somethingphishy
New member
my two work buddies 
Who got you started in this hobby?
- Thread starter happyface888
- Start date
1976...after several visits to lfs in rockville centre long island...started a 29 gal fish only....with necktonics undergravel...then worked for lfs from 76-79...owner was my friend we built the store from scratch...1980-89 started my own maintenance business "state of the art aquarium services" so I guess it was my older friend "rick" at the age of 14 he got me a 15 gal metaframe tank ...and the rest is history.
XSiVE
New member
I guess the LFS got me started.. many many years ago..
I started working at the LFS when I was 14 or 15 years old.. did a 55g FW tank at the time, I went for a south-american theme with a few discus but was unsatisfied.. I got ahold of a ~35 hex for free that I was going to use for salt, but it leaked and I was poor so I just tossed it.. unfortunately I had to go away to college when I was 18 and tear down the 55g and put it in storage but knew I wanted to set it up again.
Fast-Forward ~5 years, moved back toward my hometown in an apartment, still wanted salt but I didnt think it would be a whole lot of fun to move anything, as I knew the apt would be temporary and also there ws not a lot of space for a big tank.. so I set up a 30hex with some small african cichlids for the cats to watch..
Another 2 years go by.. Married, owning our home.. yeah its time.. so I got the 55g going on salt, FOWLR. I didnt know squat about natural filtration methods, I used a UG filter and a canister filter.. no wonder my nitrates were stupid high all the time.. It was nice but I let it go.. I couldnt control a lot of things about it so I just kinda stopped caring after the first year..
I did not realize that there were so many resources out there for reefers.. I found this site through my local car club and started reading.. learning about live sand, refugiums, nutrient export thru algae, etc etc.. I've since made the shift to a reef setup and my aquarium has never looked better thanks to the great information found here on RC.
I started working at the LFS when I was 14 or 15 years old.. did a 55g FW tank at the time, I went for a south-american theme with a few discus but was unsatisfied.. I got ahold of a ~35 hex for free that I was going to use for salt, but it leaked and I was poor so I just tossed it.. unfortunately I had to go away to college when I was 18 and tear down the 55g and put it in storage but knew I wanted to set it up again.
Fast-Forward ~5 years, moved back toward my hometown in an apartment, still wanted salt but I didnt think it would be a whole lot of fun to move anything, as I knew the apt would be temporary and also there ws not a lot of space for a big tank.. so I set up a 30hex with some small african cichlids for the cats to watch..
Another 2 years go by.. Married, owning our home.. yeah its time.. so I got the 55g going on salt, FOWLR. I didnt know squat about natural filtration methods, I used a UG filter and a canister filter.. no wonder my nitrates were stupid high all the time.. It was nice but I let it go.. I couldnt control a lot of things about it so I just kinda stopped caring after the first year..
I did not realize that there were so many resources out there for reefers.. I found this site through my local car club and started reading.. learning about live sand, refugiums, nutrient export thru algae, etc etc.. I've since made the shift to a reef setup and my aquarium has never looked better thanks to the great information found here on RC.
Pea-brain
In Memoriam
My best friend Chris started up a 30 gallon. I didn't like it that much. FW fish are pretty boring. Then I was looking through his Dr. F&S magazine and saw these cool little feeder shrimp At like 30$ for 100 so I joked that I would setup the smallest tank possible aand crammed them all in there. I did some websearches and found this neat little place called petshrimp.com and saw all these awesome freshwater shrimp. SO I got serious and setup a tank and ordered some shrimp. Went well at first but because of a nasty mean little shrimp that killed a few other shrimp and a huge nitrate problem (never put a fishtank next to a catbox in a small room) I had a tank crash and gave my last living shrimp to Chris.
While reading about shrimp i came across this neat shrimp called a mantis shrimp. When my tank crashed I loked into them again I was amazed. And they can be kept in tanks as small as ten gallons, which is what I had, so I joined reefcentral for the mantis board and setup my tank as saltwater. The end.
Dan
While reading about shrimp i came across this neat shrimp called a mantis shrimp. When my tank crashed I loked into them again I was amazed. And they can be kept in tanks as small as ten gallons, which is what I had, so I joined reefcentral for the mantis board and setup my tank as saltwater. The end.
