What made you want a REEF aquarium?

[G LOWS]

some people say it's a hobby. But for me it's an addiction! I just love the way everything comes together and looks!

 

[nate1633]

I have always been fascinated with marine life but didn't think about aquarium until I snorkel a coral reef and seagrass beds. Then I just had to have one so I bought a books and stuff and now finally I have set up a 55 gallon


55 gallon fowlr

 

[john_franzwa]

I started at the age of five and got like a goldfish and then at eight I decided I would try a salt water it failed about a year later then I moved to a pirhana in a ten gal when I was 12 then I got a rcs tank then when I was 13 I got my first planted (the shrimp tank was planted of course and now I'm 13 and I am going to try a salt invertebrate tank


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[Mr tap water]

For me it's the challenge when you think you've got everything right another door opens?


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[Shedd]

My Job. I work at the shedd aquarium. I started with freshwater at 11. Got job at shedd aquarium at 24
Then i starter my first reef. It was 55 gal. Now my biggest is 550 gals and i am starting a 650gal. I take Care of the Sharks sometimes at the shedd. Not a reef tank but well over 10000gal
Now I have twelve reef tanks(I'm sort of addicted) 7marine non reef tanks, and 11 freshwater.

 

[MLHoenig]

I'm 60 years old; always wished I had the skills to maintain a saltwater aquarium, believing it to be a major daily task.

After our third move in 18 months, our aquarium guy (he helped us move our tropical) told us that we would have no trouble maintaining a SW tank; after all, we'd been keeping a healthy tropical for about three years...

Took the plunge this past February 1 and we're already expanding!

We have a Nano Cube 29g still in its initial cycle; the bug has bitten me real hard now. I scored a deal on a 75g w/sump, stand, plumbing, pretty much everything to begin the cycle. This is gonna be a long-term project, but I'm looking forward to every moment!

Current plan is Caribbean...

 

[ImACoolguy]

Always loved saltwater fish and just recently took the plunge. Figured I might as well go ahead and go full throttle with some easy corals. Setting up the tank soon!


Caleb

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[paul87]

Because the ocean is the most mysterious and intriguing place. And who wouldn't want a piece of that in their house? I have always been fascinated watching great barrier reef and ocean documentaries growing up and just all the undiscovered life out there that we couldn't even imagine would exist on this planet. To me it is one of the most fascinating hobbies and I enjoy everything about it.

 

[Bdonaldson]

The sheer beauty of the reef and all the animals around it is just so fascinating. And the calming affect that it has on you. When I sit in front of my tank a peacefulness just washes over me. All of the stresses of the day just wash away. And you can learn so much just by observing.

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[keegster803]

Watching BBC documentaries on Reefs since I was like 5... And my uncle who is building a big tank 200+ gallons into the wall of his new house


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[spoonman]

Honestly, it was this site. I was a freshy when I joined this site. I started looking in the saltwater section and saw these beautiful tanks and had to do one. The most influential was gregcoyote's outside corner tank and all of Mr_X's tanks. You guys are responsible for this! I started with a 29, moved to a 75 and now am building a 120 reef. Thanks guys................ I think!

 

[fishzord]

I started a tank in college, started off with just a 30 gallon rectangle FW tank, had some guppies and whatnot. After visiting the LFS I decided that it was time to upgrade. Since I was in 5th grade I had done a report on clown fish and since then I was determined to get one. Bought a 29 gallon bio cube, added in a clown fish, and discovered coral! Since then its all history lol.

 

[Javen]

Hi, I am 14 and I love animals especially saltwater fish. I've had about everything you can think of as a pet. iguana,parrot,snake,rat,freshwater fish,horse,whitetail deer,alligator,dog,cat,rabbit,and a few other things lol ! Anyway I have always love saltwater fish and stuff but I thought that it cost so much for them that only rich people could have them(I ain't rich). But a few months ago I decided to try it out. Yes, it cost a lot but I started better than most people with a 125 gal. aquarium. I've spent about $800 so far and don't regret a thing. And this site is probably more helpful than anyone I can talk to face to face

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[BlueseaAquatics]

Mine started 2007 8years ago. Me and hubby went on holiday to the maldives a couple of times and loved it so much we want to have a piece of ocean at home.
We started to do alot of research how to start a salt tank by talking to people and reading stuff on the net.
Eventually we started with a 60l then 180l to a 500l.
Today we have our own tanks each at 135l.

Since then i always wanted to work in an aquatics shop with marine and corals but nothing ever came up until a few weeks ago lol.
Starting tomorrow i will be working in my dream job in a marine Aquatics shop which is 1.5 miles from my home.

I always say if you want something bad enough you will succeed, it my take a while but you will get what you want. This is living proof i got want i always wanted.
Thanks for reading.







Bluesea Aquatics

 

[tomtom14]

I walked into my LFS when I was 12 and saw a copperband butterflyfish, I literally there and then said I wanted it. I was recommended a 110litre freshwater tank. Over 3 years I've worked my way up now have a 100gallon reef tank with my copperband.


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[KeyWestSeasalt]

My wife and I live in the Florida Keys. We're always on the water, in the water, snorkeling, taking pictures, catching lobster and shooting fish and it's something we can do together.

