What made you want a REEF aquarium?

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Surprises, I started my 55 due to the stories a friend of mine would tell about his new LR discoveries. So I mainly "raise" LR, but for maintenance purposes and the cries of boredom from the wife I have a few fish. But I just like to see the little critters that pop out, bristles, asternia stars, mini dusters, and so much more.
 
My dad kept salt water fish for years, i'd love a marine aquarium what are the easiest fish to start off with.
I have kept a tropical aquarium for years and would love a new challenge.
 
When I was very little, on rare occasions when I stumbled downstairs early in the morning, trying not to wake up my parents, i'd find my father sitting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee who would quietly tell me to get dressed. We'd get in the car and drive the few hours to the Tennessee Aquarium. I was fascinated by it all. Eventually these trips tapered off and got less and less frequent. I soon found myself interested in photography, and intending to go to school for it. Then the Ga Aquarium opened. The childhood excitement returned. I spent hours taking pictures. Unfortunately the problem with the world's largest aquarium is the world's largest amount of people in an aquarium. I'd be set up, out of the way only to miss a good shot because someone would try to follow a fish with their finger and hit me in the process. The pictures were lovely but the people weren't always worth the trouble. Photography got me into school, changed my major, moved to an apartment which was only a few blocks from the aquarium. The more time I spent there, the more I wanted it somewhere I can actually get the good shot. Now i'm cycling and planning a reef :D
 
as a gift, my gf in college when i was 19 got me a betta fish. i liked the idea of having a fish, but it was so **** boring!

we went to the fish store to check what else they had.. i loved the tropical fish and until i graduated college and had enough money and a stable apartment, i got a 75g saltwater for my first. :) 7 months and likin it! made some new improvements.
 
I had Freshwater then Tropical then for Christmas my parents got me a 90L tank. I had wanted one for ages to do SW so we set it up. My first 3 fish all died within 3 weeks. Then my next 5 fish all died within 3 weeks of getting them all. Well 2 crashes later I was becoming discouraged. (Obviously) I had nice corals etc but no fish. So one more try and it's been great! I've got one Chromis and one Black Ocellaris Clown had both for at least a month and my corals and anenome are all healthy. Finally! Now it's just a slow fish build-up. :D
 
Im 14 years old and theres nothing stopping me from being interested in fish :) I always loved fishing with my Grandad in various lakes and rivers together and I LOVED aquariums (and still do). Then i decided to go in the library at school with my mates as a joke and i looked in a fish book. I was immediatly captivated (yes even though it was a book xD)and went home telling my about all the colourful fish id seen and hinting that I wanted a tank. And so we set off to my LFS - even though it was 30mins away - and they immediatly bought me a 13g FW even when i thought we were only browsing. I set it up and loved it to peices, but what I really wanted was saltwater.

We heard of another fish shop (The Goldfish Bowl in Oxford) And it was amazing! A massive shop! You can hardly move its so crammed with tanks and fish. Anyway I loved their marine section and immediatley sought after a SW aquarium. And here I am 1 Month later having very bad cases of brown Diatoms in my newly cycling SW reef tank.
 
Have patience, Has your tank gone through it's cycle yet? the diatoms should burn themselfs out.
 
Ever since I went SCUBA diving in the Bahamas in May of 1996 I have considered keeping a SW tank. Been keeping (kept by?) FW fish since probably Jr High / 8th grade, with a break for college, and a break from 2000-1/1/9, when I set up again. With all the SW pics on this site, how could I resist my urge?????

So I now have my reef setup, which I got UBER cheap on Craigslist, now I just have to have some patience on the job hunt so I can afford the time, effort, and $ to get it running.
 
I always had fish my entire life. My dad had two tanks my brother and mother both had a tank. I am the only one with sw. I look forward to going any place that has a tank.
 
when I was a kid I was facinated by my grandfather's aquarium where he was trying to breed albino guppies. It never worked out for him, but my parents has an aquarium when I was young too. Then I fell prey. Until recently it was always freshwater. Usually peaceful live-bearers until I went to cichilds. I took a brief break from having an aquarium for two years while in Africa and when I came back I decided to go with a reef setup for the challenge and delight in keeping such unique and interesting creatures.
 
I decided to get a Reef Aquarium because I remember my mom having a freshwater tank when I was little and I wanted my daughter to experience the joys of watching fish. Except I wanted salt water because we live at the beach and she will be able to relate better to the fish we keep in our tank to our beaches. My husband is a freqquent surfer so I also wanted something he would enjoy and relate to also.
 
i started my first sw fish only tank in 94 after a trip to the tampa aquarium then converted to a reef tank in 97 after seeing a friends reef in Cleveland and been doing it since
 
My first memorable aquatic encounter was when I was about 6 years old, on a school trip to a local pond.

Although too young to have provoked my curiosity, the creatures I saw amused me.

We had our first cold water outdoor pond just months later, which we maintained as a family for many years until a cold winter took the lives of our beloved Shebumpkins.

A friend of mine kept tropical species for many years. I always envied his 60 gallon!

Older and more knowledgeable, I put together my first tropical setup. The countless hours of research paid off, and it was a success from the go.

As with many other aquarists, the thirst for the a greater, more impressive display and a variety of fascinating specimens lead to a bigger, more complex setup.

Too cool to resist!
 
the color, its very relaxing to watch, and you never know what your going to see.
 
I had a 40g FW tank that I bought new and did not know anything about anything. I got it after seeing a porcupine puffer and had to have it. After I set up the tank I went to the lfs to buy one to learn that it's a SW fish. I ended up buying tiger barbs and later added a nice variety but was never satisfied with the fish I had vs the fish I wanted. I soon realized all of the fish I wanted were SW fish. After a year of research, I finally conceded to SW. Little did I know what the costs were going to be. All I wanted was a puffer in my 40g tank but don't know how I ended up with a 60g reef tank. Some people just don't know they're addicted until it's too late
 
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