When did you start reefing?

[-XENOMORPH-]

4 to 5 years. Change water. Good lights. Skimmer. Leave it alone.

 

[tony'stank]

Started in freshwater at age 12
ist saltwater tank in 1982 fish only
mixed reef tank in about 1988

 

[Terry Le]

You forgot a 1 - 2 year option.

I bought this book 30 years ago to help me start out, then Emma was born and life just got in the way...

Covid gave me the opportunity to do the research and I started my 15 gallon nano 13 months ago.

I've still got the book which is obviously outdated in the equipment sections - it looked like reverse undergravel filters and wet/dry sumps were all the rage in the early 90's.

I bought the same book back in late 80. You are right about dated. I had undergravel filter and wet/dry filter. Reefing had came along way

 

[Screwgunner]

2003 i got a 65 gallon tall. With a hang on overflow with a small water pump hooked to the top of the siphon hose. And a all in one sump. Wood air stones for the skimmer. That one grew hair algea to the top of my tank. 2 years later I upgraded to a 125 with built in overflows. I have the same tank up and running today.

 

[glennf]

I assume this is in years. Just remember: it's not the years, it's the mileage.

I think who assumes these are months will be in this hobby for a very short time

 

[glennf]

I wanna see a rough spread of what kind of reefers are active in the community and when they joined. (years)

I see that our hobby is wel represented bij veterans followed bij newbees.
Between 4 and 20 years there is a mayor gap. Like a lost generation of reefers....

 

[Screwgunner]

Have to search the brain cells -----
Started Fresh after I married ( had as a kid @ home) in1964. Moved up as the kids grew & bought a house.
The 125 got sold for a 220 & set up FO on the salty side in'77. That tank later on had a leak & was replaced & sold in 2011. Moved & now have a 250 mixed reef.
So - 58 years.

I think who assumes these are months will be in this hobby for a very short time

Lol

 

[glennf]

You forgot a 1 - 2 year option.

I bought this book 30 years ago to help me start out, then Emma was born and life just got in the way...

Covid gave me the opportunity to do the research and I started my 15 gallon nano 13 months ago.

I've still got the book which is obviously outdated in the equipment sections - it looked like reverse undergravel filters and wet/dry sumps were all the rage in the early 90's.

Welcome back in the most beautifull and challenging hobby.
As you might have seen the total reefingscene has evolved.

My bad, just round up to the nearest option will do fine...

We have been from lack off good equipment and many waterchanges to over, to overdoing the equipment. Now there is a shift to minimize equipment, use biochemistry and abandon waterchanges.

 

[glennf]

1970 - 1976 Fresh water
1976 - 1999 Salt water, primary fish, brief dabble with coral
1999 - 2017 Fresh water (due to raising children)
2017 - present Salt water coral reef tank

Nice !
I have been keeping tank for ages also
1975- 1980 freshwater in surinam
1980- 1992 freshwater in The netherlands
1994- 2004 freshwater in my current home
2004 i was infected bij the saltwater virus.

 

[glennf]

I don't remember the exact year but I know it was while I was still in high school in the late 90s. But there was a 10 year window where life got to busy and I didn't have any tanks.

I also had that pause for a few year. Just focusing on settling down and and building a good life for my family

 

[glennf]

I started reefing when I was 16 in 1997. I had kept freshwater tanks for couple years before that. My first tank was a little 10g all glass aquarium with regular fluorescent lighting (but two bulbs!, one actinic and one 50/50), a glass lid, a ‘skilter’ (half power filter, half skimmer, it was so loud and put out tons of microbubbles), a little maxijet, a bunch of fiji live rock (we didn’t know how good we had it back then), a black and blue damsel (haven’t see any of these in stores in years), a firefish, a bunch of mushrooms, and a CuC. It did surprisingly well for what it was and how little I knew. I also had (and killed) a couple condylactis anemones in that first few months (wasn’t testing, used tap/well water, and had crappy lighting). I’m a little bit ashamed to think about some of the stuff I did (because that’s what I was told to do) back then, it’s crazy to think about how much we have collectively learned since then.

