There's always a first time for everything. What get you into the hobby?

MaxTremors

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I had always been into animals as a kid (had all kinds of exotic pets), and as a teenager (around 14) I started keeping FW aquariums, ended up having 5 or 6 different tanks going. I always looked at the small SW section at the small little local pet store, they didn’t ever have much, but I always enjoyed seeing what they had. One day, I saw a leopard wrasse at the pet store, and that’s when I decided to finally take the plunge.

When I was 15 I got a small insurance settlement (a couple thousand) and decided I was finally going to start a SW tank. My parents made me get rid of the FW tanks before they were going to let me start a 55 gallon saltwater tank, but while I was finding homes for all the FW fish, I started a 10g nano. It was pretty low tech, even for the time, it had standard fluorescent lights (actinic and 50/50 bulbs), a skilter (a power filter with a crappy skimmer built into it), and a little maxi-jet powerhead. It was just live rock, some mushrooms that came on the rock, a firefish, and a yellow tail damsel. It did surprisingly well, no fish losses and the mushrooms didn’t look great for the first couple months, but they pulled through. This was when cycling with damsels was still recommended, luckily there was still Fiji, Marshal Islands, and Tongan live rock readily available, so knowing what we know now the fish were probably never in any danger (other than my inexperience).

When I was finally ready for the 55 gallon, I drove (with my new license) 2 hours to the nearest city (Spokane, WA) and bought an acrylic 55g tank, stand, lighting (VHOs!), sand, live rock, pumps, a HOB skimmer (Sea Clone!), everything I needed to set the tank up. I brought it home, set it up (with tap water!), and then the next day I went about 2 yellow tail damsels and a 4 stripe damsel to cycle the tank. For the most part everything went pretty well, but I did lose a couple fish due to ignorance. A few months in I got the leopard wrasse, a fish I had for 5-6 years until my tank was crashed by an incompetent house sitter (upgraded to a larger tank by that point).

Anyway, that’s how I got started in the hobby, been obsessed ever since, only went without a tank for a total of 3 years since 1996.
 

kdx7214

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A good portion of my childhood was spent camping near a dam. We would walk to the overflow and I have fond memories of the smell. Fast forward about 15 years and I got my first freshwater tanks and fell in love with cichlids. The shop I got my fish at had a 2.5 gallon saltwater setup with a clown in it. That was all it took :)
 

Jimbhoy13

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I kept tropical fish many years ago. When I retired I thought I would start up again. Went to lfs and started talking about how easy / difficult it was to keep salt water fish. Left the shop after buying an aqua one 180 saltwater tank.
 

Manny’s Reef

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Welcome to the R2R family.

you're welcome love GIF


I went scuba diving in Thailand. The rest was history.
 

revhtree

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Welcome and kinda embarrassed to say but my wife wanted a "Finding Nemo" aquarium and so did I. There I said it! ;)
 

TnFishwater98

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Hi reef2reef, my username is SOTO, which also stands for slice of the ocean. Yes I know, its cliché. I am from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A third world country in Southeast Asia. I love the reef/saltwater aquarium. Like most people, I fell in love with this hobby after watching the symbiosis between clownfish and anemone at my LFS display tank. The view give me a piece of mind and I can watch it for hours! This is how I get into the hobby.

Unlike most people, I never had an aquarium before. Not even into freshwater. The reason I just found out about this hobby now is because the reefing community in Malaysia is very very small. I am 28 years old, and I never knew this hobby existed before. Most LFS here only into freshwater and plant-aquascape. Over here, it is a godsend if you have reef/saltwater-related LFS close to your vicinity, which, believe it or not, I can count with my fingers the number of reef/saltwater shop throughout the country. On top of that, reefing in a third world country means everything is expensive. Really really expensive. Thus, everything is on a budget/DIY to own a reef/saltwater aquarium.

However, all these not gonna make me stay away from the hobby. There's always a first time for everything. And this is just my beginning. Hope everyone here kind enough to guide me in this hobby.

What get you into the hobby?

KLCC.jpg
I’ve always been into science and loved aquatic life. My son found a hermit crab on the beach and put him in a bucket with other shells. I didn’t realize it made the trip to Nashville until unpacking the car. I immediately went out and got my first 20 gallon tank. It was a easy way to let the wife know I have a new hobby! Lol
0F63B8F4-FA5C-4D9C-8B2F-D8205246A306.jpeg
 

Nemo&Friends

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Started with FW when my husband found an abandoned tank with 4 gold fish in a house he was managing. Water was so dirty we could hardly the fish. We felt sorry for them and decide to save them. I then got tropical FW fish in a planted FW aquarium, until a friend who could no longer keep his SWF brought his aquarium to me. That was over 10 years ago, and I still have one of his original fish, a 4 stripped black and white damsel.
But I do not have coral, except for 1 gorgonian, gotten in the last 2 month. I want to have macro algae instead.
You will enjoy this forum, I read it for a long time, before I decide to join. Welcome SOTO
 

N.Sreefer

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Welcome! When I was a kid my parents moved from Newfoundland to Florida and the moment I dived off the keys I was hooked. I collected tons of stuff from the beach (didn't know better and this was the 90s) and made a little tide pool out of a little turtle shaped kiddie pool. When we moved back to Canada I already had reptiles and fw tanks but I missed the colors and microfauna so I started a sw.
 

