What's your reefing story and how would you rate reefing at this point?

[revhtree]

Today let's talk about how it all began! Each of us have reasons as to why we first purchased a tank and got into this wonderful hobby of keeping a saltwater aquarium in our home. Some stories are pretty normal while others may be unique. Some may even be a bit embarrassing like my story...aheem...Finding Nemo. No matter what your story or your reason the fact is that we all got here somehow.

So I have a couple questions for you today!

1. What got you into keeping saltwater reef aquariums?

2. How satisfied are you right now in keeping a reef tank?


Beautiful reef tank via @Ericsalt

 

[The Aquatic Arsenal]

Clownfish is how it all started for me lol

 

[Devaji]

growing up in Wyoming and not seeing the ocean until I was 16ish I always had a fascination with the ocean. my 1st "what do you want to be when you grow up" was a marine biologist focusing on whales.

but my 3rd grade teacher flat out said I could not do that in front of the class b/c i live in wyoming. such a dream stiller

fast forward a few years I was watching TV I think it was magnum PI in mani and I saw a fish tank for a sec. on the show. It was I FOWLR with butterflies...for some reason that 2-4 sec. clip board in to my consciousness.

still dont have a butterfly FOWLR but though about it many times ....even more so now with the price of corals these days...lol

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Started with a free aquarium(1983), then at one point notice reef tanks at LRS. Anemones was my first reef creatures with blue damsel fish that ate out of my hand, with all the bans, I see a race to aquaculture as many corals and fish if possible.
What was the question, again? O'yea.....
I'm at 90% satisfied, I see polyps on base of mama corals and they're(polyps) growing, so some are thriving, but adults not all of them. We frag and 95% success rate.
Reef keeping 1983-1989.
Wish I never left, back since 10/2017


1 of 33 carnation corals, dendronephthya sp.

 

[90's reefer]

Ex wife bought me a 55 gal hexagon aquarium in late 80's. Still not sure why.
Took it back and got a 55 gallon. Saw salt water reef tanks and was hooked from there.

 

[BeejReef]

What a great question!

Gave up a MMORP bc it wasn't family friendly and a time sink. Oldest finished potty training, so goldfish... right?
Wrong. Deep youtube dive info fish and corals.

Once I saw the price and complexity, I was really turned off. I thought to myself, "why don't they just grow lots of seaweed?" Googled it, youtubed it, saw that it had just been recognized as a valid approach, so I did it

I remember kneeling on the dining room floor, absolutely surrounded by carbonate-encrusted junk, staring at the 65g tank (that looked impossibly large at the time) and telling my wife, "what was I thinking? Why didn't you stop me? This was a mistake!"

We all love it now though. Thankfully, the daily demands are lessening. Quite satisfied.

 

[spyder813]

My brother is the one got me into the Saltwater. I had a Discus tank and he told me that he would like to do a Saltwater tank. I told him.. "you are crazy bro, that's really hard to keep and maintain". Then I went to Miami at a friend house that have a beautiful 75g Reef and that's it...I got hooked to the Saltwater. He still planning to make one but his wife doesn't wan it.

I'm really happy with my tank, working hard on the upgrade.

 

[bigdrew]

Loved it as a kid. As an adult, it provides an amazing respite from many of the stressful things going on in my life.

 

[RJKain-777]

Growing up I always had fresh water fish. I lived in a small town so that’s all there was. When I was 13 I moved to the big city in another province, and that’s when I found out about salt water fish and corals.

I started with a 55 gallon tank with a poorly built sump, aptaisia invaded rock and blue gravel. Tank failed within the first 6 months, and took it down. Reset it up 2 years later, and was semi successful compared to the first one. Fast forward 5 years, got a 150 gallon tall tank, then a 300, then a 180 and now a Red Sea reefer 425xl.


I’m pretty satisfied with my current tank, other then an ich our break from an impulse buy and flooding the house once. But all my coral are doing amazing.

 

[MichaelReefer]

Well,
I'm kind of the last person you would think of as a "fish person," in fact I didnt know I was until a few years ago. I'm pretty rednecky, into guns, trucks and muscle cars.

I got a freshwater tank about three years ago, and then a little over a year ago I made the leap into Salt Water, starting with a 15 Gallon Nano, jumping to a Reefer 250. Now I have three tanks, the Reefer, a 55 gallon Fresh Water, and a 15 freshwater.

I don't think I could ever go back.

