What got you started?

Cajun_Reefer

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Really ?
it’s not that bad ......, I’m sure the husband won’t mind
The biggest tank we have in the house right now is a 30L Innovative Marine, and we've had multiple "conversations" about how to keep it up/upgrade it. Hence why I got my own nano, because I was tired of him taking over the maintenance while I was at work :p

I'm looking into the Waterbox aquariums, because we have an empty foyer in the front of our house that needs some decoration! :D

Big tanks just intimidate me, I guess - bigger tank, bigger/more expensive if things go wrong. LOL
 

monkeyCmonkeyDo

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I cant wait to come back and read these. Ty!

For me it was boredom.
Lol
Outta high school. 1st job. Something to spend on. Lol
I originally wanted a fish tank and just googled how to start one. Was lucky enough to come across a video of a guy arm mixing sw in a bucket and talking to the camera about marine saltwater fish tanks. This was 08' or so.

Its been a love addiction ever since. I dont need to go scuba diving. I have the reef in my house.
D
 

Rmckoy

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The biggest tank we have in the house right now is a 30L Innovative Marine, and we've had multiple "conversations" about how to keep it up/upgrade it. Hence why I got my own nano, because I was tired of him taking over the maintenance while I was at work :p

I'm looking into the Waterbox aquariums, because we have an empty foyer in the front of our house that needs some decoration! :D

Big tanks just intimidate me, I guess - bigger tank, bigger/more expensive if things go wrong. LOL
Bigger yea. . Everything is bigger , the fish and corals grow bigger .
the cost of equipment and maintenance is bigger .
but the best of all ,
The reward is the same no matter what size .
 

Rmckoy

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Bigger yea. . Everything is bigger , the fish and corals grow bigger .
the cost of equipment and maintenance is bigger .
but the best of all ,
The reward is the same no matter what size .
B910FA3F-825D-4A4F-87C9-6D0ED015504D.jpeg
 

00W

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Went to visit my buddy in college in 1988. He had a 100 with crushed coral and an undergravel filter. He designed the stand and lights.
I went back home where I was going to school and couldn't get that tank out of my head.
Took $50 down to ACE hardware (they sold EVERYTHING back then) and the rest is history.
Been doing it ever since ✌️
 

Vette67

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Growing up, my grandparents lived in Ft. Meyers Florida. They had a canal in their back yard, and we would take my grandfathers boat down the canal and out into Estero bay. I would find all kinds of cool critters along the beach there. One year when I was about 14, I brought some hermit crabs back from Florida to Ohio in a plastic tub. Amazingly they made it home. My dad humored me and took me to the pet store where we bought a small box of salt, a floating hydrometer and not much else. I set up a 10 gallon aquarium and I kept those hermits alive for a couple months. From then I was hooked. It wasn’t until a while later that I had enough disposable income to start a 75 gallon reef. I went all in, and haven’t looked back.
 

58e970b2-3f88-4897-87ba-5

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Work had a big reef tank in our lunch room.

After the first coral went in I was hooked. I never really considered you could keep coral in a home aquarium before that. From there I just kept reading up on everything that went into it and how to keep a reef.

Eventually decided I was done reading and watching and started my own little tank.
 
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Manny’s Reef

Manny’s Reef

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I cant wait to come back and read these. Ty!

For me it was boredom.
Lol
Outta high school. 1st job. Something to spend on. Lol
I originally wanted a fish tank and just googled how to start one. Was lucky enough to come across a video of a guy arm mixing sw in a bucket and talking to the camera about marine saltwater fish tanks. This was 08' or so.

Its been a love addiction ever since. I dont need to go scuba diving. I have the reef in my house.
D
I just sat here and read them all. I’ve been wondering just never asked.
 

Chessmanmark

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I’ve been in the hobby 18 years, however I would have been in the hobby twice as long if I was smarter.

Twice I remember seeing books in a pet store next to every dog breed and other animal book. I bought them and had thoughts like, what’s a skimmer? It’s not like they had one in the store or had an employee who was knowledgeable. There was no Internet at that time and it wasn’t in the encyclopedia.

Then I remember seeing a blue damsel for the first time under PC lighting. It blew away freshwater neons.

Eventually I made my way to Bermuda and went snorkling on the boat from the film “The Deep.” I was hooked.

When I got home I got certified for scuba in the local lake and made a few trips to Barbados where all I wanted to do was dive as much as possible.

Then just before my daughter was born I was in a bookstore with my wife and saw “Saltwater for Dummies.” I read it cover-to-cover and followed the antiquated advice, under gravel (crushed coral) filter, and all in a Walmart 29 gallon aquarium kit. The only thing that was useful was the tank.

I gave myself a $500 budget, blew through it in two months, and learned the basics.

Not long after I found a forum called Reef Lounge and learned about refugiums and crappy skimmers that people swore by.

Six months in I joined a reef club, saw a 90 gallon LPS tank and bought a 90 gallon tank of my own. I filled it with anything I could get my hands on. I got frags from club members and raffles. I joined group buys. I got store credit for Xenia and took fish and coral without doing any research.

