Lets Here About Your First....

[ryangrieder]

I wanted to know and here about your very first tank :scratch: tell us about it!

how long ago was it?
what size was it?
fowlr or reef?
did you go all out or start basic with filtration?
why did you decide to start?
do you still have your first tank running?
did you feel it was hard being new or did you feel like a natural?
pictures im sure would be hard to find but it would be awesome to see!

ill tell you my short story first...

my very first tank was about 4 years ago and was a 29g fowlr which quickly changed into a reef. i decided to give it a shot because i liked fresh water and had a few cichlid and discus tanks but 2 of my friends had salt water and all they did was talk about it. the first time i saw them i instantly thought freshwater was not amusing anymore salt water so was so much relaxing and georgous. i started with the biggest biowheel by marineland and a instant ocean 75g skimmer. i had the two bulb orbit pc structure with 8 blue leds. the bio-wheel actually did a very good job, but i ended up putting the marineland canister filter. that actually made the tank worse. nitrates went up quickly and learned the hard way about canisters. after words i did alot of research about sumps and wet/dry filters. i ended up with a 15g wet/dry system with a coralife 65g skimmer. the tank did amazing after it. i remember i was so excited seeing my first spot of coraline algae on my glass! haha. sadly....i just left from helping a friend set up a saltwater tank at his house and when i returned home my entire tank was white . i freaked out and almost cried! all my fish but my little scooter blenny, two clowns and a mandarin died. my corals were alive but closed completely:banghead:. i called my other friend at 2 in the morning and told him im coming over right row and giving all my survivors to him. i ended up losing only 2 out of 27 corals so that was not that bad but i was so upset knowing my fish died and felt horrible. i ended up starting all over and did not give up. after a few months the tank was back up and running and never had a problem again. i do not have this tank anymore though, i ended up selling it to mr member BILBO 913 which he bought from me for his girlfriends kids. still today that tank is running with a nice peicefull set up. i do have pics of it but i need to find the cd i saved them all of and will post them as soon as i find the cd.

so... tell me about yours?

 

[motortrendz]

my first saltwater was a 120g, HOB skimmer that was 60$ on ebay(junk) and a wet/dry with a 600gph overflow box with a J tube, trying to restart the syphen al the time.. the wet/dry overflowed bc not enough room for drain off.. and i ran a canister filter... but i did have a dual MH oddesea light, that i kept on for like 17hrs a day.. lol and never did water changes.. fish did great but my corals survived but never thrived.. i wonder y? lol..

i gew up a lil.. lol and fast.. that was 2 yrs ago.. but i remember my dad having SW tanks back in the day with underwater gravel filters and flouresent strip lights.. and the salt creep was all over.. but that was 25yrs ago..

ive had FW tanks for 20yrs tho.. they are alot mor forgiving.. but my new system is def all credited to everything ive learned here!:hug:

 

[DrHarryLopez]

My first was a 40 gal with two aragocrete rock sculptures. Here is my very first reef picture. LOL it was so empty, but i love it!

 

[motortrendz]

my first FW was 10g, with a couple neon tetras, black mollies and sword tales..lol
my first sw was 120g.. if your gonna go, go BIG! LOL
(thats y my second,current tank has over 300g total water volume)

 

[ryangrieder]

my first FW was 10g, with a couple neon tetras, black mollies and sword tales..lol
my first sw was 120g.. if your gonna go, go BIG! LOL
(thats y my second,current tank has over 300g total water volume)

haha could not agree with you anymore! lol. for some reason my first fresh was a 55g and my first salt was only 29g. wtf is the matter with me? lol

 

[aznt1217]

14 Gallon Biocube
August 2008
Reef
Stock stuff except upgraded return and koralia 1
I saw finding nemo and wanted it. Sold it shortly after to upgrade.

It was okay starting off but I was impatient lol.

 

[OneTimer]

10 gallon Fresh water- mollies and swords- built in 1977- 33 years ago - plastic plants one amazing air stone- love tiny bubbles- had about 10 tanks since then- damn I'm getting old

 

[E.intheC]

haha.. my first tank was a freshwater 10 gallon with 3 Pacus.. lol. Talk about not reading and overstuffing the tank! I borrowed the tank from my roommate at the time. The whole setup, including fish, cost me $15.. haha...

My first saltwater was only a few months later (in 2006). It was a 20 gallon high with 2 clownfish and 1 red fire-fish. Much more realistic stocking.

 

[jaa1456]

My first tank was FW 19 years ago at age 11 it was a 55 gallon. My first saltwater was at 13, 17 years ago and it was a 125 fish only tank, that lasted about 6 months and it became a reef.

 

[anthony27]

I had the tank starting in 1999

I used to work at petco on rockaway blvd.

I stole yes we said ti was broken a 20 gallon high tank. I had t8 atinic lighting on the tank and 4 blue damsels that I thought were amazing and one huge pice of dead coral, and a empror 400 with seaclone skimmer. I had about 45 pounds of rock in there and all fish no coral.


I then up graded to a 45 bow front and a 180 breeder custom made by my dad.

 

[batt600]

My first sw tank was when i was 16 that 14 years ago . I use to go to the bay and catch kellys and take them home and so i bought a 10g tank and some 10g IO salt . And the kellys lived .From there i bought some damsels and then moved up to a 55 gallon sw fish only then I had a 29g reef after that . Know years later married with a 75g reef really want a 150g but well see what happens.

 

[albano]

My first tank, was over 50 years ago, and was probably 5 gal or less...but back then, it looked HUGE! Guppies, mollies, and zebra danios (that kept carpet surfing), and once in a while, an angel fish. The thing, that probably most of you (kids) don't know about...is that we brought our fish home from the LFS in those little 'chinese food' cardboard containers...didn't use plastic bags 'in the old days'!
Didn't start saltwater till 1973, a month or 2 after graduating from college!




.

 

[ryangrieder]

Haha wow that's awesome albano

 

[gimincorp]

My first salt water tank was a Fresh water tank!
Meaning, it was a standard 10 Gallon with a hood housing 2 screw-in light bulbs semi-blue and white, an HOB filter some live sand, live rock and two fishes: clown and blue damsel. It had two small haitian anemones and lots and lots of aiptasia. It lasted for a while until the damsel died and the tank crashed, but that's a long story.
here is a shot of my first EVER marine tank started on March 27 2008:

 

[MIKE NY]

my first saltwater tank is the one I still have set up in 1990 and never been empty....it started with a skilter, an undergravel filter and a canister....LOL

 

[ryangrieder]

hahaha i remember when everyone loved those skilters lol