What got you into SW?

ficklefins · May 21, 2008

What got you interested in saltwater tanks?

I always find the answer to this question interesting for some reason. So I will start off with my story.

I was working at Persmart in the small animals department and most of my work was with freshwater fish. One of the fish we had there was absolutely fascinating to me, the needlenose fish. I started doing research on how to keep this fish and the best tank setup for them. Then I was walking through a Mall and found a fish store that was selling a 55g fresh water setup for $xx. So I purchased the setup and brought it home. Before filling that monster I started doing some research and came across a picture of a mandarin and thought it was my ideal fish. I then switched my research to SW and next thing I know I have a 55g SW tank with PC lights and the usual fish setup. 1 anemone, 2 clowns, 1 yellow tang, 1 cleaner wrasse, 1 leopard wrasse.

And that was the start of my money black hole.

Leishman · May 21, 2008

Anyone who says "Finding Nemo" should be banned from R2R for life. If that was your real reason, please make up a fancy lie for us.

I got into SW when I got my 1st window office at work, I had to look 'big time'.

Kigs! · May 21, 2008

Finding Nemo.

...

reef-nut · May 21, 2008

Got into it right out of high school. Had a friend with a lot of money and he set one up and I helped him take care of it and fell in love.

143gadgets · May 22, 2008

Started with a freshwater tank and got bored. End of story....

Questin · May 22, 2008

I was doing Freshwater, but the saltwater tanks always looked cool at my LFS at the time. I would have to say that my jump into the saltwater was the result of my LFS being so well run and the employees being cool and later all becoming friends.

edwing206 · May 22, 2008

I was originally going to do a freshwater setup. Then I went to a LFS I fell in love with the SW section. I setup a 30gallon had it for 2 years. Then my older brother(19) started getting interested and setup a 10 gallon w/ 70w MH and ran an ozone generator. Kind of over board I know. Then we saw a 55gallon fully plumbed and wired, black stand w/ matching canopy for $100. We couldn't pass up that offer so we took it. Several hundred(maybe close to $1000) later I'm where I am now.

rocko918 · May 22, 2008

My Father, Brother and I setup a tank in my parents house back in 95? It was an in-wall 110 gallon tank. I have no idea where they got the rock but it was crawling with critter. I would just sit there and stare at all the thing moving around. But i always said it was too much work to keep it up. Mixing salt, doing water changes and a skimmer (what the heck was that!) Anyway we had lots of cool fish, no real corals, but it was still cool has heck. Then i went with them to break down someones saltwater tank as they were trading for it. The guy had a nano cube setup with some corals in it. It was awesome. Had to have one. So i started with a nano.

Eklikewhoa · May 22, 2008

Honestly?

I'm a gear junkie.

scouncil · May 22, 2008

The beauty of the fish. I had a freshwater tank as a kid for many years and always went over to stare at the saltwater. Lived in FL where SW fish stores were in abundance, was making an ok salary to afford the more expensive fish and there I was. SW tank!

revhtree · May 22, 2008

I was teaching in our Christian school here and two brothers started talking about diving and how they just got a 75g saltwater aquarium. I ended up buying their set up 2 years later from them and setting it up. When I first started I didnt know anything about sumps so I didnt even ill the 75g up enough to overflow.

coral88 · May 22, 2008

When I was 12 I went to a Chinese restaurant. The entryway was lined with tanks, Mostly goldfish, rainbows and various other freshwater fish along with a 120 planted tank and a few saltwater ones as well. I still associate the smell of Chinese food restaurants with aquariums. My mom had a 20gal at the time and let me get a fish from the restaurant. It just happened that the owner (Joe)was the one to get me my fish. He was friendly but a little hard to understand because of a strong Japanese accent(yes Joe was Japanese and owned a Chinese food restaurant Try explaining that to a 12 year old). So knowing I could ride my bike to the restaurant(it was about a 15min bike ride from my house) and see all the fish and my new friend who would sell me things at considerable discount. I started going to the restaurant on my own to see my friend Joe two or three times a week. After overstocking my moms aquarium I got one of my own and not long after that came home with a bag of salt on my handlebars. So my fist saltwater tank at twelve years old was setup on my own with my $10 a week allowance and my discount at the Chinese fish store/restaurant. It was a 55gal full of caulerpa and a Niger trigger that would eat anything that hit the water. I’ve not gone more than 6 months without a tank in the 16 years since then.

scp443 · May 22, 2008

A friend of mine had a tank and it sparked my intrest. I think i really just needed something to keep my brain active since i stopped going to school.

J. Montgomery · May 22, 2008

I always had freshwater tanks setup growing up. When I moved to VA for graduate school, I left behind my 55 gallon (former Oscar tank). When the local pet store started carrying salt water fish, my girlfriend suggested I try setting up a salt water tank . . .

Things have totally snowballed from there. What was meant to be a fish tank has blown into a full reef. I love it though

lReef lKeeper · May 22, 2008

my WIFE suggested a saltwater tank ... that was about 5 years ago and many thousands of $$ ago. she had NO IDEA what she was starting !! lol

Palancar · May 22, 2008

We started with freshwater aquariums, then moved to African Cichlids and made the progression to saltwater in 1980. The reason I got scuba certified in 1983 was to collect for our aquariums. Later I got into the underwater photography when we started going to Cozumel, Aruba and Bonaire.

ficklefins · May 22, 2008

Palancar said:
We started with freshwater aquariums, then moved to African Cichlids and made the progression to saltwater in 1980. The reason I got scuba certified in 1983 was to collect for our aquariums. Later I got into the underwater photography when we started going to Cozumel, Aruba and Bonaire.

Louis,

I would be interested in seeing some of your pics. Would you be willing to start a thread on R2R showing us some of your shots? Sorry for getting off topic.

Palancar · May 23, 2008

More than happy too, I will start a thread once I get home from work next week. 7 and 7 schedule.

Smarsh · May 23, 2008

My friend got me started. I was always afraid of saltwater becuase it was so "hard" to take care of.

When I saw the beauty that was her nano cube I had to have one as well. I bought a used nano cube, worst thing ever, then moved up from there. 4 years later I have the 180.

Sandy

ecotoxlady · May 30, 2008

Got into keeping salt water fish after my first boyfriend introduced me to it. Reef keeping started when I was trying to set up a tank for a puffer fish and was told by a shopkeeper at a local LFS that liverock would make the tank cycle so much faster. I found myself spending hours just staring at the liverock :lol: It was all downhill from there!