I've been out for a bit now about 5 Years. Just getting back looking to do it right. Got a bunch of equipment together still need a ton more. Still need to drill my little tank to give it more volume. Gonna try and run a 30 gallon fuge on a 5 nano reef lol it sounds ridiculous but I find the smaller reef tanks with tons of attention to detail look better than a 300 with a ton of space colonies. Just what I like lol
Have you ever left the hobby and came back?
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jjbunn
Active Member
Started in 1993 with freshwater, then went to salt after reading a book on marine aquaria I picked up on a trip. Bought live rock in Switzerland (was living just over the border in France) which was shipped in from the Seychelles, which sounded very exotic at the time. Got rid of that tank when I moved to California in 1997. Had a break of a few years, then started again in 1999 with a 55g tank and some fish and a few "live" rocks (but nothing like those from the Seychelles!). Then broke that down when we moved house in 2001, and didn't fire it up again for a couple of years. 2003 to 2010 had a reef with mainly corals (soft and hard) and a few fish, including a ******* hawkfish called Mitchell, who I regretted putting in as he terrorized everything that moved. Trouble was, I couldn't catch him, he was super devious and twitchy. I put in a large lion fish in the hope that it would eat Mitchell, but although he looked interested a couple of times, he never bit. Don't put a hawkfish in your tank, kids 
Finally I lost everything in 2010 after windstorms which left us without power for a week. Just started again now with a ~60g.
Big new feature now is availability of affordable high power LED lighting. I hated the heat from the MH lamp I used to run, which transferred to the tank and was a serious problem in SoCal summers. And I never cared much for compact fluorescents: wan output and bulky.
Finally I lost everything in 2010 after windstorms which left us without power for a week. Just started again now with a ~60g.Big new feature now is availability of affordable high power LED lighting. I hated the heat from the MH lamp I used to run, which transferred to the tank and was a serious problem in SoCal summers. And I never cared much for compact fluorescents: wan output and bulky.
MANY TIMES OVER THE LAST 36 YEARS OR SO DUE TO MOVING HOUSE AND PERSONAL REASONS. ALWAYS COME BACK AND NEVER WITHOUT A TANK FOR LONG.
Lynn52
Active Member
I started in this hobby in the late 1990s. I swapped out african chiclids and discus for salt. I had a 55 gallon softie reef. I had that tank until about 6 years ago when my grand daughter "fed the fish" a whole can of flakes. The tank was in the basement and I didn't know about the "feeding" until the next day when I opened the door to the basement and was greeted by the worst smell ever. Everything was dead. I cleaned everything up and got out. About a year and a half ago I got back into the hobby. Kids had moved out and I had more disposable income. I figured I'd just pull out my old 55 and start where I left off. The 55 was in the shed and it turns out you shouldn't leave an aquarium in the shed uncovered. Mice had moved in and couldn't get out. Not a pretty sight after 4 years of being a mouse trap. I just tossed that one and bought a new 55. I pulled out my old canister filter and rocks filled it up and I was off again. Very quickly became dissatisfied with the size of the 55 and my old equiptment. With in 6 months I upgraded to a reef ready 125 with a sump, protein skimmer, Kessil lights, my own RODI system. Put the 55 in the shed, this time upside down. Last summer I added a 40b. This has a RBTA and clown and I just added a couple SPS.
Lighting advances were the biggest change for me. I love the LED options. Even simple things like some the newer magnetic algae cleaners are great and make maintenance so much easier. Sumps with refugiums are so much easier than the wet dry filters of the past. I have an ATO on my tank, never heard of them in the past, no more pitchers of water for top offs. I find the hobby easier this time around. There are lots of new things out there to simplify the daily tasks but part is me too. I have more time and DIY skills than I used to have. After adding a bathroom to my house plumbing a sump was trivial. I remodeled my kitchen myself, those skills made building a stand and hood easy.
Lighting advances were the biggest change for me. I love the LED options. Even simple things like some the newer magnetic algae cleaners are great and make maintenance so much easier. Sumps with refugiums are so much easier than the wet dry filters of the past. I have an ATO on my tank, never heard of them in the past, no more pitchers of water for top offs. I find the hobby easier this time around. There are lots of new things out there to simplify the daily tasks but part is me too. I have more time and DIY skills than I used to have. After adding a bathroom to my house plumbing a sump was trivial. I remodeled my kitchen myself, those skills made building a stand and hood easy.
