Why did you start a saltwater aquarium?

[lsu_fishfan]

Ever since I was young, my dad has a 120-140 gallon saltwater aquarium. When he had a tank, it was fish only and I remember sitting and watching the triggerfish and lionfish swimming around. I was in love with the aquarium and always wanted to help care for it. But, while k wanted to care for the tank, I ended up hurting it, turning off the heater and killing all the fish (one reason you need two heaters). I loved going to the fish stores and seeing all the beautiful fish and getting to pick some of the ones I like.

When I moved back to Georgia from Lousiana, my dad decided not to set up his tank, and give it to one of our friends who worked at a LFS near us. a few years later, a friend and I were watching Tanked and my interest in fish was sparked. My birthday was only a month away and I wanted a fish tank. Originally I was set to have a freshwater tank because saltwater was to expended and hard to care for. But over the next few months, my dad pressed me to reconsider getting a saltwater aquarium. He told me about all the colorful coral and fish avaialable. I was set on freshwater until my dad took me to our friends house who had two tanks setup. I was amazed by the beauty of the many different coral moving with the flow. We ended up buying his 60 gallon shallow tank and I've been addicted ever since.

So what's your story on how you got into the hobby? I wonder how many will say it's because of Finding Nemo

 

[popsbjd]

Because I'm a fish nerd. Lol. I'm a fisheries biologist (and technically a wildlife biologist with my degree).

I had freshwater tanks growing up. Nothing special just bettas and other simple fish. Got back into fish keeping about 10 years ago. Made the jump to salt about 5 years ago but still love my freshwater stuff.

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[lsu_fishfan]

popsbjd;1078698 wrote: Because I'm a fish nerd. Lol. I'm a fisheries biologist (and technically a wildlife biologist with my degree).

I had freshwater tanks growing up. Nothing special just bettas and other simple fish. Got back into fish keeping about 10 years ago. Made the jump to salt about 5 years ago but still love my freshwater stuff.

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Very cool

 

[dball711]

Because I had been keeping freshwater tanks since I was 10, I was just fascinated with aquariums. Around age 25 I visited a local salt water fish shop in the Chicago area...that was 30 years ago and my interest and fascination grows with each passing day.

 

[j_b_]

I kept freshwater aquariums for a long time (20+ years), and then a friend and fellow forum member enticed me into finally biting the saltwater bullet when he set up a nano AIO...I had to follow.

 

[lfcanderson]

I'd have to say Shark Week. I first saw it when I was ten and my fascination with the ocean had grown since! After graduating and a couple of years of saving and a recent job switch I decided I was finally ready for the hobby! I'm still new but I can't believe how much more I've learned in a couple of months after a decade & then some of binging on documentaries and research studies. I enjoy the challenge and love the community although I'm sure my boss wouldn't be happy if he knew how many hours I billed reading up on the latest marine technology & innovations!


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[lsu_fishfan]

Great stories!

Keep it coming,

LFCanderson, glad you joined the hobby, I don't know if I could have waited that long to set up a tank.

 

[scrilla]

It all started with my nephews winning some goldfish at the fair and us not having anything to put them In when we got home. That turned into us not being able to purchase the cool and colorful fish, because they were saltwater. Since then I've had a 12g AIO, a ~30g Rimless starphire tank, to now about to setup a new 65g in my own home. This hobby is addicting and can't imagine ever not having a tank setup.

 

[lsu_fishfan]

Scrilla;1078820 wrote: It all started with my nephews winning some goldfish at the fair and us not having anything to put them In when we got home. That turned into us not being able to purchase the cool and colorful fish, because they were saltwater. Since then I've had a 12g AIO, a ~30g Rimless starphire tank, to now about to setup a new 65g in my own home. This hobby is addicting and can't imagine ever not having a tank setup.

I agree that this hobby is very addicting

 

[jennm]

I had 2 goldfish in a bowl when I was about 4. Ernie & Bert... and they died... so I had Ernie & Bert II. They died. So I took a hiatus from the hobby for about 13 years

When I was about 18, out in the world on my own, I already had a parakeet and a pet rat, and I wanted another pet, but living in an apartment limited my choices, so I started with a 2 gallon aquarium with a real filter, and 2 goldfish. I called them Gowling & Henderson, after a law firm that was the biggest client where I worked at the time. Eventually got a Betta and moved into tropicals.

At some point during that time, another member of a service club I belonged to, hosted a meeting at her house and she and her husband had a "massive" 55-gallon marine tank. I had never seen anything like it. It was a fish-only - which was all anybody really had in the mid-1980s, but they also had a carpet anemone (!!) and I was fascinated when she put a thawed out piece of scallop on a skewer and fed the anemone with it. That was just WAY TOO COOL, and given that I grew up on a steady diet of every Jacques Cousteau TV show ever made, I decided that one day I wanted that.

Not too long after that, a co-worker was getting rid of his ~37 gallon marine tank. My fiancé (now ex-husband!) and I brought it home in the back of our Toyota Tercel and a new obsession was born. We did everything wrong. Despite that, we had pretty good success. The tank came with red and blue plastic plants, a piece of lava rock, and an undergravel filter. That was the technology of the day. We soon upgraded to a 'reverse flow' undergravel, and eventually to a sump.

