How and Why?

divecj5 · #1 08/01/2006, 11:48 AM

I've always wanted a saltwater aquarium ever since I can remember and have always had a fascination, admiration, and a great deal of respect for the diversity and just how fragile the ocean is. I graduated a year ago with a degree in marine science and a minor in geography and work for NOAA dealing with all sorts of conservation, resource, and hazard related projects using GIS.

I am starting up a 55 gallon tank (currently waiting for the RO/DI to pump out the water

) and was thinking and wondering the other day why it is that I am intriqued and drawn to this hobby. All of a sudden it hit me that it has to not only do with my fascination with ocean and live aquaria, but more along the lines that I no longer am in school learning about oceanography and marine science in general. For me, this hobby gives me a chance to not only learn more about the corals and critters in the ocean, but to have more own little "mini" ocean and to further my education about bearing this aquaria and learning more about just how complex and ever-changing this environment is.

So My Question is: How and why did you get involved with this hobby? I think this question is important to remember since sometimes reading on here I get the sense that this hobby becomes more of a chore than a hobby for enjoyment and relaxation.

I am interested and can't wait to hear how you all got involved and why.

Adam

reefnetworth · #2 08/02/2006, 05:06 AM

hi Adam! i got involved after seeing my first reef 16 yrs. ago. its not a chore if you love doing it. it is very interesting and a great learning tool. things never stop growing and you always find something you never knew you had. ive woke my wife up @ 3:30 A.M. to show her a new coral that just popped up outta nowhere. LOL!! (she love the tanks too) after initial set-up and understanding how the reef works. than all problems are solved with research before they can happen. patience is your best friend. anything worthy of having is worth the time spent. REEF-ON!!!

wds21921 · #3 08/02/2006, 06:04 AM

My dad got a 125 gallon tank back in the mid 70's (freshwater). Being fascinated by the fish and simply watching them for hours at a time was relaxing for me even as a kid.
After I moved out on my own I tried my hand at a few small freshwater tanks and became bored with them. Then off to brackish for a year or so and then saltwater ever since
The dull appearence and overly easy maintanence of freshwater only pushed me further into something more challenging. Brackish was fun but the fish with the best colors just seemed ot all be overly agressive by nature.
When I finally made the switch over completely to SW my first inhabitant was a yellow tang. Starting in the late 70's and early 80's there wasn't a lot of correct info to work with. Much of it was trial and error except the start up, which is about the same today.
At one point I had 12-15 tanks set up in a 3rd floor one bedroom apartment so you can guess what my infatuation/hobby was going to be.

As the technology end of it got better (lighting, filtration) the ability to keep more and more delicate species made it even more fascinating and rewarding. What was once impossible to do is now fairly common, inverts

.
After finding ReefCentral back in 2001, I decided to venture into a reef system. I've had my mishaps and problems (learning curve) but after getting some good advice and diseminating through the bad on here sometimes, I've now got a happy and healthy 90 gallon reef.

It does take money, time and patience still but how can you compare the rewards? The learning factor is forever ongoing, and the look when people come over and see it is priceless. On top of all that though is the satisfaction and enjoyment of seeing your work pan out into something that is really remarkable.

divecj5 · #4 08/02/2006, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by nano4brains
ive woke my wife up @ 3:30 A.M. to show her a new coral that just popped up outta nowhere. LOL!! (she love the tanks too)

I hear ya. My girlfriend thinks I'm a little crazy and/or obsessed with this hobby at the moment but I know that she will be impressed once it's up and running and has something more than rock and sand in it

divecj5 · #5 08/02/2006, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by wds21921
At one point I had 12-15 tanks set up in a 3rd floor one bedroom apartment so you can guess what my infatuation/hobby was going to be.

It does take money, time and patience still but how can you compare the rewards? The learning factor is forever ongoing, and the look when people come over and see it is priceless. On top of all that though is the satisfaction and enjoyment of seeing your work pan out into something that is really remarkable.

Great story and I always find it interesting to hear how people got hooked on this amazing hobby and what has kept them going and learning more and more. Sounds like you had quite a few tanks in a one bedroom. I only have an apartment now and my tank will definitely be the center piece when people come over. I can't wait to see how my tank progresses.

Thanks again for sharing how you got started and have continued to progress.