Lowstorm
Well-Known Member
Started reefing in 2002 with a 55 and mh lights. I too have taken a few breaks. Once during a drug dazed year at college in, oh 2004 or so. The second break was longer; my 75 gallon broke a seam about 2 years ago and I am cycling rock now. Biggest change from 2002 til now, which I miss dearly is the lack of big cheap coral colonies. I was buying 6" colonies for $60 or so. And I really, really miss that.
jackson6745
Valuable Member
I took a 2 year break over the last 20 years, from 2011-2013. When I returned LED lighting had become mainstream. I found it very confusing because there where so many different brands + colors etc. There were also too many fanboys "loving" their particular brand unconditionally. I decided to let the results speak for themselves and went back to 400w halide 
s2nhle
Valuable Member
I started my reef tank back in the early 90's after 6-7yrs of fresh water fish (discus and african fish). Late 90's, I sold every to move out of town. After settling down, i start my freshwater fish again and then jumped in reeftank around 2010. I was impressed with the technology and the amount of information available on the internet. Thank you very much for all of your contribution.
Bruce Burnett
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Left in 2007 had purchased everything to go bigger had health problems then lost job of 30 years and moved. Got back in 2014 then moved in 2015. Lost most of my corals in the move but did not lose a single fish. Big improvements in dc pumps and water movement in general. Better controllers and skimmers. Reactors for Gfo, carbon and bio pellets. The biggest change is LED lighting, I am using Orphek Atlantiks even though I have a new 72" metal halide, T5 led moon light hood in the box.
dricc
Active Member
Off topic. How do you like yhe orphek?
MurphyJ
Active Member
Started in the mid '90s. Had the good fortune to meet some people that were experienced and helpful. Then I found the mail list and had the great privilege to get guidance from Rob Toonen and Ron Shimek. I upgraded from a 55 gal to a 240 gal system over the next 5 years. With those guys looking over my shoulder I stayed to the "don't build an upside down pyramid" rule. My tank thrived and all was good until 2007 when the tank leaked at a bottom seal and I lost everything except the maroon clowns and a few mushrooms. (You think your skimmer smells? Try frying a 50 lbs leather under MHs for 6 hours) I bought a 55gal, put as much rock in it as I could and basically walked away. I fed the fish and tank, did quarterly water changes, and honestly waited for the clowns to die.
In 2011 I told my husband that the clowns were so old they would be going soon and I would just get rid of the tank. HE told me I was working too many hours and needed to get back into my hobby for my health and sanity. In 2012 my RedSea MAX S650 was delivered. 2014 added a 45 gal cube for SPS.
What had changed?
1. Women are accepted in the hobby. Before Ron, Rob and Eric publicly acknowledged me I would be the brunt of jokes and criticized if I posted under my name. ( I still use Murphy as my list name)
2. LFS are better and the personnel more knowledgeable. Most are now run by people that have tanks themselves and they understand there are more than one way to run a tank.
3. Internet. For a research hound like me I can spend hours reading about ecological changes and effects. Why did my bristle worms disappear when I added small brittle stars? Why do I have an increase in Chitons? Allopathy in mixed reefs or species dominant tanks.
4. Internet. Equipment is readily available and equipment manufacturers are more in tune with hobbyist. The hobbyist has the information to design the equipment to match the setup they want.
My clowns are still alive and thriving. I have heard that maroon clowns have lived for over 30 years so I guess I'll be around for another ten years at least.
In 2011 I told my husband that the clowns were so old they would be going soon and I would just get rid of the tank. HE told me I was working too many hours and needed to get back into my hobby for my health and sanity. In 2012 my RedSea MAX S650 was delivered. 2014 added a 45 gal cube for SPS.
What had changed?
1. Women are accepted in the hobby. Before Ron, Rob and Eric publicly acknowledged me I would be the brunt of jokes and criticized if I posted under my name. ( I still use Murphy as my list name)
2. LFS are better and the personnel more knowledgeable. Most are now run by people that have tanks themselves and they understand there are more than one way to run a tank.
