Tank Tales: What was your first tank like and how did it come about?

[725196]

My first saltwater tank was a used 55 gallon complete set up...undergravel and whisper filter, BUT I dont count that. My first real reef tank was paid for by my tax refund. Again used, but it was what I needed at the time.

 

[JulieZ]

3 weeks ago, my husband and I bought a 90 gallon saltwater tank from a family on facebook who was moving. We got it for $250 dollars. That included the tank, stand, equipment, fish, food, chemicals, coral, live rock etc. It was a bargain. We actually only wanted the equipment, tank, and stand because we were not prepared for fish but the owner did not advertise or say anything about fish...so it was a surprise... we are currently dealing with ich and a starfish infestation and are desperately looking for harlequin shrimp. Hopefully everything works out.

 

[Shoomie]

I started freshwater 25 years ago. Went to a LFS after mowing lawns and saving allowance. Started "big" 55g. Angel fish and neons etc. Went on to breeding angels for years, selling to local shops..got the 120 then the 200 "Amazon River". Fast forward. Moved to NJ 12 years ago from the San Francisco bay area (yea a girl) married her, now got a 2 and 6 year old, a house no money and no tank. Last January cought the reef bug. Started researching, still am. Then got a 90g Ocianic Tech tank, stand, sump, skimmer, heaters, ato...got new Kessil ap9xs.

To answer the question, how? Well, Facebook Market place. Yup, selling everything!, house stuff, basement stuff, garage stuff. Now the reef greens are adding up. Wife is looking at me saying "sooo why can't you do this regularly?"
Need the sump pums, wave pumps, rodi, sand, rocks and uv......well, then the doseing pumps, apex, etc (I forgot how you can keep buying more equipment non-stop). Anyway that's my story. This build is coming soon and can't wait.
-Shoomie

 

[KingTideCorals]

I was eight years old...

Went to my LFS (sadly now gone from my hometown, but every time I drive by the area I tell a story), and fell in long with a longnose hawkfish. I asked the owner, Larry, how can I get that fish. My mother was in the next store over and Larry told me this... "If you can convince your mom you can keep the tank yourself and have the money to buy it... she cant say no!" (Worst/Best advice ever given).

That following week I rode my bike down to Barnes and Noble and bought a "Saltwater Aquariums for Dummies" book. I stayed up night after night and made a PowerPoint HAHAHA. The next day I approached my dad sitting on the couch and mom in the kitchen and gave them the presentation. They said if I buy the tank I can get it.

The next summer was epic. I did everything a 8 year old could do to make money, by my birthday in June I had the money for the tank. I went back to Larry at the old LFS and the man hooked little Reefer Blaine up and got him his 30 gallon tank...

That is how it all started... LOL! Happy Reefing.

 

[Jax15]

A friend had all the gear for nice little 10g nano and lent it to me. This was many years ago and I had NO IDEA what I was doing . It was a great way to learn that I loved the hobby though (but poor fish... I kept topping off with salt water! Just didn't get it back then...). Later in life I bought myself I nice setup, and then another nicer setup!

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

The first tank that I bought and cared for myself was a classic glass fishbowl with some gravel in the bottom, a plastic plant, and a betta. I got him to be my buddy in my dorm room in college. Loved that fish! Every week I'd catch him and put him in a drinking glass while I rinsed everything in the tank and did a 100% water change using bottled water from the grocery store. The problem arose that during the Christmas break nobody would be around to care for him, so I put him in a Mason jar, packed his fish bowl, and took him on the 5 hour bus ride back to my parents house. Unfortunately when I arrived home I discovered that I'd done a poor job packing the fish bowl and it had smashed! With no other options, he went into my father's freshwater tank where he promptly came down with fin rot. That was the end of my fish keeping for many years.