 

[AquariumSpecialtyMatt]

After purchasing a freshwater Setup I found myself constantly gawking over the saltwater selection of fish and coral. I managed to find a used Reef setup on craigslist but just 6 months into the tank I received orders to deploy to Iraq...One of the first things I did when i got back? Setup another tank with my newfound deployment money....3 years later and its my full-time job

 

[Crabs McJones]

1.) I started working part time at Petsmart for extra cash. The manager there (whom I've made an unofficial uncle) had two reef tanks. He would tell me about them all the time. And I was genuinely interested. One day I went over to his house and saw them and that was it. I had to have one. Ive been hooked ever since.

2.)I'm unsatisfied right now simply due to the state of my tank. But I've hopefully eliminated the problem and am on the road to recovery

 

[bobbyM]

I don’t know how it all started. I grew up on a lake. I’ve always love the water, fish and stuff. Got my first tank at age 6. I am 41 now. I’ve worked in the industry going on 18 years. Got my first saltwater Reef tank in the late 90s. I’ve never been satisfied in the hobby. Always looking for more and the next thing. Always looking for ways to do things better and have nicer systems. Maybe that’s why I’ve never lost interest in it at all?

 

[WDLV]

I started my reef in '97 after buying a 75 gallon aquarium for FW fish. Every time I went to the LFS, I kept finding myself gravitating toward the popping color of the SW side of the aisle. So, I realized I wasn't doing what I wanted and made the switch.
Current satisfaction? I'm reaping the results I sought. I built up my hobby until around 2008, when my Son was about to be born and I realized I'd need more time to be a Father. I also thought my 210 was the cause of all my $500+ electric bills. It took me many years to figure out a simple problem was the cause... I didn't change my HVAC filters often enough and my house leaked like a seive.
I'm currently still focused on the first fish that really amazed me, A. thiellei.
I saw them in Fautin and Allen's Field Guide and was struck by how cool they looked... I also thought they were unattainable, and that's not far from the truth. Only through really good friends giving me heads up, have I been able to obtain them.Now, they are the main reason I haven't left the hobby completely. My oldest Female and Male have now been in my possession for 12 and 11 years, respectively.

 

[Topreefer92]

For me it started almost 20 years ago with just freshwater fish tanks in general. The reef experience began when I saw my neighbors hexagon FOWLR about 10 years ago running off of a canister filter. I was on craigslist at the time searching for canister filters when one of the sellers I had reached out to invited me over to his house to see his reef tank. Instead of just selling the canister filter to me he helped me understand how everything worked and I was hooked. I purchased his 32 gallon biocube and had epic failures like most do just starting. I upgraded to a lee Mar 120 with sump and spent loads of money and still didn't know what I was doing. So after 10s of thousands of dollars i decided to quick for a bit (6 months). Oddly enough I finally became proficient with nano tanks and my current tank today is a 90 gallon mixed reef! Love every minute of this hobby!

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

If I was asked a year ago, I would have put very satisfied as everything was growing and thriving and making me money from fragging. But now after cyano then dino (still slightly) and losing corals that I had grown from tiny frags, not so satisfied. But things are slowly recovering thankfully.

 

[KrisReef]

I was searching for the meaning of life in a remote mountain retreat spot in New Mexico with a random assortment of other seekers who had come there to find their own answers to the mysterious questions of life. I listened to native Shaman, spoke with random Bishops, sages and guru's but I did not feel any closer to having a real answer to the original question (De Ja Vu?).

Then I saw a bright blue light in the distance and I made my way towards it and entered the saltwater section of a PetCo. A loud voice said to me; "Can I help you?" I replied dryly, " "Someone needs to perform a water change on these tanks ASAP!"

I guess it was destiny that brought me into reef keeping, and now I stay to do maintenance and wonder how wild reefs survive without someone to clean their glass?

I enjoy looking at my tank even though it appears to be filled with neglect at the moment. I still need to do that water change, but the fish are happy and some of the corals a growing.

 

[lolgranny]

Not like my woman does...but, it’s satisfying.

Next to our Dairy Queen my family owns there was a big pet store. So hanging out in there all the time got me. This copper and butterfly got me hooked. When I turned 14 and saved up enough $ I went and bought a 75g tank. Didn’t know anything, but looking back20 years now, wow did I do a good job. It’s almost as I struggle more now a day because of all this “new” stuff on the market. 20years ago there wasn’t as many options or opinions. With that said I have a 700g system.

 

[j.falk]

I wanted a bigger tank without the added humidity.

 

[Rolrod39]

I had multiple freshwater tanks as a kid. Then I just wanted a challenge because freshwater was so easy. I even had a planet aquarium as a teenager. Wanted to try saltwater and was addicted from the start. This is my first saltwater tank. It's a 15 gallon column from Petco. I even made a plexiglass sump to fit in the very small stand.