Welcome to R2RHi 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?