How did you get started in this hobby?

dolphinman213

dolphinman213

florida guru
just curious as to how everybody got started in this hobby--- it can be a long story( that makes for good reading) was it seeing something on tv or visiting your first fish store etc. etc.-- just share your passion


the way i got started was, back in 2000 i was preparing to have my first knee surgery and my wife thought that i needed something to occupy my time while i recover, so i decided to get my first fish tank( a 20 gallon freshwater with oscars) within a year i upgraded to a 55 gal freshwater. after visiting something fishy( this was before i ever knew of kermit's), i was sold on the aspect of saltwater) i then got rid of my freshwater and started a saltwater tank with the typical hob skimmers and filters, at the same time i still had another 55 with discus fish that i was debating to get rid of for another saltwater tank, well 9 years later here i stand with a 75 gallon reef after 11 tanks ranging from 20-55 gallons, and at one time 6 tanks running at the same time and countless dollars spent( d#*#!) i finally can say that unless health or tragedy strikes me, i plan to stay with this hobby, cause it has brought me a lot of joy and relaxation and some knowledge of god's creatures beneath the sea, not to mention the ability to meet some very wonderful people.


WHAT'S YOUR STORY?
 
I was 8 years old, and loved visiting the fish department inside Woolworth's. I told my mom I wanted an aquarium. She instead bought me a book about aquarium fish, and told me to read it. After I read the book (which she read too) she quizzed me on the information in the book. I must have answered enough of the questions correctly because she bought me my first aquarium. Stainless steel frame with glass and some sort of black tar stuff holding it all together. The rest is history. Since then I have not been without an aquarium for more than a year...and that was because I was stationed in Korea while in the Army.

P.S. - I still have that book.
 
Good stories. Mine is much simpler. I had pretty much always been somewhat fascinated by the ocean and its creatures, but then while traveling with the wife and kids to Hilton Head Island we saw a beautiful reef aquarium in our hotel lobby. Well, from that point forward I knew that someday I would have a tank in my home. It was a couple years later before I got one, and then I just jumped in head first. I didn't know what I was getting into, did no research whatsoever - really didn't even know about all the info that's available - and just trusted a lfs to get me started. Despite a ton of mistakes, my tank has been somewhat successful, I've learned a lot and I've had a blast doing it.
 
I always wanted a reef tank since the first time I went to Petco and saw that you could actually purchase these exotic fish. For the last 20 years I was scared and warned about all the difficulties of keeping a reef tank. Finally a friend a work told me a had a reef tank and it was in fact possible to maintain and enjoy. That was about 8 months ago. Now I'm enjoying my 55 gal mixed reef daily.
 
i had my first tank at 5 years old fw of course and my dad kept a 125 sw back before there was live rock in 1979 , skimmers and corals being kept in the tank, it ran off external hob filters. from there ive kept tons of fw and brackish fish over the years , even bred african chiclids as a small side business suppplying some of the now closed down lfs's, when my african tank crashed , i decided to get into sw , i allways wanted one so i made the big jump back in 2002 and have been hooked on it since
 
I started out with a 20 gallon freshwater when I was 10,then after seeing a saltwater tank,I moved to saltwater at the age of 13.I started with a 55 gallon in 1978 ,back then you couldn't find live rock,just dead and bleached sps skelatons.I kept that for about 2 years and went back to freshwater.Started back 2004 and going strong since.
 
My Reef History story

My Reef History story

In 1968, I was seven-years old when Dad had this little 7-gallon, steel framed freshwater tank overpopulated my about 200 tiny snails. (I know now, he had the wrong species.)

Then I got my own ten-gallon when I was about 10.

I upgraded to a 20 Extra-high when I was a teenager. I added a lava rock "background", because it "looked" cool, which is did. Little did I know at the time that I just added my first ever live rock. The rock kept the tank alive a long time, so I kept that tank until I went to school in Denver when I was 18. After school, I unpacked that same tank from the attic, rock background and all and I took that tank "Brackish" and added my first Mono's (Monodactylus argenteus) when I was in my 20's. Once the bottom seam blew out, I took a couple year hiatus.

In '92, I bought a new 55-gallon tank, my first (and Last!) acrylic tank. One nice feature is did have though, was a built-in jump guard and sealed top, except for the center opening for access. I immediately took that brackish and returned to my monos, then bit the bullet an added the rest of the salt. After adding my first ever LR, I bought my first anemone and promptly proceeded to kill it, rendering it a life-less blob of nasty smelling goo on the bottom of my tank. Thus stared my pursuit in the reef realm.

In 2000, I landed a new job and moved to the Memphis area, so I gave my 55 to a buddy of mine and took another hiatus, this time for seven-years.

Finally in 2007, My wife's friend was moving and needed to bail on his own 20-extra high tank. My wife asked if I wanted it F.O.C., and I said no. Then she said, "œ"¦..it's Salt"¦.." Within 48-hours, it was in our house and the old reef bug had returned and bit hard!