Fast forward to today. I have a terrible time sleeping in complete silence. Thought about moving a TV to the bedroom but that's just as likely to keep me awake as allow me to sleep. Then I had a brilliant plan! A fish tank! Trickling and bubbling water would be the ultimate white noise, and I'd get the fun of looking after some neat fish. Walked into the LFS not sure what I wanted, just knew the space I had available. They managed to convince me that saltwater wasn't much harder than freshwater and next thing I knew, I had 46 gallons of saltwater to care for!

Although I may regret some of the hardware choices on my first saltwater tank (this being much of the reason I've just recently started a new one), I don't regret taking the plunge into saltwater at all. I've enjoyed it so much and it's become a true obsession.

 

[Starkrost]

I bought my first 26 gallon freshwater tank (which included a heater, undergravel filter, air stone and pump, hood with light, and metal stand) at the age of 14 from a neighbor's garage sale. No matter what my Dad and I did, we couldn't stop it from slowly leaking overnight during leak testing. He finally had mercy on me and bought a new 26 gallon for me. I bought a second 26 gallon tank a couple years later with my earnings from working at Burger King. I gave those tanks away when I left for college and bought a 55 gallon tank and stand from an LFS in my sophomore year while working at Wendy's. Again, freshwater, but I LOVED my angelfish. My current 13.5 gal AIO Fluval Evo is my first reef tank which was the only item on my Christmas wish list. Half of that tax return is definitely going towards a bigger tank!

 

[wheels 45]

My first tank was a 36 gallon community tank, which I got free from friends' of mine in 2015 and had it running for about a year. I gave it to my brother in exchange for him making me a stand for my second tank, a 75g African cichlids, which I started in October 2016. It is still running I got that free from a friend as well. He used it as a reptile enclosure, but had not used it for a long time. On Black Friday -2018 I bought my third tank, a 32 gallon Coralife biocube and I set up my first saltwater tank.

 

[LordNecro]

I sold my pokemon and playing card deck collection for almost $3,000. I'm not sure if I regret selling my pokemon collection as I had a really nice one and kind of want to collect again. But I love my first tank, currently 2 months old! Its a red sea max nano 20 gallon

 

[Reef man 89]

Frist tank was a nuvo 40 AIO. Just starting watching videos on youtube one day and BRS video came up back when it was Ryan and Reid. After watching it I was thinking to myself that seems easy. So bought my tank stand lights and at that point I was already in so was not turning back. Boy oh boy did I have alot to learn. Know just can get enough of it. But my new tank RSR250 trump played for. What better way to burn my stimulus check.

 

[Paulie069]

My

Frist tank was a nuvo 40 AIO. Just starting watching videos on youtube one day and BRS video came up back when it was Ryan and Reid. After watching it I was thinking to myself that seems easy. So bought my tank stand lights and at that point I was already in so was not turning back. Boy oh boy did I have alot to learn. Know just can get enough of it. But my new tank RSR250 trump played for. What better way to burn my stimulus check.

my first tank was a 2and half gallon triangle shape tank (15.99 Walmart) I got it because I found a seahorse on the boat. After that every time I found another ponie I’d bring it home, pretty soon I got a five gallon tank then a 10 gallon tank and then a twenty,, I got up to 25 ponies in it then got another twenty gallon so I could have more ponies,, so there I was with 2 twenty gallon tanks with a total of 26 seahorses,, then one day I was off work and bored so I googled “seahorse chat room” so I could connect with other people that liked seahorses,, anyway the search took me to this websites seahorse forum and I started checking out the beautiful tanks that were posted after 2 weeks I decided that’s what I wanted. This was in December,, I started looking for a setup and came across a 55gal with a 20gal sump with all lights n power heads for 150 dollars
I plugged it in on January 17 and have been learning ever since
I now have a 65 w 30 sump and I’m on my way to having a reef tank,, at the present time I have 12 fish and 14 seahorses with a bunch of coral (mostly mushrooms)

 

[NowasReef]

