Do you remember....Tripping down memory lane
- Thread starter woodiecrafts
- Start date
Paul B
Premium Member
I bought my first blue devil in 1971 when they became available in NYC. It was $7.00.
All there was was blue devils and dominoes.
The salt was "Lampert Kays Marine Magic"
Here is one of my books
Here is my tank in the seventees. It was in a 40 gallon tank them but it was soon transfered to a 100 gallon tank when they became available. Larger tanks were not comon then.
The tank has all dead bleached corals which I picked up in the Caribbean.
The blue devils would spawn every few weeks but I only raised a very few of the fry. Food was not available then for tiny fish.
All there was was blue devils and dominoes.
The salt was "Lampert Kays Marine Magic"
Here is one of my books
Here is my tank in the seventees. It was in a 40 gallon tank them but it was soon transfered to a 100 gallon tank when they became available. Larger tanks were not comon then.
The tank has all dead bleached corals which I picked up in the Caribbean.
The blue devils would spawn every few weeks but I only raised a very few of the fry. Food was not available then for tiny fish.
woodiecrafts
New member
My first fish was a little blue/green chromis. I waited 6 weeks for the tank to cycle just like the LFS told to me to adding the biozyme in once a week salt all mixed up in dechlorinated tap water.
I am definetly glad the Tang police hadn't been invented yet. My second and thrid fish were a yellow Tang and a Hippo in a 55 gal.
Like Paul said, Larger tanks weren't seen here in the stores. Man, I thought the 55 was huge then. Now it is a good size for a sump and refugium. LOL!!
I am definetly glad the Tang police hadn't been invented yet. My second and thrid fish were a yellow Tang and a Hippo in a 55 gal.
Like Paul said, Larger tanks weren't seen here in the stores. Man, I thought the 55 was huge then. Now it is a good size for a sump and refugium. LOL!!
Lets see....
I mailordered caulerpa and valonia :eek2: and actually bought and used "algae food" ( I swear it was lyophilized pee)
I used PVC tubes cut in half as reflectors for my t12's (N.O. or course)
The first book I used to research all this told be to throw a handful of potting soil into the tank to start the cycle.
I threw every impossible invert imaginable into my tank....crinoids, sea apples, basket stars, sea pens.
Ricordea were just mushrooms like all the others.
I mailordered caulerpa and valonia :eek2: and actually bought and used "algae food" ( I swear it was lyophilized pee)
I used PVC tubes cut in half as reflectors for my t12's (N.O. or course)
The first book I used to research all this told be to throw a handful of potting soil into the tank to start the cycle.
I threw every impossible invert imaginable into my tank....crinoids, sea apples, basket stars, sea pens.
Ricordea were just mushrooms like all the others.
jhildebrand
New member
My first large salt tank was an Oceanic 115. The sump and trays were all made of glass - had to be 400 pounds all put together. The LFS guy that set me up taught me to do a water change by adding all the new salt to the water, then putting new freshwater in, then mixing it - with all the fish and inverts inside...
I too, bought food for my algae...
I too, bought food for my algae...
miwoodar
Likey the bikey
My first marine tank, a FO, ran a monsterous wet/dry, a small protein skimmer, and a bank of Tritons. Why I had Tritons on a FO, I don't know. I bleached the rock/coral on a rolling basis - a few pieces each month. It took me about a year before I started a second tank with a heavy amount of live rock and actually started reefing.
Some skimmers these days are as large as the wet/dry filters of those days.
Some skimmers these days are as large as the wet/dry filters of those days.
Paul B
Premium Member
I really don't remember.
The tank was first filled with anemones as they were one of the first inverts available after arrow crabs and coral banded shrimp.
This top picture appeared in an aquarium magazine I think I took it in the eightees. It looks like I had a big leather in there with a few anemones.
woodiecrafts
New member
I tried to find Tritons awhile back and the blue moons as well and the only places where in Europe.
No one around here or at least it seemed would have had an idea what a Ricordea was. There just wasn't things like that. It was a couple of years before I even seen my first open brain.
Other than the urchin I drove for hours for, I found a Christmas Tree rock that at the time was really cool.
No one around here or at least it seemed would have had an idea what a Ricordea was. There just wasn't things like that. It was a couple of years before I even seen my first open brain.
Other than the urchin I drove for hours for, I found a Christmas Tree rock that at the time was really cool.