I told her this was a bad idea and on 8-8-08, my new 120 went Live!!

So really, this is all her fault!

(Good question Preston.)
 
forrealb50 said:
I always wanted a reef tank since the first time I went to Petco and saw that you could actually purchase these exotic fish.
Click to expand...

Petco? The place that sells Live Sand, Instant Ocean, Reef Crystals, Bio-cubes, and NO MARINE Fish these days??? Silly business model, don't you think? (Glad they hooked you though.)
 
We had various freshwater tanks when I was growing up. I vowed at the age 0f 10 that I was going to be a Scuba Diver someday. We were in Heber Springs AR shortly after Pres. Kennedy dedicated the Greers Ferry Lake dam. He was killed just after this. Anyway, we were there shortly after the lake opened and I saw divers coming up with indian relics. I still have the little booklet from the Dive Shop on Poplar, I got at the Mid South Fair that same year, 1964. It is in my scrapbook from days gone by. Fast forward to 1977. As newlyweds, my hubby and I got certified in scuba. My husband always told me that saltwater tanks were too much trouble. This would have been a FO tank. We had a 55 & 70 with discus in the 70 and African Reflake Cichlids in the 55. We raised lots of cichlids. Fast forward to early 2005. My son, Nick, was talking about getting a living reef tank. I set up my first tank in Feb 05. I now have 5, with 4 up and going. smallest 3 gal and my favorite, then a 38 gal and 12 nano and 20l frag tank. I have a 60 corner bowfront that I hope to set up soon. I will be selling the 38,12 and 20 frag tanks, when I get the 60 up and going. My tanks give me my "fix" until I can strap that tank on my back and head to the bottom of the ocean blue. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
P.S. My husband still thinks marine tanks are too much problem.
 
2010_01200004.jpg

current setup
 
I had a small freshwater aquarium when i was a youngster but never thought about it till i got out of college. An acquaintance of mine asked me to assist him by talking to an individual that owed him a fair sum of money. One evening pretty late I was able to find the individual and explained to him that he really needed to clear up the matter. He was just a little short of the amount owed and when we figured in the interest he was way short. While we discussed the situation early that morning at his home I noticed that he had a really nice saltwater setup. So to make everyone happy he decided to use the money he had and throw in the saltwater setup to settle his debt. My acquaintance didn't really want the aquarium but i thought it would be cool, so out of appreciation for my assistance in the matter he let me have the tank and stuff. I kept it about 6 months and it really never looked real good since I didn't know what i was doing. I decided to sell it all and i made a decent amount on the sale. So i started purchasing used equipment cleaning it up and reselling it. I eventually learned enough to setup a small system and keep it looking pretty good. I then met Richard a couple of years later through the reef club and the rest is Memfish History.
 
My first tank, was the minnow buckets we used to keep Crappie minnows in, and the fathead shines we would catch with minnow traps when I was a wee child.

First fish tank was a 10 gallon that I bought my son adam at 6 years old, for $1.00 at a garage sale, and he bought 2 oscars with his own money at a garage sale he still has that 10 gallon and one of those two oscars just recently died, and the other is still kicking. He now has over 300 gallons of freshwater tanks, but no saltwater, he wants to hold off on that till he buys his first house of his own. (He is now 22) and loves to play with fish outside the aquarium as well.

PIC-0051.jpg


He and Robin encouraged me in my "quest" to do my first saltwater, which is the 55 I have now. But I spent several years of accumulating and learning, "before" I jumped in and now am glad that I did.
 
Since I just jumped into SW this last fall, my story is pretty fresh. For as long as I can remember I've kept aquaria and various exotic pets. Most have come and gone in phases, some have evolved, and a few have stuck since the beginning. My freshwater tanks have evolved from the standard walmart brand tank setup with guppies and tetras to fully planted, naturalistic setups with native darters and dace. My vivariums began with an overstocked 20 with my first and favorite pet, Alien the senegal chameleon, and various tree frogs, geckos, and skinks and evolved to the 40 gal breeder viv I have with live broms, vines, etc and 3 c.b. cobalt dart frogs. All along I've researched and dreamed about reef tanks until this fall when we jumped on an established setup someone was getting rid of. Now I have a fresh 50 gal and the rest is history!
 
my brother and a few friends have saltwater tanks...and one night we were all over at my house....they day i sold my boat (best day in the world!!) they get the idea that i need to get a fish tank....so i get on craigslist and see there is a guy selling one minus the skimmer and livestock...i look down and its a friend of mine.....so the next day i have everything to set up my tank...

now i have a 75g reef tank and 30g tank with an eel...all within 8 months....thanks to everyone at Memfish and kermits reef for giving me idea on what i should put and info on my tanks!!!!



p.s...and thanks to those guys for making me poor!!!
 
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