WHAT MADE YOU WANT A REEF AQUARIUM?

[duaumun]

I got my first fish from my uncle. I loved the little guy, just a betta in a 2.5. But boy was he beautiful! He died over Hurricane Fran when we were forced to leave the house( because it was too hot) Forgot to take him with us. Six years later my aunt won a 20 [acronym:f0e68f094e="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:f0e68f094e] freshwater in an auction. I watched them every time i went over. Spent my summer vacation looking up fish tanks and checking websites (not as good as this) out. Unfortunately, my budget is limited, so I tried to start a 7 [acronym:f0e68f094e="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:f0e68f094e] Salt water tank. I failed miserably. I converted it to a freshwater tank, which is [acronym:f0e68f094e="In my opinion"]IMO[/acronym:f0e68f094e] the best 7 gallon freshwater tank in the world. Someday, I'll get the reef tank.

[Tantric]

New to the forum, figured this was as good a place as any to say hello.
And let me say I'm entirely impressed with the information I've been able to soak up from this site, these forums. I'm going blind, I've read so much as of late.

How I got started. I'm convinced it was in the womb. ok but really. I got my first aquarium when I was about 7, your basic 10 gallon deal. Had freshwater fish, though I remember loving sea horses desperately, in the '70s the very notion of setting up a saltwater tank set you back the price of a small car.

By the time I was 10, my father had to make a rack to hold my 9 tanks. I bred livebearers for the local little fish shop. I bred angels. Yes, I was a social outcast and had just a lot of time on my hands at 10. I still loved sea horses. I wanted a saltwater tank more than anything. I made up for this lack of satisfaction by sheer number of freshwater setups.

My mother sold all my aquariums, equipment and all, when we moved when I was 16. She sold them....9 full aquariums ranging from a 5 gallon sick tank, to a 50 gallon.....all of them, for $20. I still don't forgive her for that.

Fastforward to my 20s. Had a 60 gallon, 45 and 30, all still freshwater. From what i read and was told, saltwater was too expensive. Was too hard. I still wanted those sea horses. And clownfish. God but I could watch those for hours in a store. Kept those for years, loved them, but wasn't what i really wanted. Kept cichlids in the 60 gallon, was the closest to saltwater i could get.

Two weeks ago, being now 7 years without fish, I caved and treated myself to a 30 gallon setup. The guy (store is a local fish only place with a huge section of saltwater) starts to talk to me about how the cost of setting up a saltwater tank isn't what it used to be. I'm no fool, I've had fish my whole life, so I talk to him, see if he knows his stuff or just trying to get me to spend money. My work deals with this store and other teachers who have fish, praise this place. Say it's hands down THE best place in Boulder. So after most of my life spent longing, I'm sitting beside my very first saltwater setup.

Terrified. Of course. It's still cycling, so it's not all that exciting right now. Well, to me it is. But anyone else just looks inside and says "where's the fish".

I'm not stupid, I know I have a very very long way to go until I have (tank-raised) sea horses. I'm going to take baby steps until I know a whole lot more about what I'm doing. But eventually, I want my sea horses. When I know I can keep them alive.

/takes a bow.

[mrmarine]

i went to the keys and was like

this is beautiful and i want it in my house,

so a year later with all my money i had in the bank saved for when i was 2 till then and spent all my money on a 72 [acronym:ba7b3e06a3="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:ba7b3e06a3] reef ready bowfron(im 14)

and man when you get fish and coral in there its like agreat tv show its....... euphoria it teaches me so much and when i become a marine bioligist im gonna be rich and have a 10,01209319827 gallon tank and im gonna hatch fish and grow corals and keep the reefs alive


oops off topic soryy...

Mr. Marine

[mrmarine]

i went to the keys and was like

this is beautiful and i want it in my house,

so a year later with all my money i had in the bank saved for when i was 2 till then and spent all my money on a 72 [acronym:077d6fafc3="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:077d6fafc3] reef ready bowfron(im 14)

and man when you get fish and coral in there its like agreat tv show its....... euphoria it teaches me so much and when i become a marine bioligist im gonna be rich and have a 10,01209319827 gallon tank and im gonna hatch fish and grow corals and keep the reefs alive


oops off topic soryy...

Mr. Marine

[RocketSeason]

I started off with the goldfish in the bowl. That fish lived for 5 years before a heater malfunction finally did it in. I continued with several more very successful aquariums but never trusting myself to properly care for a salt water tank. Now that I am a bit older and have a bit of money. I am ready for the challenge!

[Hypostomus]

Originally Posted by mrmarine

and man when you get fish and coral in there its like agreat tv show its....... euphoria it teaches me so much and when i become a marine bioligist im gonna be rich and have a 10,01209319827 gallon tank and im gonna hatch fish and grow corals and keep the reefs alive

Marine biology is one of the worst fields you could choose if you desire to be rich.

[Sneaker]

Originally Posted by Sneaker

What made me want a reef aquarium...?

It was a natural progression, I love nature and most of the creatures that are out there... My dad had fresh and saltwater fish the whole time I was growing up and when I moved out and was busy running around in life I sat down one day and realized how much I miss having fish around.

I got back into it with a 10 gallon tetra tank, then I started a 30 gallon fish only aquarium, then I started another 30 galloon reef tank.

I am new to maintaining saltwater on my own so I figured I would start small, I love my reef tank and corals, the colors, the excitment, the entertainment...

Whenever I am stressed out I just sit in front of the tanks for an hour and I feel right as rain.

Actually I lied about why I started my aquariums, the real reason is that I saw "Finding Nemo"

[ClamKnuckle]

My father always had [acronym:f923bb20c4="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:f923bb20c4] fish tanks growing up and I've always wanted [acronym:f923bb20c4="Saltwater"]SW[/acronym:f923bb20c4] fish because they are such beautiful fish, but when I started visiting AA.com regularly and seeing the tanks people on here have, that's when I decided I wanted a reef.

[texasdivegal]

We are scuba Divers! We wanted to bring our hobby into our home!! I have always had freshwater, but always wanted the beautiful fish!! (no offense to Freshies) To do or not to do was the question...$?, time?, Headache? Well it sure is cheaper than going to Mexico on a dive trip!! Took the plunge just a month ago, and already enjoy it so much!! Even the [acronym:aeb6d2838d="copepods, amphipods, etc"]pods[/acronym:aeb6d2838d] are fun to watch.

[divemasterjim]

I just always wanted one !!!! I had fresh water tanks when i was a kid but never could aford a salt water ,and i always thought they where the coolest and prettiest fish . Plus im a big scuba diver and that made me want one more.