 

[Gtinnel]

I also had that pause for a few year. Just focusing on settling down and and building a good life for my family

Yea mine was having to work two jobs and raise newborn twins. Plus I had just moved and killed most of my fish so I was kinda disgusted with the hobby at the time anyway.
I honestly had never planned on getting another tank but it was my wife's ideas several years back. She now says she regrets suggesting I setup a tank.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

2009 or 2010 just out.of high school.
Graduated in 07'
-d

 

[glennf]

I started reefing when I was 16 in 1997. I had kept freshwater tanks for couple years before that. My first tank was a little 10g all glass aquarium with regular fluorescent lighting (but two bulbs!, one actinic and one 50/50), a glass lid, a ‘skilter’ (half power filter, half skimmer, it was so loud and put out tons of microbubbles), a little maxijet, a bunch of fiji live rock (we didn’t know how good we had it back then), a black and blue damsel (haven’t see any of these in stores in years), a firefish, a bunch of mushrooms, and a CuC. It did surprisingly well for what it was and how little I knew. I also had (and killed) a couple condylactis anemones in that first few months (wasn’t testing, used tap/well water, and had crappy lighting). I’m a little bit ashamed to think about some of the stuff I did (because that’s what I was told to do) back then, it’s crazy to think about how much we have collectively learned since then.

We all have our fair share of mistakes.
The real reefers take on the challenge to improve themselves all the time.

 

[Paul B]

You are right about dated. I had undergravel filter and wet/dry filter. Reefing had came along way

Undergravel Filter? I still use one, Am I bad?

 

[Bloo]

10/24/2020 I made sure to keep the date stored somewhere so I never forget. Proud to say I'm still in the hobby. Definitely had a few ups and downs for sure.

 

[Bloo]

10/24/2020 I made sure to keep the date stored somewhere so I never forget. Proud to say I'm still in the hobby. Definitely had a few ups and downs for sure.

 

[Labridaedicted]

Started reefing back in 2005, had my first tank when I got to college in my apartment. Was in school for marine biology and things escalated when I had native tanks in addition to my reef.

Was keeping freshwater before that. Had my very first tank with South American cichlids when I was in middle school.

 

[flyingscampi]

Welcome back in the most beautifull and challenging hobby.
As you might have seen the total reefingscene has evolved.

My bad, just round up to the nearest option will do fine...

We have been from lack off good equipment and many waterchanges to over, to overdoing the equipment. Now there is a shift to minimize equipment, use biochemistry and abandon waterchanges.

Actually, the birth of my first daughter meant I never got started 30 years ago!

As I now live alone and am away most weekends, my whole tank design was based on it needing very low maintenance, so only hardy corals and inverts, a bunch of critters and macroalgae, and an Eheim auto-feeder dumping Hikari crab pellets and algae wafers in every day. I can leave it two weeks without a problem, I just point a Ring camera at the tank to monitor the temp and check that the pumps and light are working...

 

[Timfish]

Started keeping freshwater in 1971 (Had guppies and corydoras catfish breeding in 1972)
Hiatus from 1978 to 1983 while I was in the Navy but what hooked me on saltwater was seeing Royal Grammas and Mandarines in a LFS in San Diego in 1980.
Found TFH's Exotic Marine Fish in a thrift shop in 1982 for a dollar and was fascinated by Lee Chin Eng's natural system.
Started trolling LFS in central Texas in 1985.
Built my first tank (60 gal. glass cube) and stand and custom light fixture in 1986 and setup my first reef.
Started an aquarium maintenance business in 1995.
Focused on just reef systems in 1999
Started building thermoformed acrylic tanks in 1981.
Been trying to figure out what's going on in my systems ever since.