3. Internet. For a research hound like me I can spend hours reading about ecological changes and effects. Why did my bristle worms disappear when I added small brittle stars? Why do I have an increase in Chitons? Allopathy in mixed reefs or species dominant tanks.
4. Internet. Equipment is readily available and equipment manufacturers are more in tune with hobbyist. The hobbyist has the information to design the equipment to match the setup they want.
My clowns are still alive and thriving. I have heard that maroon clowns have lived for over 30 years so I guess I'll be around for another ten years at least.
Richard Schmidt
Active Member
Gee how do I start.
I started with a freshwater tank 50 years ago (I was 12). it was a 10 gallon tank.
At 14 an under gravel filter was new technology, so I got one along with my new tank (it was huge for the time a 25 gallon), got it for a Christmas present.
Ran it as freshwater for a year or so, then "Saltwater" tanks were being discovered.
I restarted my tank as "Saltwater" with under gravel as it was the best/only technology.
Way back then if you could keep a starfish alive you were an expert.
Guess what I was not an expert, none survived, and at almost 75 cents each my allowance meant I had to stop.
Jump forward 10 years, Saw a real saltwater tank for the first time, I had to have one!
I was married by then and told my wife I wanted to get back into the hobby.
She told me that would be fine (she also saw the tank). "She was hooked".
She let me start with a 55, moved up to a 75 when we bought our first home.
I thought she would kill me when I drilled a hole in the floor for a basement sump!
When I was finally allowed to sleep in our bed not on the couch, she saw what it did and how it looked.
Have had two new (not new build) homes since then. Each house we bought allowed me to increase size of the tank.
In our last house I was up to a 200 gallon.
Just bought a new (new build home) after living in our last home for 15 years (Family death caused move).
Square footage reduction required a tank size reduction.
Believe me every time we looked at new build home it was (in my minds eye) based on where my new tank was going to go. Even my wife understood this, she said she did not want to loose the tank.
Finally bought a new home and a new tank, it went from a 200 to a 93 gallon cube.
I'm fine with the tank size reduction but the new house has severe issues with the hardwood floors.
Builder said floors would be fine after this winter.
Floors got worse not better.
Its been over a year since I have had a tank.
We are going to be moved out of our new house so builder can get the floors fixed.
While I hate being moved into nothing more than a hotel for two weeks it will fix the floor problems and I can finally set up the new tank.
Does this make me a hobby re starter?
Yea as you can guess I'm an old fart.
I started with a freshwater tank 50 years ago (I was 12). it was a 10 gallon tank.
At 14 an under gravel filter was new technology, so I got one along with my new tank (it was huge for the time a 25 gallon), got it for a Christmas present.
Ran it as freshwater for a year or so, then "Saltwater" tanks were being discovered.
I restarted my tank as "Saltwater" with under gravel as it was the best/only technology.
Way back then if you could keep a starfish alive you were an expert.
Guess what I was not an expert, none survived, and at almost 75 cents each my allowance meant I had to stop.
Jump forward 10 years, Saw a real saltwater tank for the first time, I had to have one!
I was married by then and told my wife I wanted to get back into the hobby.
She told me that would be fine (she also saw the tank). "She was hooked".
She let me start with a 55, moved up to a 75 when we bought our first home.
I thought she would kill me when I drilled a hole in the floor for a basement sump!
When I was finally allowed to sleep in our bed not on the couch, she saw what it did and how it looked.
Have had two new (not new build) homes since then. Each house we bought allowed me to increase size of the tank.
In our last house I was up to a 200 gallon.
Just bought a new (new build home) after living in our last home for 15 years (Family death caused move).
Square footage reduction required a tank size reduction.
Believe me every time we looked at new build home it was (in my minds eye) based on where my new tank was going to go. Even my wife understood this, she said she did not want to loose the tank.
Finally bought a new home and a new tank, it went from a 200 to a 93 gallon cube.
I'm fine with the tank size reduction but the new house has severe issues with the hardwood floors.
Builder said floors would be fine after this winter.
Floors got worse not better.
Its been over a year since I have had a tank.
We are going to be moved out of our new house so builder can get the floors fixed.
While I hate being moved into nothing more than a hotel for two weeks it will fix the floor problems and I can finally set up the new tank.
