How did you get started in saltwater?

[ficklefins]

I always find it interesting how people got into saltwater tanks. So here is how I got started.

I purchased a 55g fresh water kit from a LFS and I was totally geeked up about setting up a planted tank. I started doing research about plants, fish and all kinds of things when I came across a picture of a mandarin.

I thought this fish was amazing and I knew that I just had to have one. I started researching mandarins and quickly came across reefcentral. As someone who had no experience (or clue) about reef tanks it was very exciting to see posts and pics of others tanks. My 55g never got setup for freshwater and skipped right to saltwater instead. I started my saltwater tank in 2003 and the rest was history.

Mandarins caught my attention back then, I am positive that my future "dream tank" will be a mandarin sanctuary. Now I just have to wait for life to take its course so that I can get a house and setup a tank without all those renter loopholes to restrict me.

So how did you get started with saltwater?

 

[Chelsey]

This is kind of embarassing, but I got started after watching "Finding Nemo." I was one of those people who wanted a clownfish. Christmas of 2003, after doing LOTS of research I set up my first saltwater tank, a 55 gallon. Once the tank was cycled and everything my clowns were added (Nemo and Omen). I thought corals were much too difficult until March of 2004 when I went into a LFS and they gave me a red mushroom. I still had that thing until recently I'm quite hooked now, but I think it's kind of dumb how I got started...because of a movie :lol:

 

[minibowmatt]

My brother and I kept competing against each other to see who had the nicest planted FW tank. I held the title for the longest time, when he started catching up, I took it to the next logical level, SW reef... it has been all downhill since then.

 

[Old Man Of The Sea]

Myself when I was about 7.5 I won a little bowl with a goldfish at the fair grounds and it in the next 1.5 years got me into the idea of a saltwater tank. As today more then 60 years later, I am still into the enjoyment that my aquariums gives to me. Yes, I had came a long way in this hobby and will enjoy it to my dying days. I do however hope that one of my grandchildren will want to take these tanks over for me for it would be a waste if when my time comes and none of these kids have any interest in them other then simply admiring the fish.

 

[jessiesgrrl]

I dated a guy that kept reef and FOWLR tanks... and then I figured out it was the tanks I liked, not him so much...

LOL
Laurie

 

[jessiesgrrl]

I always find it interesting how people got into saltwater tanks. So here is how I got started.

I purchased a 55g fresh water kit from a LFS and I was totally geeked up about setting up a planted tank. I started doing research about plants, fish and all kinds of things when I came across a picture of a mandarin.

I thought this fish was amazing and I knew that I just had to have one. I started researching mandarins and quickly came across reefcentral. As someone who had no experience (or clue) about reef tanks it was very exciting to see posts and pics of others tanks. My 55g never got setup for freshwater and skipped right to saltwater instead. I started my saltwater tank in 2003 and the rest was history.

Mandarins caught my attention back then, I am positive that my future "dream tank" will be a mandarin sanctuary. Now I just have to wait for life to take its course so that I can get a house and setup a tank without all those renter loopholes to restrict me.

So how did you get started with saltwater?

That's really funny, because I always wanted to keep a ficklefins, but they are just so darn rare and hard to keep!!

lol
Laurie

 

[gflat65]

A friend in college had a 30g with rocjk and fish and a few softies (no softies when I met him-no one in the are even sold SPS back then). I delivered food (Coop Deville-the Cadillac of wings) and stopped by his house for a little fun and the tank. I'd sit in his papasan and just stare at the rocks and the little things moving around in and on them. I bought a 40H with the intentino of being a coral propagator for conservation reasons. 600 gallons and 10 years later and I'm a coral propagator because of the addiction (not conservation, so much ). My wife is a great sport to let me have so many tanks. I just wish I had a few that were a little bigger . I can't stop myself from buying things, so I keep setting up new tanks to hold everything. I'm a pack rat-can't get rid of anything...

 

[Smarsh]

My friend got me into it. She had the most amazing Nano cube I have ever seen. She upgraded and I started and that is how it ends. Now I just keep going bigger.

Sandy

 

[AngieN.]

My sister set up a FOWLR in Feb 2004. I had always admired the fish and display in the LFS. After she let that LFS take all of her money with little success (because she didn't take the time to learn and they didn't care) I began researching all over the net and books so that I could set up my own tank. In June 2004 I set up my 56g. I've moved twice and have downsized to a 37g. Can't wait until the basement is finished so that I can get a much larger tank.

 

[cardgenius]

I had my 125 setup with 2 Ornate Bichirs and an African Leaf Fish for about 2years. After the constant trips to the LFS for food, the SW started to catch my eye. After about a year I set up a small 29g with a bio-wheel. I had that tank setup for about a year before the itch to turn my 125 into a reef took over. I sold my eels and the addiction started instantly

I do miss my eels a lot and Iam planning on setting another tank up

 

[surfn]

i started aquariums back in 2001 i think. first tank was a walmart freshwater tank with all the fake ornaments etc. never had much luck in keeping anything alive longer than a week or two, including fancy guppies, plecos etc.

i got regular feeder guppies, a molli, and some danios to stay alive for about a year but it wasn't much fun.

decided to take a more "natural" route to help keep things alive, so i saw a 7g minibow on sale at petsmart...to which i added some special plant gravel and started live plants. i had much more success keeping fish alive in a planted tank so i dove into that realm (thinking that was easier than saltwater).

