My Reefing History

So to this day it's been about 3 years since I started keeping saltwater aquariums. I've had freshwater tanks since I was about 10. Started off with a 10 gallon tropical community fish tank, then upgraded to a 26 gallon bowfront community tank. Kept that for a few years then got bored with it. I wanted something cool with color. I started looking around and found some pretty cool Cichlids as well as plecos. After a few years of these I started looking into saltwater.

Now I knew that it would be more expensive than running a freshwater tank. How much more I wasn't sure. It kind of helped me though that my boss was tearing down a tank at that time and I ended up getting the rock. I set up an extra 10 gallon that I had sitting around, threw the rock in there and the saltwater and let it sit and filter through for about a month. During this time I was trying to look around for a LFS that I could easily deal with and that knew what they were talking about.

Once my tank was ready for fish I went to the LFS I found and picked up a clown, I know... such a common thing to do haha. A few weeks later I added my first corals. The 10 gallon continued well for awhile but I wanted a bigger saltwater setup. So I looked about 3ft to the right and saw my 26 gallon and a light bulb came on. Within the next two days the fish were taken out, sand removed, tank and sand cleaned, new sand added to the old sand and placed back in the tank along with a few pounds of rock. I added a blue damsel and the clown to help cycle the tank and within a few weeks everything was moved to the new tank and looking nice and happy.

Since then, my tanks have been home to over 50 different species of fish, coral, and inverts. Just like all other reef keepers I've had my ups and downs and have learned from my mistakes. I've just recently started keeping a log for both chemicals and everything else. I wish I would have started it from the beginning.

The thing that has helped me the most though has to be the internet. Sites like Reef Sanctuary, Reef Central and Michigan Reefers have been a wealth of knowledge as well as a place to ask any questions regarding anything. My LFS has also been a life saver in some situations which is always a good thing.

Thanks for viewing and happy Reef Keeping!