Dan
Bluetangclan
New member
hehe
hehe
About 6 years ago my roomate at the time were chilling at the apartment and he mentioned we should get a pet for the apartment. So we started tossing ideas around, lizards, rabbits, dogs, cats, etc. Still having no idea we went to Petsmart bought a 55 gallon tank, went to the LFS and next thing we know we have an salt water reef aquarium with all the typical problems a unresearched tank entails.
hehe
About 6 years ago my roomate at the time were chilling at the apartment and he mentioned we should get a pet for the apartment. So we started tossing ideas around, lizards, rabbits, dogs, cats, etc. Still having no idea we went to Petsmart bought a 55 gallon tank, went to the LFS and next thing we know we have an salt water reef aquarium with all the typical problems a unresearched tank entails.
SPARTAN VI
New member
I just thought it would be a good idea. Came almost out of nowhere.
My mom might've had a little to do with it. She used to by gold fish to drop into a small pond I have in front of the house. Amazing how long they live in that murky water.
My mom might've had a little to do with it. She used to by gold fish to drop into a small pond I have in front of the house. Amazing how long they live in that murky water.
GlobalEvan
New member
My friend Jason had a small tank with a Clown Fish and an anemone. Watching them interact was awesome, so when I moved away from him I started my own tank.
my clown is tank raised, so he doesn't host, what a jerk.
my clown is tank raised, so he doesn't host, what a jerk.
musty baby
New member
Four tank raised clowns, all host, fyi.
I bought a little ten gallon freshwater for my kids and about 10 months later... my friend asked me to babysit his 200 gallon fish only and I was hooked. 2 months later... My wife let me get a tank for my 40th b-day. Now that I have learned so much from this forum and other reading sources... Here is what amazes me; I can't believe my friend's fish are still alive. He actually mixes his salt and tap water in the tank during his once a month water change.
And... by the way... It is not cheaper than crack!!!
And... by the way... It is not cheaper than crack!!!
ChuckLawson
New member
My mother had guppies back when I was 5 or 6. By the time I was 7, I had a freshwater tank of my own... I've always had a tank or two since then; it flared up into about 35 or so tanks of cichlids back in the 80s - early 90s, along with some not so successful ventures into the early days of reef tanks, and then planted freshwater for awhile.
I gotta disagree with Marc -- getting divorced made this a whole lot simpler. I put a 29 gallon nano in my bedroom awhile back, and fell back down the reefing rabbithole - now I've just finished adding an adjoining fishroom, have replaced the 29 with a 45 gallon cube, and am setting up a 105 gallon starphire tank to keep it company -- if I were still married, this would have cost 10x as much, by the time I covered attorney fees
I gotta disagree with Marc -- getting divorced made this a whole lot simpler. I put a 29 gallon nano in my bedroom awhile back, and fell back down the reefing rabbithole - now I've just finished adding an adjoining fishroom, have replaced the 29 with a 45 gallon cube, and am setting up a 105 gallon starphire tank to keep it company -- if I were still married, this would have cost 10x as much, by the time I covered attorney fees
erics3000
Active member
I guess I am lucky. I have been talking about doing an in wall system and closing my office in for quite some time. She finally kept pushing me to do it. We do have a little one on the way too, so money wise things will change a little as well. HAahhaah i have no cluw??? I said a little...ahhaha. She kept telling me just do it. So I did. Not that she listens to me ramble about everything at least she doesn't get in the away of a dream.
balmiesgirl
New member
LFS owner about 8 years ago..... I thought salt water would be too hard. He said its easy,and helped me out ( spend your $ here and now its turned into an expensive addiction!
and now its turned into an expensive addiction!
1F2FRFBF
New member
Once upon a time I had 4 cory catfish and a couple of danios left over after a move. They were in a very small tank and I had been considering an upgrade. That's when a very good friend with a reef tank convinced me that salt water wasn't as difficult as I thought it was, and the fish and the corals and the variety of creatures turned out to be impossible to resist. Thousands of dollars later... I'm happy with my decision.
ChuckLawson
New member
Marc, I've got to agree that it's expensive and addictive -- but then over the years, I've found that most of the really fun things are
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