We had a few LFS in our hometown of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, mostly big-box type stores, not good places to learn anything. Take a clipboard and a number, write down the tank number of what you want and what it is, and when your number is called, they bag up your stuff and off you go. Do not pass go, do not collect any education.

Eventually, we found a mom and pop store called Imagine Ocean. It was run by a semi-retired couple, Mike and Mary O'Farrell, and they actually made us buy a BOOK and read it, before they'd sell us anything. Mike eventually customized a 55 for us with a built-in sump, similar to the all-in-ones available today - dude was 15 years ahead of the curve.

They eventually sold the shop to their employee, who ran it into the ground... and we moved here to GA, but we never forgot the care and attention that Mike and Mary gave us as customers, and that's where the name of my shop came from. I wanted to give the same kind of caring service that they did. I think I did manage to accomplish that during my tenure as a shopkeeper.

Never would have guessed that 30 years ago, "Gowling and Henderson" the goldfish would have started something that became such a huge part of my life. From working in the trade, to the club, to even the industry I'm in now full-time (water treatment), it has all been a journey.

I only have 2 photos of that first marine tank. One is posted here. Koran Angel with a Seahorse (!!) Yellow Wrasse, and a Tomato Clown and an Ocellaris Clown. How many rules did I just break there? You can't see the pair of Coral Cats or the Feather Dusters - those were the only 2 inverts we had... until we found a tiny crab in a box of oysters at an oysterfest.. and threw him into the tank (yeah, we did that.)

So if you have ever made a newbie mistake, don't feel bad. I made oh so many and all at one time, 30 years ago I made plenty more as time went on too - hopefully over the years I've helped prevent a few folks from making some of those crazy mistakes.
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[lsu_fishfan]

Thanks for sharing Jenn!

Amazing how caring for something as simple as a goldfish can lead to owning your own LFS

 

[nickg]

Because I'm STUPID......

 

[nickg]

And yes, I know.... "Stupid is a mean word!"

 

[camellia]

nickg;1078843 wrote: Because I'm STUPID......

Me, a Stupid mistake, won't happen again!

 

[jennm]

Stupid is, as stupid does

 

[picoreefguy]

i started out keeping freshwater stuff like everyone else. i eventually got to the point where i had gotten convict cichlids to breed and thought that i was a big shot. then one day i saw a mandarin in a pet store in gainesville. it was in terrible condition and looked like it was knocking on deaths door but it was the most beautiful fish i had seen and i thought to myself that i had to have one of those. some time later a pet store opened up close to the Walmart i used to work at so i would go hang out there after work and eventually i quit Walmart and went to work there and i ended up starting a saltwater tank because of that. and the rest is history.

 

[chibils]

As a kid I was obsessed with the ocean... Family went to the beach every year in Virginia and it was intoxicating. The highlight of my year.

I also loved animals. For my 13th birthday, I decided I wanted a fish tank. I got a 20 high and a filter, filled it with tetras and crawfish, and proceded to neglect it. Eventually everything but the crawfish died (they even bred and many of the babies grew up in that tank, despite me not even topping off the water much less changing it) and my mother took me to the pet store to buy a few more fish after I promised to take better care of them.

Two years later I ended up getting a job at that pet store, and upon finding out that there were specialised fish stores I started visiting them regularly. Optimum Aquarium was less than 5 minutes from my high school when they were at their East Cobb location, and I fell in love with the royal grammas and six line wrasses they sold. The shrimp and snails and other little critters absolutely sold me. I started visiting multiple times a week just to see the fish, and did the same to Marine Fish and Reef (Premier Aquatics) when they were in East Cobb. I finally got my own for my 17th birthday - first my old 20, then a 55, then a 90 with custom stand and canopy from Optimum. I spent almost all my money I made at my pet store job supporting my reef.

I had to break it down in college because it was too much of a commitment to come home ever weekend and work on it, and I'm now gearing up (almost 10 years after my first start, and 4 years after breaking down my 90) to get in again.

This was a good nostalgia trip, thanks Luke! &#128513;

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[genesis]

Because I had an abundance of money and needed to spend it somewhere that would have a huge initial cost and require both time and more money to properly maintain...... Lol I kid, I kid

 

[genesis]

Genesis;1079839 wrote: Because I had an abundance of money and needed to spend it somewhere that would have a huge initial cost and require both time and more money to properly maintain...... Lol I kid, I kid

On a serious note I was first intrigued as a kid when my uncle had a sweet freshwater tank. When I was a teenager I purchased my first tank a 29 gallon FW setup. When I was in my early 20's I upgraded to a 55 FW. Fast forward some years after joining the military and getting stationed in Texas I was reinspired to get a tank again due to my increased watching of the tv show Tanked. This also enlightened me to the SW side. Talked to the wife about it and she said go ahead but get the tank your going to keep for awhile. Got my 140 and it's been running since Feb 2013.

 

[mandycasa]

I'm originally from Miami and use to spend every spare (&not so spare) moment snorkeling. For some absurd (wife's family) I ended up moving. This hobby is as close as I can come to those days.

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