I've been wanting to start a personal journal/build thread for quite some time as it'd be nice to track progress which will hopefully be years of enjoyment. I've actually been in the hobby for 10+ years, and been pretty active on the forum but probably none of you know me since, just like in school growing up I kinda just sit in the background quietly and take everything in. I've also been following Paul B's thread and recently picked up his book (highly recommend!) which inspired me to do this even more. I'm a lazy writer so please be with me as I force myself to do this! I'm going to start with a bit of my history in the hobby, but if you're only interested in the build (currently an Elos Midi 36) then please subscribe and stay tuned!
My history in reefkeeping...
Back in 2006 my girlfriend (now wife) decided she wanted to get a pet Maltese dog. I figured I would get a pet with her and decided on a fish tank, so we hit up our local Petco. I could be wrong, but I believe this was around the early start of when Petco started carrying saltwater fish. So basically I walked into Petco with plans on buying nothing more than maybe a 10 gallon fish tank and some easy freshwater fish, but ended up walking out of there with a 40 gallon tank, stand, canopy that barely fit in my 1998 Olds Alero backseat. I've kept freshwater fish in the past, but this was my first dip into salt and I had no idea how much more involved it can be, nevertheless that I was starting an addiction!
So I bought home the foundation of my first reef tank that day, and then soon after took another trip to the only saltwater store I knew of, which was on the main road in Salem NH (Sea World?). At that visit is where I first spoke to a so called "reefer" and learned that my approach to a reef tank was going to have to be much different than what I've know in the past with freshwater. It's also quite funny as I know look back at it and realize my experience there is likely why half of LFS's don't last very long. Often times your talked into a product, a so-called better way of doing this or that, or "that's not how you do it, buy this and do it my way! It's how your SUPPOSED to do it and it works!". The same however can hold true, if not more so, from forums such as this (no offense BRS community!). Anyways, so I end up leaving the LFS with a handful of products and another few hundred dollars less in my pocket. It was probably at this point also that my girlfriend realized when I start a hobby the depth of involvement I put into it is absurd, at least in her eyes.
Well like I said, I'm lazy so I'm going to stop here for now and just post a pic I recently found of the beginning of my reef addiction, I mean... er... passion? Nothing wrong with a stick on background image, bobble thermometer, can filter, and cycling with 3 yellow tail damsels right?
My history in reefkeeping...
Back in 2006 my girlfriend (now wife) decided she wanted to get a pet Maltese dog. I figured I would get a pet with her and decided on a fish tank, so we hit up our local Petco. I could be wrong, but I believe this was around the early start of when Petco started carrying saltwater fish. So basically I walked into Petco with plans on buying nothing more than maybe a 10 gallon fish tank and some easy freshwater fish, but ended up walking out of there with a 40 gallon tank, stand, canopy that barely fit in my 1998 Olds Alero backseat. I've kept freshwater fish in the past, but this was my first dip into salt and I had no idea how much more involved it can be, nevertheless that I was starting an addiction!
So I bought home the foundation of my first reef tank that day, and then soon after took another trip to the only saltwater store I knew of, which was on the main road in Salem NH (Sea World?). At that visit is where I first spoke to a so called "reefer" and learned that my approach to a reef tank was going to have to be much different than what I've know in the past with freshwater. It's also quite funny as I know look back at it and realize my experience there is likely why half of LFS's don't last very long. Often times your talked into a product, a so-called better way of doing this or that, or "that's not how you do it, buy this and do it my way! It's how your SUPPOSED to do it and it works!". The same however can hold true, if not more so, from forums such as this (no offense BRS community!). Anyways, so I end up leaving the LFS with a handful of products and another few hundred dollars less in my pocket. It was probably at this point also that my girlfriend realized when I start a hobby the depth of involvement I put into it is absurd, at least in her eyes.
Well like I said, I'm lazy so I'm going to stop here for now and just post a pic I recently found of the beginning of my reef addiction, I mean... er... passion? Nothing wrong with a stick on background image, bobble thermometer, can filter, and cycling with 3 yellow tail damsels right?