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.