How you started

I am a water-baby at heart and soul - I was swimming since I was 2 - I kept fresh-water fish ever since I can remember. I tried to keep my first saltwater when living in Ramsgate (KZN) - I built my own tank (was a cube, as we know it today), caught my own fish, and did water changes 2 - 3 times a week (we lived like 2 streets away from the beach)....
I went on and kept bigger fresh-water once I moved out of the parent's house.... Then still bigger fresh-water tanks (until I moved to Europe for 6 years - where I bought my current fish only tank - 300 litres) where I also kept fresh-water for about 6 years.... Until about 3 years ago - I kept fresh-water - I had the "formula" down to a "T" of keeping a perfectly succesful fresh-water tank - UNTIL I STARTED MARINES!

I had to learn EVERYTHING from the beginning - :)

Now - 3 years later - I am starting to think that I understand the hobby and the requirements....
 
lol i bread every singel freshwater fish that can be bread in captivety started in 1979 with my first tank was a steel frame tank hade mollies in it kept 300 L tank with a bhala shark that got to liuve till he was 10 years old and when he died i stared marines got a tank for free the one i currently have 2mx 600 x 600 the first time i kept marines i got big fish coatchman threadfin and racoons i did not know that you where supposed to add fresh water into the tank so when the water got less i added more slat water and when the fish looked on edge i added some more table salt to the tank untill they all floated well hade to learn
 
sure was we all hade to learn some time and our first setup was the worst maybe some other people would like to share
 
My elder brother started a tropical tank when i was very young, i made a pond outside in the garden when i was 11, had the usual goldfish, i then went to the local park and caught some frogs that had loads of tadpoles at some point newts arrived - loved it. When i was 20 i started scuba diving, moved out, got married, got divorced, later got married again, started with trops again, saw a friend had marine and that was it, never had a spare penny since:lol:
 
Had freshwater fish a few years back - 3 Oscars,2 high-fin pangasious(spelling?), 2 blood red parrots and 2 high-fin leopard piccostimus.
My friend moved to NZ and I bought his 4 foot tank, sump, stand and canopy for R300(urgent sale) - he used it as a marine tank, so I thought why the hell not....
 
Strange enough started with freshwater, bred with Mollies guppies and zebras to earn pocket money in primary school (Come to think of it many a parent must have cursed me when there little johny or sally arrived home with a packet with full of fish)

Had fish until I went to army, and again for about 3 years after that, all tropical. As travelling was part of my job I could no longer keep up and then met my Wife.

She comes home one faitfull day with a flower vase, marbles and 2 goldfish and yes an ornament:(

I promptly walked out the door and returned 2 hours later with a 1 1/2 ft tank and a little hang on filter with a canopy and light.

2 weeks later I had a 3 x 2 ft x 2 ft and a month later a 4ft

Then I decided to go marine after walking into the LFS one time to many, ordered the Tank and found the internet wherew the likes of Hill, Tom Surgeon etc helped me on the path of clear water on low nitrates, and now its all history
 
Wee-Man said:
My elder brother started a tropical tank when i was very young, i made a pond outside in the garden when i was 11, had the usual goldfish, i then went to the local park and caught some frogs that had loads of tadpoles at some point newts arrived - loved it. When i was 20 i started scuba diving, moved out, got married, got divorced, later got married again, started with trops again, saw a friend had marine and that was it, never had a spare penny since:lol:
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makes me think of monty phyton "she turned me into a newt ..... I got better "
 
It was about 20 years ago, my gilrfriend bought me a tiny tank with some gravel, UGF and 2 neons, no lights !! 3 years later I was building my biggest tank a 2m x 550 (w) x 900 (d), things just went crazy from there, tried breeding everything and opened my own LFS 5 years later importing tropicals and doing tank maintance.. I sold the LFS when I moved to CT in 1994, kept large tanks ever since, one day I went onto Wet Web Media and chatted on their SW forum.. 3 months later I took the plunge but needed a website closer to home so joined sark and now you guys..

Been in marines for 9 months and loving it, my next tank is a 2250 x 700 x 700 planted discus tank which I will convert to a reef tank when my current reef gets too small, I'm guessing in about 2 - 4 years.

Good thread, always cool to know how we got here !

Muz
 
I got divorced and needed something to keep me busy. With no wife and kids in the house things were very quiet.

I had been keeping FW for about 10 years and was desperate for a marine tank.

So 2 years ago I bought a 4ft tank and got started. Learnt a great deal from a lot of forums.
So here I am today about R40k out of pocket and still not happy with what I have.
My ultimate dream tank is a 3m long by 3m wide by 800 deep.
I love the look of a tank with depth. The OregonReef tank would be up there of what I would love to have.
 
3m x 3m.. holy moly !
 
Imagine it though. I doubt it will ever happen but a viewing pane of 3m and the tank going back 3m would give you a REAL slice of the ocean.
Cleaning it would be b**ch and so would the filtration. 7200 litres in the tank and I would imagine a sump of 2000 litres.
Nice to dream though.....
 
Smithers said:
Imagine it though. I doubt it will ever happen but a viewing pane of 3m and the tank going back 3m would give you a REAL slice of the ocean.
Cleaning it would be b**ch and so would the filtration. 7200 litres in the tank and I would imagine a sump of 2000 litres.
Nice to dream though.....
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Nah not so small for the sump, 6 x 1000L bins for DSB and live rock 1 x 1000l bin half full for the skimmer chamber and one for the return chamber:lol:

Man that would rock

My LFS has a 2.8M x 1.3m piece of toughened glass as a base with my (banks) name on it.

One day, maybe not in the too distant future:yeahdude:
 
I used to keep freshwater aquariums... I think sometimes it's just a natural progression into salt water/reef (especially when you work at a LFS).
 
5 different branches of CTFM, made me curious, checked out you lighties and the rest was .........................
 
My friend got a small goldfish bole as a school projest"how long can you keep it alive" type of thing he gave it to me when the project was done the fish died my parents got me a 60l for my 8th birthday, my mom looked after the tank for 5years because i lost interest and she grew an algea farm(had it next to the window) i move school a guy there kept fish, he was so expeted to me after one three months i had 7 tanks started a nano now im here with a 350l
 
seems like we all began more or less the same with fresh water then over to marine and it seems like alot of people took a few years to get into marine so it seems to me like we all have alot in common besides Weeman now he started off with frogs suppose that counts
 
nakoma said:
seems like we all began more or less the same with fresh water then over to marine and it seems like alot of people took a few years to get into marine so it seems to me like we all have alot in common besides Weeman now he started off with frogs suppose that counts
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I had shebunkins and goldfish too:) oh and ghostcarp
 
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