VermontReefs

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My love for this hobby started when I was 12 year old. Growing up my best friends dad had a 60g Reef in their living room and I was in awe! We are talking nearly 28 years ago! Not only did I get bit by the aquaria bug from spending so much time at their house but he also had a high end audio theatre in his living room with very expensive B&W's.

Needless to say, I was hooked on two very expensive hobbies from the age of 12
( Reefing & Audiophile Audio) and I still till this day have affinity for both.

From 12-20yrs old I had a 30g Freshwater with 2 Silver Dollar fish....one of the Silver's was still with me when I moved onto college. In college I built my first 55g long reef and subsequently have had several iterations of reef setups. Now a home owner and no longer moving around, I am building a dream setup with a Cade 1200 and all the automation & toys you can imagine :)
 
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sotoreef

sotoreef

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Welcome to the salty side and the community! That's a fascinating story you shared. You will have to post your DIY stuff to the DIY section. :) We can probably learn some things from you! I always wanted a saltwater tank but it seemed quite intimidating so I just kept (and still keep) freshwater tanks. I finally decided to take the plunge about four months ago after spending a couple years on here researching and learning.
Thanks! If I did any DIY I will make a post about it. I too find saltwater tank quite intimidating. But after tons of reading articles and watching youtube videos, the intimidation gone and the excitement kicks in haha!
 
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sotoreef

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I had always been into animals as a kid (had all kinds of exotic pets), and as a teenager (around 14) I started keeping FW aquariums, ended up having 5 or 6 different tanks going. I always looked at the small SW section at the small little local pet store, they didn’t ever have much, but I always enjoyed seeing what they had. One day, I saw a leopard wrasse at the pet store, and that’s when I decided to finally take the plunge.

When I was 15 I got a small insurance settlement (a couple thousand) and decided I was finally going to start a SW tank. My parents made me get rid of the FW tanks before they were going to let me start a 55 gallon saltwater tank, but while I was finding homes for all the FW fish, I started a 10g nano. It was pretty low tech, even for the time, it had standard fluorescent lights (actinic and 50/50 bulbs), a skilter (a power filter with a crappy skimmer built into it), and a little maxi-jet powerhead. It was just live rock, some mushrooms that came on the rock, a firefish, and a yellow tail damsel. It did surprisingly well, no fish losses and the mushrooms didn’t look great for the first couple months, but they pulled through. This was when cycling with damsels was still recommended, luckily there was still Fiji, Marshal Islands, and Tongan live rock readily available, so knowing what we know now the fish were probably never in any danger (other than my inexperience).

When I was finally ready for the 55 gallon, I drove (with my new license) 2 hours to the nearest city (Spokane, WA) and bought an acrylic 55g tank, stand, lighting (VHOs!), sand, live rock, pumps, a HOB skimmer (Sea Clone!), everything I needed to set the tank up. I brought it home, set it up (with tap water!), and then the next day I went about 2 yellow tail damsels and a 4 stripe damsel to cycle the tank. For the most part everything went pretty well, but I did lose a couple fish due to ignorance. A few months in I got the leopard wrasse, a fish I had for 5-6 years until my tank was crashed by an incompetent house sitter (upgraded to a larger tank by that point).

Anyway, that’s how I got started in the hobby, been obsessed ever since, only went without a tank for a total of 3 years since 1996.
Fascinating! 15 such a young age and you able to keep a saltwater aquarium. I bet I can't even keep a freshwater fish alive if I were you
 

Karen00

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Thanks! If I did any DIY I will make a post about it. I too find saltwater tank quite intimidating. But after tons of reading articles and watching youtube videos, the intimidation gone and the excitement kicks in haha!
I look back on some of the articles and posts I saved that seemed so daunting (like how to mix salt) and I wonder why I was so nervous because now it's so easy! I only wish I didn't let my fear get the better of me for all those years because I would've been enjoying the hobby a lot sooner! :)
 
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sotoreef

sotoreef

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Welcome! Got started after achiving everything with fresh water, and after raising some money to start salt water :). Best move ever. Still keeping fresh water also but my main focus is salt baby.
Agreed with you. Best move ever! I am so excited to start my tank

A good portion of my childhood was spent camping near a dam. We would walk to the overflow and I have fond memories of the smell. Fast forward about 15 years and I got my first freshwater tanks and fell in love with cichlids. The shop I got my fish at had a 2.5 gallon saltwater setup with a clown in it. That was all it took :)
I knew it, it was always the clown that hooked us to the hobby haha!

Well I went to the Maldives and when I came back bought a tank, that’s it! Lol
Wow Maldives has been in my bucket list for years! Hopefully one fine day

I kept tropical fish many years ago. When I retired I thought I would start up again. Went to lfs and started talking about how easy / difficult it was to keep salt water fish. Left the shop after buying an aqua one 180 saltwater tank.
Haha that escalated quickly. from talking about it to buying a 180 gallon :D

The rest was history.
A best one!
 

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