BOY WAS I WRONG!! keeping a freshwater planted tank is TONS harder than doing saltwater, i was trimming plants 6-8hrs a week. granted, when my tank looked good, it looked GOOD!! i loved the look, but it came with a price tag and many hours.

you can find other pics here (i saved a few of my best ones to keep online)
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/ayoung/Pictures/Aquariums/30g planted tank/


i was getting tired of all the hassel of a planted tank, and wanted something small on my desk to look at. so i converted my 7g planted tank minibow to a saltwater tank. once i put live rock in it i realized i needed to go bigger. so i got a 15g-high the next week, then realized i needed more room b/c the live rock was so big. so got a 20g-high the next week. lol

i stayed with a 20g-high (without skimmer), and an AC500 fuge for a good year while in gradschool (couldn't afford anything better). had a PC for a while then went up to MH and my tank flourished. finally ran out of room in the 20g after about a year and a half and decided to tear down the 30g planted tank and convert it to saltwater, which is still running to this day. i've since added a sump, and another 20g plumbed to the 30g. and i've converted the 7gminibow back to saltwater once again.

my girlfriend also did a 7g minibow planted tank for about a year, and a 15g saltwater tank for about a year. both tanks cracked during a move this past summer though.

she is planning to take the other 7g minibow and put a mantis in it soon though.

 

[divecj5]

Kind of a long story of how I got involved with aquariums but figured I'd post it anyway. I grew up outside of Chicago and moved to the Philly area where I lived when I was younger til I was in 4th grade. My dad got laid off and found a job here in Charleston, SC. After moving closer to the coast, I became basically infatuated with learning anything and everything about the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the ocean, estuaries, and marshes. After taking a marine biology class in highschool, I was hooked and went to the Univ. of S.C. for marine science specifically dealing with coastal zone managent and conservation. After being the SCUBA club president and diving for 8 years, a believe my blood started getting saltier and saltier.

I have always wanted a SW aquarium ever since I was a young kid but hadn't had the funds up until about a year and a half ago when I started doing research. I have now had my 55 for about 6 months now and have gotten so much enjoyment out of it. It has been an incredible learning process and I couldn't be happier having it.

Sorry for the small dissertation but thought I would keep the thread going.

Adam

 

[dickie52]

Many moons ago I bought live seahorses from the back of a comic book and the rest is history.......

 

[twon8]

summer of 03: a friend of mine had a 55 sitting around that he had used for saltwater years ago and i had a blank wall in my apt. At first i was going to do fw, but i was worried that the salt already in the gravel and dead coral skeletons would harm any fw, so i went salt, never looked back.

 

[plaz]

Bettas seem to be very dangerous fish! I had some minor surgery for a torn faciia about 7 years ago. Someone brought me a Betta in a vase. I couldn't stand watching it in there so I got a 5 gallon eclipse with heater. Ended up with 3 bettas (two 2.5 gallons and the 5 gallon w/heaters and fake plants - never understood why people insist they don't need heat and hiding places!). Anyway, they lived 3+ years. When the last one died I read "The Natural Reef" and thought... wow, that won't be too hard... wow, that won't be that much more expensive... and it has been downhill ever since (I really do love it, but I now anyone who says it's easy and inexpensive is true nutcase!)!

 

[chadfarmer]

in 1995 i went to eat out and passed a fish store with saltwater

the next week i had a 15 gallon tank

3 weeks later a 37 RR cube

than i had a 75

than a 125

now a 58 RR

 

[jonbar1]

I had a 5 gallon tank with a firefish and a couple pieces of live rock when I was about 10 years old along with a few tanks of cichlids and an oscar. After a year or so the firefish died and I got hooked on plants and especially orchids and have had that as my main hobby since (26 now). Plants took priority and the tanks slowly came down one by one until I had none set up.

About two years ago, I was at Wal Mart and saw a beautiful Betta that shouted to be rescued. Since there are so many types of Bettas, I couldn't have just one and quickly had 10 of them. I was showing them off on the orchid forum and met a guy who breeds species Bettas. He sent me some very rare ones and after breeding them he told me about how he used to raise Killifish and that I should study them. Sure enough a local orchid society member raises Killifish and gave me a pair of some incredible ones.

After being in the LFS so often, I noticed the AquaPods on the shelf and kept remembering my meager attempt at saltwater when I was young. I did a lot of googling and reading on nano-reef forums and decided to buy one. I set it up, searched high and low for pictures of what's out there and here I am now. I still have that first Betta, and although he's an old man, I still blame him for all the money I've spent on fish and tanks.

Here's one of my favorite pets, a killifish Fundulopanchax sjoestedi. He's about 7 inches long and still has some growing to do.
(EDIT: He's actually about life size on my monitor in this pic)

 

[Reef Gardener]

Natural progression - Started off by buying my son Guppies when he was little (he's now 22) then we got Goldfish, Neon Tetra's etc. Graduated to Cichlids and started breeding Daffodil Brichardi which we traded to the LFS for credit and that we used for the liverock in our first saltwater tank that was fish only we now have a 55G reef. Just think it started with a Guppy! LOL!!

 

[berns]

well ive kept fish for years on and off but never saltwater but couple years back as my mates got into keeping those nutty cychlids that just chase each other all day i found myself looking at saltwater marine every time i visited the store with them, im about 14 months in with the reef and it not take long till all mates converted to saltwater aswell. my zoa/paly addiction been 6 months now and as i live in the UK this addiction is very frustrating cause we really dont have even 5% of the colour/variety you guys have. tho tobe honest i think the snowballing of collecting zoas is only just beginning (we always behind) i see more and more imports of frags coming in and our ebay UK is just starting to show regular zoa frags but nothing nice yet lol

 

[geoxman]

Killifish Rock! The best colored FW fish out there. I use to breed them years ago.
As far as SW I use to eat at the Manhatten Cafe right by CPE, those that are local will know what I am talking about. From there it was a downward $$ spiral.
From there it just grew. Nic-zomania got me into the zoos years back-before they were really hip and had a website forum named after them. ie.. zoaid. com and clubzoa.com. Good luck and happy reefing