James983
Active member
I started keeping salt water fish back in HS, sometime around 1979ish. Used to be able to but dead coral from pier 1 imports back then. Couldn't keep anything alive for long without getting ich. Then I bought a 8watt UV and things got much better. Could keep angels and tangs. Thought we were on the cutting edge with the UV. LOL!
woodiecrafts
New member
For me a Penguin Biowheel was high tech filtration. GFO back then would have just been a mispelled Pontiac. Some of the larger Stores in places like Memphis or Little rock may have had more things and all, but not really around here.
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
I remember the lighting over my first reef back in the 80's was three normal output fluorescent shop light fixtures filled with Vita-Lites and a single Philips 03 bulb because they were ungodly expensive. It also still contained undergravel plates and 2 to 3" of coarse crushed coral.
Bleaching the dead coral skeletons was a ritual performed every couple of months. Even with nitrates off the chart the softies and fish seemed to thrive! I'll have to dig up some old pictures too.
Bleaching the dead coral skeletons was a ritual performed every couple of months. Even with nitrates off the chart the softies and fish seemed to thrive! I'll have to dig up some old pictures too.
schristi69
Master of Space and Time
The Rubio's up by me on 59th and Beardsley has a tank that is a blast form the past. Crushed gravel, air stone and bleached coral skeletons. Hard to believe in this day and age and it is professionally maintained!!!!!
TheMcs
New member
I didn't start until 1997, but there have been leaps & bounds improvements since then. Cramming as many NO bulbs (with the sweet 1/2 PVC reflector) into the hood to keep sofites, a canister filter and a biowheel. Later was I introduced to the advanced filtration of a Lee's airstone driven skimmer. And when the Seaclone skimmer came out, man that was some NASA stuff right there! I had a condylactis that hosted my clownfish (and I had 3 species in a 58g, but now that I know better that doesn't work anymore). I saw a MH retro kit in a magazine for $100ish, I got that and thought I was king of the reef world (it was only later that I got confirmation).
I remember one of the shops in town was a longtime FW breeder with a small SW section, Charles at Bixby Fisheries. You were either on his bad side or his good side, I lucked out. He had a very small storefront, with the larger part of his location in the back where he bred and quarrantined. SW critters had 2 weeks back there before making it to the front. I was allowed to roma back there and it was about as cool as it got. I ordered my first tank from him (58g Oceanic) and I can remember him on the CompuServe forum cursing Eric Borneman's stupidity. Charles got me reading off the bat and even gave me the setup I needed for that first NO retro in the canopy my Dad and I built. He was the only person I've met who truly had the creature's best interest first yet still managed to make a success of it.
I remember one of the shops in town was a longtime FW breeder with a small SW section, Charles at Bixby Fisheries. You were either on his bad side or his good side, I lucked out. He had a very small storefront, with the larger part of his location in the back where he bred and quarrantined. SW critters had 2 weeks back there before making it to the front. I was allowed to roma back there and it was about as cool as it got. I ordered my first tank from him (58g Oceanic) and I can remember him on the CompuServe forum cursing Eric Borneman's stupidity. Charles got me reading off the bat and even gave me the setup I needed for that first NO retro in the canopy my Dad and I built. He was the only person I've met who truly had the creature's best interest first yet still managed to make a success of it.
woodiecrafts
New member
In the mid 90's we ended up having 4 stores in town that sold SW. 2 of them just had a couple of tanks with the basic fish in them and the rest were FW, One of them had about half and half and was slowly branching out into Inverts as well. All 3 of them was like alot of others though, basically in it for the money and would just as soon sell a freshwater to go a salty tank as not. Maybe not the bad, but you get the idea.
The 4th one opened up 94 I beleive or 95 and was by far the best in town with selection as well as keeping the tanks clean and everything healthy. The one thing when dealing him though, you basically had to give him you whole history and knowledge on things. He started carrying really cool things and items, but if you didn;t have a proper setup or know anything at all, he just would flat out not sell you certain livestock, Which to me even then was pretty good business. I learned a lot in the way of saltwater through him. Actually learned about Dragonette care and a 29 gal tank was too small for say 5 tangs...LOL!!!
Now here in 2009 we have a Petco and thats it. I beleive we have taken a step backwards for a town of 60,000.
The 4th one opened up 94 I beleive or 95 and was by far the best in town with selection as well as keeping the tanks clean and everything healthy. The one thing when dealing him though, you basically had to give him you whole history and knowledge on things. He started carrying really cool things and items, but if you didn;t have a proper setup or know anything at all, he just would flat out not sell you certain livestock, Which to me even then was pretty good business. I learned a lot in the way of saltwater through him. Actually learned about Dragonette care and a 29 gal tank was too small for say 5 tangs...LOL!!!
Now here in 2009 we have a Petco and thats it. I beleive we have taken a step backwards for a town of 60,000.