After many FW tanks had a 35 hex African Cichlid tank in 2001. Went on honeymoon in Florida Keys and had first experience of ocean and snorkeling. Came home to find a spring snowstorm knocked power out (end of May) for extended period and heater died, along with all the cichlids. Thought why not try saltwater. Ordered real live rock from somewhere across the world. Stunk up the house for a week and the honeymoon was definitely over. Went to a LFS and was told no way I could make that tank work.....so I did. Until I filled it with everything possible. Found a new LFS and ordered. 6’ 100 gallon right after complete remodel of basement. 2 days after carpet instal load it up with live sand and more stinky live rock. Wake up in the morning to take dogs to basement and “squish”. About 80 gallons of the ripe sea water on the floor. There was apparently a hairline crack in the skimmer that expandedaftwr the water ran through. Insurance claim and they tried to go after the skimmer manufacturer.....no idea what ever happened. Another few weeks more new carpet....that had to be laid around the tank which was about 20% water rocks sand etc. New carpet, tank back in pace, round 2. Very successful and ultimately had about 5 tanks in the room at one time. 2008 took a break and moved to a hobby farm. About 4 years ago started up another African tank. Now back to 1 65 African, 1 75 mixed reef, 1 55 softie reef, currently setting up a 75 hex FOWLR, a 29 clown/ softie tank (6 weeks old) and 3 other 20 gal or smaller FW tanks. As far as how to pay for them......it’s my hobby right now. When I had chickens, goats, crops, etc I left for a bit. Wife knows I could spend on much worse. She has one rule that I can do what I want with the tanks as long as they are clean and look good. I try to buy used/ trade when possible, especially livestock

 

[Indytraveler83]

My first saltwater tank was embarrassing...

Inspired by a trip to Shedd aquarium (was 14 or 15 at the time) I took a 40ish gallon hex and filled it with saltwater, crushed coral substrate and big pieces of bleached coral. I used some sort of "Tetra" branded hob filter and a cheap plastic skimmer powered by an airstone.

Once it cycles, I promptly filled it with a blue hippo tang, domino damsel, some sort of angelfish I can't remember, and a lawnmower blenny. Then as my clean up crew, I selected a horseshoe crab and a banded coral shrimp.

So... That didn't go well. Took 20 years before I tried saltwater again.

 

[Doctorgori]

Found it...my 1st "reef" LOL about 6 years before the discovery of blue light (87-ish)

 

[itgoeson]

My 1st reef-ish tank was purchased when I visited my 1st “Reef” store on 40th st & Camelback in Phx, AZ (anyone remember that place?).

Was that the place that used to be a roller skating rink? And they had absolutely huge freshwater fish like a couple of feet long swimming around the circumference of the store in a huge row of tanks plumbed together with big tubes the fish could swim through?

 

[RSnodgrass]

Local club members donated quite a few coral and equipment or sold super cheap. "frag it forward"

 

[Acros]

I always thought reefing was an expensive hobby and stayed away from it for the longest time. Then I started watching youtube videos and found that I could set up a 10-gallon nano for under $200. So I decided to set up a 10-gallon nano and here I am after having spent almost $700 on the last two months.

 

[F i s h y]

my first saltwater tank was a 29 gallon tank with flourescent lighting and black dolomite. I had an electric blue damsel 25 pounds of live rock, a HOB filter couple small power heads... first invert was a banded coral shrimp. First clowns were maroons. Quickly upgraded to a larger corner tank. This was around 1997.

 

[Nick Steele]

Always have had freshwater tanks in my house growing up. But I got my first saltwater tank this year as an early Xmas present (in November) from the fiancé. We had plans to buy a 20G around May 2020 when we would have enough money for one but I’m spoiled what can I say!

I’ve worked in the aquarium industry since April 2019 and ever since then I’ve been doing my research and learning what I could. So far so good!

Latest full tank shot

 

[DSEKULA]

Built it with scrap from work, yes it worked, no it didn't look pretty. Couple years in I decided to rebuild this time I purchased some stuff to add to the work scrap... It looks much nicer