Discussion - When you first....

[Reefscape]

......entered in to the hobby of marine fish keeping, what did you expect to get back out of the hobby?

Is it what you expected it too be?

What were your aspirations for your very first marine tank, and did it turn out the way you had planned it too?

Please discuss at will...old members, new members, experienced or just starting....Lets hear from everyone....

 

[micstarz]

I expected to get some real fun out of a mantis shrimp if I found one...I was hooked onto them after learning about them on here...

Well, right now, I have G. glabrous, G. viridis, P. ciliata, a hitchiker unidentified mantis and I USED to have a O. scyllarus and an unidentified spearer.

I LOVE my Stomatopods to bits.

My aspirations for my first tank were to try and keep a couple of damsels alive before I bought a mantis shrimp. I was determined to design my tank well and try to beat my cousin, who is breeding cherry shrimp...my first tank turned out very nicely with one mantis shrimp in the main and another mantis shrimp in the fuge. The aquascaping fails to meet the grade, however...

 

[sweeTang21]

i have been keeping freshwater fish for several years. I entered reef keeping after my trip to the keys in flordia. I thought to myself, this is the time to move into the reef side of things. I figured it would be easy, but with all new comers, there is room for struggle and growth. Eventually i got the swing of things, and i moved from a 65 to a 120. This move was made quite easily with no death to fish or corals. My stock of fish and corals has grown as youd expect.

My end product is to have a reef tank that literally looks like the wild. its hard to replicate this and im in the stage of letting the tank mature now, we'll see where its at in another year. As you'd guess in this amount of time, i have done a lot of reading and talking with experienced hobbiest local to my area. Have made improvments on husbandry habits so i feel im doing well.

 

[Stingray12]

I expected more of a challenge and more interesting fish..


I was inspired to start one everytime I went to a petshop or the oceon..and one day I did.

 

[Yanbbrox]

Good thread idea reef, I've always thought about trying it, every time I read up on it a lot of people say it's not worth the effort. Looking forward to the responses(subscribed).

 

[Otto_VonBacon]

I love it. ran into problems like everyone will, but i find it rewarding when you can have a beautiful fish in your tank.

 

[FLESHY]

I really didnt know. I got my saltwater aquarium the summer after 6th grade. My mom and I were driving in the car, and I was talking about how I would really like to have a saltwater fish tank, but would never have the money to keep anything other than my oscars... My mom was telling me how maybe when I grew up I would have enough money... and that she was sorry we couldnt afford to buy me a saltwater setup. We stopped at a stop light. And theres a sign right next to the car at the intersection.

YARD SALE!!!

-Furniture
-Baby Stuff
-55 Gallon Saltwater Aquarium Setup



Thats how I got started. We drove there... and the guy wanted $150 for:

2 Canisters, Heater, Protien Skimmer, Lights (flourescent...but still), Hood, Stand, Aquarium, Sand, Rock, Test Kits... everything you could need. It was a complete dream.

I really didnt know what to expect. I had been reading about saltwater and was kinda in awe of all the possibilties. When I got home and set everything up I decided that I wanted to keep a reef. Slowly but surely Ive replaced equipment... and have gotten (basically) to where I want to be.

Because my tanks been on auto-pilot for about a year (because I was under the impression that I wasnt going to be taking my corals with me to college) I havent displayed it on here yet, but by the end of summer, it will be nice enough that I will feel comfortable sharing it with you guys again. Until then you will see frags and coral heads...but not much else.

All in all the saltwater aquarium has been a fixture in my home. Everyone loves it, from 86 year old grandparents... down to the new born neices and nephews... We will sit and watch the tank. All the inverts, corals, fish... everything interacting. Its like watching a bustling city. We keep a mangnifying glass by the aquarium because you never know when something new will pop up. So much amazing life. Ive also used my aquarium to take high quality detailed pictures of the smallest things in the tank often resulting in stunning pictures. Ive gotten so much enjoyment out of my reef in what... maybe 7 years now... I cant wait till my reef (hopefully a lot of the same hard corals) can be handed down to my kids. Eventually the goal is to create an amazing, natural looking reef that will be in the family for many years to come!

 

[Ullopincrate]

I always loved the ocean. I had a couple "marine" tanks in college but only had like 1-2 fish in them. I started a 90 gallon reef about 1.5 yrs ago?? something like that. I hoped for it to be a fascinating part of my household and a stress reliever.

Today, it is a fascinating part of my household. It isn't exactly a stress reliever though. When things are going well it's incredible.. but sometimes you have little "issues" that can be stressful. All in all, I love it.

 

[FLESHY]

Today, it is a fascinating part of my household. It isn't exactly a stress reliever though. When things are going well it's incredible.. but sometimes you have little "issues" that can be stressful. All in all, I love it.

True, but dont you find the more time/effort you put into fixing those problems and setting things straight, the more satisfying it is afterwords? I almost find maintenance an addiction. Once you get started, its hard to stop...then when you are done...its just like ahhh.