Does this make me a hobby re starter?
Yea as you can guess I'm an old fart.
1stNoel
Well-Known Member
In 2004, a slew of hurricanes left me without power for a week and wiped out my fish only tank that featured an emperor angel and other cool fish.
I was so upset that I shut down the set-up and left it in my garage.
June of 2015, I caught the bug again. Started up a 55 gallon frag tank and less than a month later bought a 220 gallon tank. After a few months, I decided it wasn't big enough and bought a 300 gallon tank.
As far as what's changed...everything! I unknowingly committed every error in the book back then. No one grew or sold coral. Now there is so much information and equipment available, that I have a coral farm growing in my man cave.
Corals add an entirely new dimension to the hobby.
I was so upset that I shut down the set-up and left it in my garage.
June of 2015, I caught the bug again. Started up a 55 gallon frag tank and less than a month later bought a 220 gallon tank. After a few months, I decided it wasn't big enough and bought a 300 gallon tank.
As far as what's changed...everything! I unknowingly committed every error in the book back then. No one grew or sold coral. Now there is so much information and equipment available, that I have a coral farm growing in my man cave.
Corals add an entirely new dimension to the hobby.
Bruce Burnett
Valuable Member
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I have two Atlantik ver2.1b on a 6 foot x 30" x 27" tall and they are great. Bob Fenner put me in touch with Orphek can grow sps anywhere in the tank and LPS almost anywhere. They are a little expensive but you can use less fixtures and they are as bright as halides. Don't think anyone will regret using them.
James Rutherford
New Member
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- Frisco, Texas
- What state or country do you live in
- Texas
I have pulled out of the hobby twice the first time in 1996 during which I had a 110 gallon. I sold the system to make room for a baby. Back then I used a bare bottom tank a Nets skimmer, sump and two dolphin pumps. It work very well.
The 2nd time I purchased a used 90 gallon bow front that had a substrate and more equipment. It worked very well but was somewhat complicated.
Both setups included metal hailides.
Now I have a 190 and it is much more complex. I am an equipment nut so you can imagine. I wish sometimes that I could go back to the original tank.
Changes:
Lighting
Complexity
Price
Livestock availibility
The 2nd time I purchased a used 90 gallon bow front that had a substrate and more equipment. It worked very well but was somewhat complicated.
Both setups included metal hailides.
Now I have a 190 and it is much more complex. I am an equipment nut so you can imagine. I wish sometimes that I could go back to the original tank.
Changes:
Lighting
Complexity
Price
Livestock availibility
cjd
Well-Known Member
Besides having some sort of fresh water tank pretty much all through childhood , I picked up the saltwater hobby in 1996. I was hooked. Did everything......wrong. Trial and error from the gate. Started having success by my own experiences. Years later in 2004 hurricane Charlie came over my house , the eye of the storm seemed to be dead center over me. Needless to say it looked like a war zone through my town .No power for over two weeks, no running water . National Guard everywhere , Fema, seriously looked like end of the world stuff on T.V. . Obviously everything didn't make it. Dealing with the storm I hung up my reefing for awhile and maybe in 2011 or 2012 my girlfriend at the time who is now my wife said "you need a hobby" oh and the demon she woke up !! I tell her that my dream tank is on her finger. Started with a nano 14 gallon bio cube , filled that to the gills , moved to a 60 gallon cube , traded a DR. friend the 60 cube for a marineland 150 cube (my fav).I moved so downsized to 74 gallon tower cube , filled that up. Now cycling a rimless 75. So with that background what has changed since 96 ? Everything for me . Knowledge is the biggest change I saw coming back, with the wealth of information at our finger tips there was no more I wonder if this lion fish will get along with my damsel.....ooops guess not. Lighting has changed with leds , heck I don't even think t-5's were popular when I first started , my lfs pushed me in the direction of power compacts. But for me the biggest change that has impacted the hobby the most is the internet ."It's worth a goggle!"
Back when I had my first job (16-17 y/o), I had a 29 gallon FW tank that I converted into SW. I didn't have coral at the time but I did have a FOWLR. I was pretty inexperienced but I was able to maintain it well until I started to neglect it. At the time, my LFS Owner/Boss had a bunch of Emerald Mithrax Crabs so my CUC was basically a bunch of them. I also had a kole tang which I now know had no business being in in my tank.
