
I never even considered a fish tank, until I remodeled my father's livingroom. There was as bare wall that was screaming to have one of my surfboards mounted on it. And naturally, a fish tank under it. I told my girlfriend, it would have to be a saltwater tank.
So I began looking for a used system locally. I found one and set it up. I was completely ignorant about the nitrogen cycle. The next day I bought an api test kit, and the ammonia was sky high. I researched and tried chemicals like stability and prime, but I eventually surrendered the clown fish that came with it to my lfs.
As the tank sat, for about 2.5 months, I started researching, like Really researching. I was overwhelmed of how technical a box of water can be. I was absolutely hooked on the science.
Then I got some corals and rock from a local reefer that I helped when he tore down his 400g reef. So I added a few fish and it began.
Later I started feeding the corals reefroids and oyster feast. The oyster feast is what made it all come together. That smell is perfect to what the marinas smelled like. Oh yeah, I also lived on my boat more than in my house.
So.. finding this hobby helped me out more than I could say. From being outside and in/around the ocean my whole life, to be in the house all day, everyday, not to mention in the desert, my tank is more that a little slice of the ocean, it's a little slice of home.
