What got you into reef keeping

[Robthorn]

Thank you as well Paul B. As well as everyone else that has served. I have not caught up on the whole thread yet.

 

[Armydogracing]

Thank you @Robthorn

 

[bios]

to forget ghosts or... as a stress therapy ..
dont know
anyway to not feel alone..as here have some friends to share it

 

[Paul B]

Did it take that long to get the appointment? Just messing around. My VA is bad with appointments

But seriously if anyone Vets need to talk please feel free to message me IGY6 I know it's always easier for me to talk to fellow vets.

Actually the day before Veterans Day I was asked to speak about my experiences in Viet Nam to a Kiwanis club. A guy there was an Army Ranger who was in the same place in Nam when I was there. He knew of a battle I was in and told me he is an advocate for Veterans and I should go and see him. I went and he introduced me to a councilor from the VA. She interviewed me 3 times and determined I have PTSD today.
But I still feel the same which is fantastic. :D

 

[Armydogracing]

I'd love to hear some more stories

 

[Armydogracing]

Any other stories out there of what got you into the hobby :)

 

[ca1ore]

Mine's not particularly dramatic, just a life long love of the water and the ocean. Almost went into marine biology in college before it occurred to me their were only two jobs in the industry. Jacques Cousteau had one, Bob Ballard the other. Started keepin aquaria as a small child in the early '70's and it was a simple progression from G2 to reefs.

 

[easternreefer]

started with FW ran the gamut.. community/planted/ Cichlids.. eventually got bored with the FW. knew some people that had both, I used to be on Badmans tropical fish site a lot. (Many years ago) Got on the Boston reefers site and moved to Salt.
the thing that keeps me in the hobby isn't the corals or the fish. Its the creepy crawlies. The bristleworms and the like. One of my first memories is of picking periwinkles off a beach in Maine and cooking them for a snack. I love being at the beach and staring into tidepools.

 

[Susan Edwards]

Mine is pretty tame. Had a 50 gal freshwater in the early 90's until hubby threw a dog bone through it. Got a 100 gal in early 2000's. Got too busy when I opened a retail shop so let it go. Then in 2016 dau moved in with guy into their new house. He set up a 300 gal with 200 gal sump in what used to be a wine cellar. He set her up with a 40 gal. I loved it and figured if my dau could handle it, so could I.

A year later, her tank is trashed as she has no time and she is going to pass it to me when she gets around it (A red sea 130 I think). It will become my frag tank. Now at the end of 2017 when my tank is a year old, I'm starting a new build--a 125 for the living room. My RS Max c250 is in my office. Do I plan to go bigger? Nope. No room. This will be it.

 

[Donovan Joannes]

I setup a small 10G nemo tank for my daugther in 2012, got addicted and brought home 75G tank (used) for myself. Still running the same 75G whilst the 10G was given to my FIL as freshwater fish tank.

 

[Vahanyos]

Great stories.

I’ve been wanting a hobby ever since I️ gave up gaming. I’ve always been fascinated by marine life and finally decided to take the plung and buy a tank. Went with saltwater for the challenge, and I️ love it! Found a local reefer selling his tank for $100, and here I️ am now :). Its the best therapy a man can ask for. Nature is beautiful.

Started nov 2016.

 

[Nyx101]

I just got into reefing. Speaks to the long lost nerd in me which turned into a love hungry drug abuser for several years. Got clean 3 years ago and started working as patient attendant in a hospital around that time. Got an older bf with two kids he’s crazy about and decided I’ll go crazy over something of my own. Keeps loneliness and depressing thoughts at bay. Figured taking care of the sick has to be emotionally harder than caring for equally fragile marine beings so I’m set on doing this right no matter the cost. Interesting thread I’ll enjoy reading for the night. Happy reefing! :)

 

[dugthefish]

What got me into reefkeeping? I hate having money!

 

[Evan28395950]

I remember going to the lakes and seeing all the fish as a kid. I got a betta when I was a pre teen, that went mostly well. I remember seeing saltwater fish on a vacation once and thought how amazing the ocean is. One thing lead to another and I now have a 24gal biocube. It helps keep me happy and even more busy! :)
Thanks for your service all in the thread and website!

 

[Armydogracing]

Bumping this up would love to hear some more stories.

 

[Efranco]

Always loved animals esp fish and would watch nature shows with my dad when I was young. Was always in awe of all the shows about the ocean then I started watching the Show "Tanked" and got started with small fresh water tanks before jumping into salt...Never been happier and more broke...

 

[Jason mack]

I've always wanted a salt water tank , but was told they were very difficult....after diving and snorkeling in the red sea I fell in love with coral and reefs ...so I looked into getting a tank when I got back

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

And here I am today. 80 gallon shallow.

 

[Armydogracing]

Very nice

 

[RFL]

Was a freshwater fish guy from grade school age on. Then one day in the late 1980s I went to my LFS just to see what's new and whoa! .... what are those critters? A week later I had a 180g, sump, skimmer, pumps, etc.... on order. That was pre-internet so I was looking everywhere for books on the subject and building a library as fast as I could. I even called Albert Thiel (one of the early reef gurus and authors) and we probably talked for an hour. It was a very very small community back then. Fast forward... Now I'm retired and have downsized to a 25g nano and move it back and forth to Florida with me every 6 months. That's nuts right? Love this hobby as much as I did on day one. The hobby is always advancing so I'm always learning... and having a huge friendly community like R2R to share the journey with makes it even more enjoyable!

As for you vets - Thank you for your service and sacrifice. Most of us appreciate it more than you know. Every American and the rest of the free world owe you a great debt of gratitude. God bless!