THROWBACK THURSDAY!! What was your first reef aquarium?

[dbl]

Yes it does count. I came by your house a few years ago for Chaeto and your tank was killer. Post pics

Thanks...there's more there if you need it...lol. Pictures can be found in the build thread linked below. @Crabs Mcjones and I were talking about chaeto this past weekend.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Thanks...there's more there if you need it...lol. Pictures can be found in the build thread linked below. @Crabs Mcjones and I were talking about chaeto this past weekend.

This was the haul, not including a couple bags that I got rid of lol

weighed almost 5 pounds without water! And was much much bigger than it appears in the picture.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Circa 1993. 75 gallon Perfecto tank. "Berlin method". Drilled with homemade overflow box. Hand build t8 light fixture. Hand built stand and canopy. CPR backpack skimmer. Kalkwasser in ATO reservoir. Fuji rock, Tonga sticks.

Later basement sump with little giant return pump with 55 gallon sump.

 

[Whispers]

My first reef 45 gallon fluval tank with a ehim canister filter reef octo hang on back skimmer and a chiller .I had lps & softies I had it for about 2 years

 

[smiley28]

Did perfecto make a 37g column? I believe that was my first tank ever around 2010. I remember being interested in every bit of life in the tank and taking the worst pics just to ask if I had pods, bristle worms, or some sort of snail. A Duncan I had in it for nearly 2 year tank existence was one of the few successful pieces of coral kept until I sold it to the original lfs. It started with 2 heads and turned into 20-30. Kind of lost track once I went to basic in 2012.

 

[Michael Naegeli]

No pics I’m Lame. 1996 I had a 30 something gallon eclipse all in one. T-5 type. Loved that tank. Lost interest when got me a oceanic 180 Bowfront. Had that up for years.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Did perfecto make a 37g column? I believe that was my first tank ever around 2010. I remember being interested in every bit of life in the tank and taking the worst pics just to ask if I had pods, bristle worms, or some sort of snail. A Duncan I had in it for nearly 2 year tank existence was one of the few successful pieces of coral kept until I sold it to the original lfs. It started with 2 heads and turned into 20-30. Kind of lost track once I went to basic in 2012.

Not sure about the 37 gallon Perfecto. They did make a lot of different common tank sizes.

No pics I’m Lame. 1996 I had a 30 something gallon eclipse all in one. T-5 type. Loved that tank. Lost interest when got me a oceanic 180 Bowfront. Had that up for years.

Cool tank!

I moved up to a 200 gallon oceanic tank in 1996. Let it go when I sold the house to the new owners . It was emptied for them. I kept the livestock. Wish I still had that tank! Best built tank I've ever owned!

 

[albano]

1986: George Smit writes a series of articles for FAMA magazine about wet-drys and Mini-Reefs and within months, I convert all of my home and office tanks to ‘mini reefs’ (75s and 150 gallon tanks)
Most LR, corals and fish were ordered direct from Florida divers, macro algae was grown in DT... LR was covered with Ricordea, and the LR cost was less than the cost of shipping to NY!!!!
A few years ago I met a local reefer at a frag swap and he told me how he first got hooked on reefing. He told me about a car dealer that had reef tanks in his showrooms in the late 80s and he used to go there often to see the tanks... they were mine!

 

[Paul B]

My first "Reef" tank was started in 1971. I am calling it a reef because I did have some inverts in there like crabs, shrimp and some local crustaceans like urchins. Also local NY seaweed.
There was no live coral or live or even dead rock then so I used dead coral skeletons.
That was a 40 gallon tank.
Eventually when live coral was imported I bought it.
I moved that tank two times and it is still running now in a 125 gallon tank.

The only fish for sale then were blue devils, dominoes and sargent majors and that is what I had. I also had a figure 8 puffer that I had for years before in brackish water and a scat probably a few bumblebee gobies and local sea robins, flounders and eels.




This was maybe the 80s?



Here is a male blue devil over his nest of eggs in that goose neck barnacle shell.
He and his harem lived about 7 years and spawned constantly.





This top picture was featured was featured in FAMMA Magazine, I don't remember when .


Banded coral shrimp were also available and I always kept them. This pair also lived about 7 years and spawned constantly.

 

[Retro Reefer]

Early 80’s .. under gravel filter, no live rock or proper lighting and complete with in tank air stone

 

[mta_morrow]

And here is some of @Crabs Mcjones haul seeding my reactor!

This was the haul, not including a couple bags that I got rid of lol

weighed almost 5 pounds without water! And was much much bigger than it appears in the picture.

 

[Hnguyen]

I wouldn't call it a reef aquarium but first salt water aquarium. It was a 1/2 gallon beta tank with a tiny hang on filter and matching lamp. Sold to me by a not so honest LFS I thought I knew and trusted. I didn't know a single thing about salt water fish at the moment but I wanted a "nemo" as soon as that store started selling salt water fish. They sold me the setup and a gallon of water in a milk jug. Both clowns died in less than a week.

Few weeks later I ran into another fish star and the owner was honest enough to teach me about cycling the tank and so on. He sold me a 35 gallon acrylic tank with 2 holes drilled in the back, one drain and one return, a sump, return pump and lights. It was God awful loud but it did it's job and I finally had a tank that supported corals and fish.

Fast forward 10 years, I now have a RedSea Reefer 525XL completely automated.

 

[oceaninabox12345]

First one for me, was a 120 with a lot of fish, and live rock my dad bought off of craigslist when i was 9. Work got busy for him, and he was away months at a time. He left me lists of how to take care of it, and 6 years later he gave it to me. Im now almost 18, and that tank has meant the world to me. Still my favorite tank, even though i have 3 others now. Let me know if anyone would like to see pictures

 

[Michael Naegeli]

First one for me, was a 120 with a lot of fish, and live rock my dad bought off of craigslist when i was 9. Work got busy for him, and he was away months at a time. He left me lists of how to take care of it, and 6 years later he gave it to me. Im now almost 18, and that tank has meant the world to me. Still my favorite tank, even though i have 3 others now. Let me know if anyone would like to see pictures

Duh.... ofcourse we want pictures

 

[jrill]

First reef was a 29 gallon filled with live rock back in the mid 80's. Lighted first with fluorescent then metal halide. Wet dry filter with the spinning head and spiral filter pad for the biological.

First tank was when I was twelve back in the mid 60's.

 

[oceaninabox12345]

Duh.... ofcourse we want pictures

Alright, there ya go. Pardon the water levels.. it was in mid water change

 

[Lowell Lemon]

One of my early 1980's reef tanks.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

First reef built by George Smit's 1986 FAMA articles.

 

[Talo’s Reef]

120gal with oceanic sump and a euroreef skimmer. Coralife halide T5 combo. I had a half black mimic tang, bicolor blenny, tono’s dottyback and a beautiful female watanabe angel. I had a pipe organ coral and a crocea clam and hair algae for days. Parents passed and I had to get rid of it. Just getting back in now.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

First product we provided to attach corals to rocks. Way back before the Devcon based putties of today. This product had no Cyto-toxins. Never caught on after the test market. Oh well some ideas never hit a home run.