POLL: How long have you been REEFING?

[ZoWhat]

Plz answer poll

 

[Brandon3152134]

I got my first frest water tank like 8 years ago and started salt water 4. never went back.

 

[brandon429]

In 2001 some soft corals went into a fishbowl and if they died I wasn’t going to tell anybody

 

[Garf]

Started an ich breeding tank in 2004. Not doing that again.

 

[shandoee]

A reef tank was my senior project in high school (2007). Although I did quit after 2012, I started back up again at the beginning of this year. Wow, I regret doing that senior project. I should’ve done drugs instead, I would’ve saved more money

 

[Dbichler]

Started in 2006 with this tank but this was 3 or 4 years in.

 

[KenRexford]

My current stand (had to replace a broken tank about 6 years ago) has supported a 125 for about 17 years. The actual tank owner has supported successful corals for much less than that, as my learning curve was awful. Early on, I was FOWLR by results. I was the Darla of corals. I had absolutely no clue about crazy concepts like lighting, chemistry, flow. I had a Seaclone protein skimmer, compact fluorescent bulbs, a dinky sump for unknown reasons, nitrate and phosphate absorbing pads, a complete nightmare of incompetence. I mean, I had no aiptasia problems because they also had no chance. Heck, my first cnidarian success was aiptasia that survived! I remember feeling like at least something wavy was lasting longer than two weeks. It looked nice next to the radioactive blue hair algae. Don’t think there’s a thing called “radioactive blue hair algae?” Well, maybe not, but I had some algae back then that I couldn’t identify because no one legit ever saw that bad of a tank. I mean, my test kits were all broken, obviously, because the red was too deep for any charts. Nitrates might have been higher than the Hudson River. When I did water changes back then, the old water looked like wet skimmate I dumped last night.

 

[Paul B]

I got my first fresh water tank in 1952 or so. I started my still running salt tank when the hobby started in the US in 1971.

 

[CanuckReefer]

22 years. And many $$$ later. Still love it.

 

[vetteguy53081]

33 +years

 

[Rjramos]

Since 1995, with corals. 1989 fish only.

 

[Billdogg]

I'm a few years behind PaulB, but not all that many. I had my first freshwater tank about 1967. I started with marine tanks in the late 1980's and have had multiple systems going ever since.

 

[sp1187]

1984------->1997 divorce tank sale------>mobile home living so no warm and fuzzy with the floor------->2017 home purchase------>2018 water goes in the new glass box--------> still here

 

[SPS2020]

1985 first salt tank. First corals were a few years later. Very long lived tanks overall. In April, I broke down a softie tank that had been running around 10 years to make room for my first SPS only tank.

 

[Uncle99]

42 years

 

[ZoWhat]

Bump

 

[Dr. Jim]

I started when I was in high school in the mid 60's. I worked in the first pet shop in NJ to have saltwater fish (late 60's) and have been in the hobby ever since. We've come a long way since dolomite with undergravel filters and eheim canister filters!

 

[Doctorgori]

Not sure does a algae filled 60L count? but this was 87-ish so I'm gonna say 30+yrs reefing ...
Salt water: 1976 ...yeah UG filter, dolomite, Instant ocean and a pair of clowns



Here is a sump shot from the 90's ole timers might recognize the skimmer



here is a more recent pic from the early 2010's

 

[X-37B]

Since 1987!

 

[HockeyRooster]

Dad made the switch to salt when I was about 15 so it’s been 30 years off and on. This is a bit deceiving/exaggerated though as what we did in 1990 couldn’t be called reefing. Canister filter, no live rock, no wave maker. Hard to believe we didn’t have a lot of success hey?
I’ve been reefing for about 20 years off and on and I love it!