Fast forward several years til about 2013. I set up a Cadlights 22g AIO. My 2nd venture into the hobby went a lot smoother. I used a refractometer at this time rather than the plastic hydrometer. I would lurk various reef forums for information which led to me being much more prepared. I had 3 fish I believe. A couple clowns and another fish that I can't remember. Alongside that, I had some GSP, Xenia, mushrooms, plate, and frogspawn coral: All which flourished under the stock T5 lighting by Cadlights. Fortunately, the tank wasn't neglected at all. I was checking water parameters everyday, topping off water manually (didn't have ATO), and doing general maintenance on the tank. However, one night, out of the blue, my gf and me were playing a pc game together when we both hear a loud cracking sound. I go to the bedroom where the tank was and there was a crack from the top corner of the tank to about halfway down or more. Water was gushing out and it was a nightmare. Fortunately for me, I had a local reefer who sold me premixed water/frags who was able to take all my livestock from me and eventually sold them off for me (I'm grateful for his generosity).
After the incident, I should've contacted Cadlights and request a new tank from them but for some reason, I didn't (A dumb mistake that could've easily been solved/would allow me to continue reefing despite the set-back).
Fast forward another year to about 2014, I move with my gf to another state and have been here ever since. Residing in an apartment, my gf would rather me wait to have another tank until we buy a house/condo. However, I have phases where I get the reef itch really bad which is scratched the teensiest bit when I visit reef sites such as this one. It sucks so bad to not have a tank currently running. However, looking at multiple threads on this site gives me great ideas and dreams for a future system.
Speaking of a future system, if I could set one up soon, it would be a Red Sea Reefer 170 complete with either Radeons, Hydra HD, or Kessil a360w. The other parts like the skimmer, reactor, doser, controller, test kits, etc.. would be subject to further inquiry.
I spend most of my time looking at the Nano Tank/Members Tanks part of this forum and don't visit the general reef aquarium area much. I got excited when I saw this thread and was compelled to make a reply.
Hope that any of you who are currently out of the hobby will come back to it soon!
Fast forward several years til about 2013. I set up a Cadlights 22g AIO. My 2nd venture into the hobby went a lot smoother. I used a refractometer at this time rather than the plastic hydrometer. I would lurk various reef forums for information which led to me being much more prepared. I had 3 fish I believe. A couple clowns and another fish that I can't remember. Alongside that, I had some GSP, Xenia, mushrooms, plate, and frogspawn coral: All which flourished under the stock T5 lighting by Cadlights. Fortunately, the tank wasn't neglected at all. I was checking water parameters everyday, topping off water manually (didn't have ATO), and doing general maintenance on the tank. However, one night, out of the blue, my gf and me were playing a pc game together when we both hear a loud cracking sound. I go to the bedroom where the tank was and there was a crack from the top corner of the tank to about halfway down or more. Water was gushing out and it was a nightmare. Fortunately for me, I had a local reefer who sold me premixed water/frags who was able to take all my livestock from me and eventually sold them off for me (I'm grateful for his generosity).
After the incident, I should've contacted Cadlights and request a new tank from them but for some reason, I didn't (A dumb mistake that could've easily been solved/would allow me to continue reefing despite the set-back).
Fast forward another year to about 2014, I move with my gf to another state and have been here ever since. Residing in an apartment, my gf would rather me wait to have another tank until we buy a house/condo. However, I have phases where I get the reef itch really bad which is scratched the teensiest bit when I visit reef sites such as this one. It sucks so bad to not have a tank currently running. However, looking at multiple threads on this site gives me great ideas and dreams for a future system.
Speaking of a future system, if I could set one up soon, it would be a Red Sea Reefer 170 complete with either Radeons, Hydra HD, or Kessil a360w. The other parts like the skimmer, reactor, doser, controller, test kits, etc.. would be subject to further inquiry.
I spend most of my time looking at the Nano Tank/Members Tanks part of this forum and don't visit the general reef aquarium area much. I got excited when I saw this thread and was compelled to make a reply.
Hope that any of you who are currently out of the hobby will come back to it soon!
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