Adam

mmn_usn · #6 08/02/2006, 08:17 AM

Since I started diving about 8 yrs ago I have been in love with the ocean. I grew up in western KS so we had fresh water this and that.... but then I joined the Navy... it moved me from KS to the east coast... I would walk along the beach and stir the sand to see what was there. I made it through my schools and I moved to WA.... and learned to dive in the cold water. At first i thought of setting up a cold water (local climate) tank. At that time it was too much for me.
The Navy then had new plans. Lets move to Guam, a remote tropical island just north of the equator. Hot, humid and all the diving that one could need or want. The reefs here are amazing and the water for the most part has around 100ft visibility. I then thought that if I set up a local climate tank I could catch my own fish and get my own sand and rock. I was right... wow... I had a guam mini reef in my 55 gal tank... the kids loved it, being that the only way they saw fish is at the aquarium or through a little viewing kick board. I am forever hooked.
I also started as a challenge with my younger brother. If he could do it, so could I.
While underway my wife saw 2 fish fighting and she then removed the underdog fish and placed it and 2.5 gals of water into a small aquarium... that started my Nano or micro... not sure which to call it. but my 2.5 gal aquarium took front stage. I loved it. I dream of how small can I go and still maintain it. Once I make it back to WA I am going to set up a small tank first.. then maybe the big one... but that is how I started. Thanks for asking.

divecj5 · #7 08/02/2006, 08:21 AM

Hey mmn_usn. I definitely understand living in places that deal mainly with freshwater habitats (born outside of Chicago and lived in Penn. before moving down South to Charleston, SC). Glad to hear that you have been enjoying the diving (I'm more than jealous) and glad to hear that you are enjoying the nanos/micros as well. Any pics of the tanks?

Adam

Electrobes · #8 08/02/2006, 08:24 AM

Ha this ought to be good. First of all, welcome to Reefcentral! And this is how I got started. I used to be into freshwater. I was just setting up an upgrade of a tank with freshwater when my friend dump sea salt into my tnak and told me welcome to the hobby, now let's finish this set up. I haven't looked back since.

The Reefer91 · #9 08/02/2006, 09:46 AM

electrobes, that's pretty funny

the way i got into the hobby was freshwater. i got a betta because i thought it would be cool to have a fish. so my brother and i got bettas. i had 3 bettas die on my in the course of a week. but then my mom's friend gave us there 2 freshwater tanks. so after about half a year of freshwater, i found it boring.

so i reaserched s/w for a year, and then eventually we converted the 10g we had into salt, as we had to clean out the tank anyway. so i'm almost 5 weeks into it and have had more fun with saltwater than with freshwater

simple as that.

...(that is if that was simple)

divecj5 · #10 08/02/2006, 10:20 AM

Good stuff Electrobes....quite the quick "I'll dump you in and we'll go from there approach"

Definitely one way to dive in head first.

Reefer91....sounds like and your brother have enjoyed SW thus far after 5 weeks going. I am just adding water to my 55 right now actually and will be getting some live rock this weekend so I can't wait. Any pics of the tank?

Adam

mmn_usn · #11 08/02/2006, 07:05 PM

Sorry... not a big picture taker...

ERICinFL · #12 08/02/2006, 08:27 PM

My dad kept fresh water tanks when I was a little kid and I continued to keep them up until last year. I have always loved the water (being on the East coast of FL I really didn't have a choice). Anyway, I switched fire houses and one of my buddies there had a SW tank. I had always wanted to try my hand at it and he gave me the nudge. I started doing research on how to care for and maintain a SW tank and figured I'd get into one in about 6-8 months. Well, the deal of the century came along and I got a turn key set up for $350. 112gal tank, stand, lights, rock, sand, water, sump with skimmer and pump, corals and fish. I literally dove in with both feet and I've continued to keep most everything alive thus far. I have upgraded equipment and made some changes, but I still haven't spent what it would have cost me, had I purchased everything new.

MAthU · #13 08/03/2006, 08:21 AM

my moms friend had 2 tanks, a salt water 100g.. and a cichlid 35g.. i loved watching the fishes.. i would just sit there and stare at it, and one day she just gave me her 35g with all of her wild caughts.. and took me to big als because most of them died in the move

.. she bought me 5 with her money, and they strated to breed, and more started to come, and i needed more tanks, so a few months after i had over 10 tanks going, i was selling them breeding them. and one day at the lfs i traveled over to the sw and i was hooked, from there it went to a 20g to a 40g to a 72g to a 155g to a 400g and i have over 1000g of water in by basement waiting for my fish shipment

. now im taking down the 400 and moving to a 240. cube.

but before all of this i had a few 1g fish bowls and me and my sis would get fish and her fish would always die

hehe so now she has NO interest in any of my tanks at all, she didnt even look at my 400g for over a month when i first got it. and she walks by it 100 times a day!!! but ya.