I’ve had some set backs over the years and some successes. Right now my tank is growing in nicely with some great sticks.
AC7B9DB8-32A9-4D81-8AE8-2BF51E4CE131.jpeg
 

CanuckReefer

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The biggest tank we have in the house right now is a 30L Innovative Marine, and we've had multiple "conversations" about how to keep it up/upgrade it. Hence why I got my own nano, because I was tired of him taking over the maintenance while I was at work :p

I'm looking into the Waterbox aquariums, because we have an empty foyer in the front of our house that needs some decoration! :D

Big tanks just intimidate me, I guess - bigger tank, bigger/more expensive if things go wrong. LOL

The biggest tank we have in the house right now is a 30L Innovative Marine, and we've had multiple "conversations" about how to keep it up/upgrade it. Hence why I got my own nano, because I was tired of him taking over the maintenance while I was at work :p

I'm looking into the Waterbox aquariums, because we have an empty foyer in the front of our house that needs some decoration! :D

Big tanks just intimidate me, I guess - bigger tank, bigger/more expensive if things go wrong. LOL
Do NOT be afraid of the larger tank. I would honestly go bigger if I could afford it. Mine is a 90g , it makes parameters more stable to deal with imo. Larger volume more dispersion....the margin of error is greater to work with....please consider it.
 

CanuckReefer

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I’ve been in the hobby 18 years, however I would have been in the hobby twice as long if I was smarter.

Twice I remember seeing books in a pet store next to every dog breed and other animal book. I bought them and had thoughts like, what’s a skimmer? It’s not like they had one in the store or had an employee who was knowledgeable. There was no Internet at that time and it wasn’t in the encyclopedia.

Then I remember seeing a blue damsel for the first time under PC lighting. It blew away freshwater neons.

Eventually I made my way to Bermuda and went snorkling on the boat from the film “The Deep.” I was hooked.

When I got home I got certified for scuba in the local lake and made a few trips to Barbados where all I wanted to do was dive as much as possible.

Then just before my daughter was born I was in a bookstore with my wife and saw “Saltwater for Dummies.” I read it cover-to-cover and followed the antiquated advice, under gravel (crushed coral) filter, and all in a Walmart 29 gallon aquarium kit. The only thing that was useful was the tank.

I gave myself a $500 budget, blew through it in two months, and learned the basics.

Not long after I found a forum called Reef Lounge and learned about refugiums and crappy skimmers that people swore by.

Six months in I joined a reef club, saw a 90 gallon LPS tank and bought a 90 gallon tank of my own. I filled it with anything I could get my hands on. I got frags from club members and raffles. I joined group buys. I got store credit for Xenia and took fish and coral without doing any research.

I’ve had some set backs over the years and some successes. Right now my tank is growing in nicely with some great sticks.
AC7B9DB8-32A9-4D81-8AE8-2BF51E4CE131.jpeg
That was my first handbook! I think I still have it somewhere! Wow....20+ years ago, still valid....
 

Cajun_Reefer

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Do NOT be afraid of the larger tank. I would honestly go bigger if I could afford it. Mine is a 90g , it makes parameters more stable to deal with imo. Larger volume more dispersion....the margin of error is greater to work with....please consider it.
BE33D870-F145-4D38-BEF6-33660B9A60FC.jpeg

Look what y’all making me do LOL
 

Neros503

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I got into reefing because mom said "other pets are too hard to care for and to expensive" lol. She said i could have a fish. "It would be cheap, small, and wouldn't take up much space". unfortunately she couldn't have been more wrong, but we didn't know at the time. I bought a biocube 14 because i thought it looked cool even though it was for saltwater and I was going to do freshwater. I picked up some books from the library and that's when I learned you could even have a saltwater tank. I then read more, and thought it would be too hard until my lfs convinced it wasn't hard, and I'm very thankful for him telling me to start this awesome hobby. Then I decided to buy some clownfish from him and I've had that same pair for almost a year now.
 

reefinatl

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Curious as to what got you all started in the hobby? What set you off and made you think, "I gotta have a saltwater aquarium."? I bet we have so many unique answers to this.
For me, I was scuba diving in Thailand. We had a port call for 6 days and while the other sailors were busy getting drunk, I was busy diving. I remember finding a massive lionfish. I thought it was going to attack me. It was so chill though. He was like, "sup bro?" only he spoke Thai and not English. Then this massive sea turtle circled around us. I got to hand onto its shell for a bit. When I came back to the surface I immediately wanted to go back in. That got me to thinking about how I could have a piece of this mysterious world in my home. One of the first things I did when I came back stateside was begin looking into the hobby. The rest is history.

And you?
Always loved the ocean and animals in general, but really love lionfish, yet I don't think I'll ever have a volitan.
 

mindme

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Youtube videos of corals/tanks. Then I started finding out more and more about coral and all that, got hooked. Always liked fish, but coral was the extra bit that swayed me.
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 63 36.6%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 34.3%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 24 14.0%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 26 15.1%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
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