In 2001 I took a 55 gallon tank that was sitting in my storage shed and decided that since we live on the water in Key West, we might as well start a salt water aquarium. Boom...we're in. Bought some crushed coral, ordered some instant ocean and did some research on how to "create" a wave making reef tank. I wish I'd taken pictures of the contraptions I created to save money back then.

Off we went on the boat with some 5 gallon buckets and a fish collecting net. Came back that same day with live rock that went right into the tank....(big mistake looking back), a queen angelfish and a few highhats. They also went right into the tank. We sat for hours watching them and had no clue about cycling tanks and such. Well, the tank did it's thing, over the next 2 years we kept adding rock, fish, anemones, and all kinds of things with never a thought about quarantine.....then it happened....

A new piece of live rock goes in the tank which now is totally built up with lots of fish...overnight our fish start to disappear....everyday my wife is crawling around trying to find her little friends and they are nowhere to be found. Late one night I hear a loud popping noise coming from the tank so I took a flashlight and snuck up on the tank.....not one, but 3 mantis shrimp surrounding a hermit crab and digging the sand out from under him to flip him over. If you have ever had one of these freaky little murderers in your tank, you'd probably give up the hobby!

Hours of study and looking for ways to get them out of the tank without killing everything and I was still only able to catch 2 of them. The rest of the fish were decimated except my angel which I released back into the ocean where hopefully it lived a long and happy life. My tank days were over for good.

Until now. My wife just celebrated her 50th birthday and I was told in no uncertain terms it needed to be a biggie. Now older, wiser and a little more financially sound, she got a 74 gallon bowfront tank with all the bells and whistles, 90 pounds of cured (safe) live rock and everything we need to have a reef tank with corals and fish. She's sitting on the floor in there staring at them now and it's only a month old with a couple of chromis, a few turbo snails and a couple of emerald crabs.

We've got the bug again, and we have a 10 gallon quarantine tank set up and we're ready to start collecting fish again, but this time without the reckless abandon. We're hooked!

Thanks for having me in the forums!!!

 

[Autumnsky]

My wife just celebrated her 50th birthday and I was told in no uncertain terms it needed to be a biggie. Now older, wiser and a little more financially sound, she got a 74 gallon bowfront tank with all the bells and whistles, 90 pounds of cured (safe) live rock and everything we need to have a reef tank with corals and fish. She's sitting on the floor in there staring at them now and it's only a month old with a couple of chromis, a few turbo snails and a couple of emerald crabs.

We've got the bug again, and we have a 10 gallon quarantine tank set up and we're ready to start collecting fish again, but this time without the reckless abandon. We're hooked!

Thanks for having me in the forums!!!

Great story and wow, what an interesting type of tank you had at the beginning. Glad you are here and all the wiser. This a good place to learn and ask questions. Welcome to you both!

 

[DisneyMatt]

I blame Petco for getting me hooked on this hobby!

We have two cats that we have had since they were 8 weeks old, and they go with us every weekend to Petco. The way our Petco is set up... is as soon as you walk in the door BAM!!! There are all the Saltwater fish. Every single time we go to Petco I find myself spending HOURS (sadly, yes hours) standing there looking at all the fish, and the coral, and all the saltwater stuff. The colors are all so beautiful, the tanks are all so clean, the fish are so pretty. . . Everything in the tanks is alive. I just love everything about them. Finally my partner said "As much as you love the saltwater tanks here at Petco, we should do a saltwater tank!" And my first response was "NO!" Well, instead we did a freshwater tank. The freshwater tank has been up and running for a few years now, and still every weekend when we go to Petco, there I am spending hours at the Saltwater display. So finally, we agreed to start a saltwater aquarium. I knew this was going to be a long expensive journey. . . But so far I am having a great time with it. I am learning so much, not only about the fish, and tanks, and lights, and stands, and filters, and everything else. . . But I have learned a lot about nature in general, and how even the smallest things play such a huge part in making sure everything stays alive!

Anywho, that's a short(er) version of what made me want a REEF aquarium. Like I said it all goes back to Petco! Bad Petco Bad!! (Or maybe good Petco. I'll let you know in a few months if I still have any hair left!)

If you would like to follow my journey creating my 60 gallon reef tank feel free to jump over here!

~Matt

 

[Tatertot9]

Green spotted puffers I had purchased from my local tropical pet store not knowing they were a brackish fish and the older they got the more I would towards the brackish side to eventually salt /reef tank

 

[idol1]

I was going to ask this Question too. But I read this Thread. I am an animal technologist. I have been keeping fish from the age of 5. The only time I did not have fish was when I was in the Military. The reason why I keep them now, is one I love them. I would like to help the hobbyist keep their fish alive longer. But I will be mostly referring to Hawaiian fish. I catch my own fish. I have only 7 store bought. I only catch babies and juveniles. I raise them up to adult or almost adult and then release them. I document where the fish is taken from what kind of reef. This gives me a good indication of what kind of food is available. Same fish taken from different parts of the reef have some different taste. example Morrish Idol taken from coral reefs do very poorly. Moorish Idols taken from rocky pools with no live coral in them do excellent. almost all idols for sale are from coral reefs. There diet is different. Rock Idols are very difficult to catch and collectors are not going to waste there time. My Idols only come from rock. They still have a complex diet that the hobbyist just cant give them. I keep a record of diet on all my fish. Hope this will help you in the near future.