What made you get into keeping reef tanks?

[Nomadic1]

The wife and I went to watch a St. Patrick's Day parade at the home of her friend, who lived on the parade route. They had a 120 gallon saltwater tank. Up to that time, I'd only kept fresh water tanks. When her friend's husband turned on the tank to show us, and the VHO super actinics powered up and everything started to glow, I knew I had to have one. That was around 2002.

 

[kamitera]

My son is on the spectrum (and I, too, but am undiagnosed), and he must have watched Finding Nemo about a thousand times. He always loves going to aquariums, LFS’s, Petco, and even grocery stores in Chinatown where they sell live seafood in giant tanks. One big LFS we went often just to be mesmerized by the tanks closed down last year. I was fascinated by their seawater tanks and just finding out more about it whenever we went. However, as a busy single parent, I had NO intention whatsoever of getting one.

Then my son got his first paycheck this summer from a youth work program, and we ended up getting a starter Fluval 13.5 tank and some live rocks, from a tiny LFS we didn’t know we had nearby, then got the live-action cast of “Finding Nemo”, CUC’s and frags from another small local LFS specializing in gorgeous corals, and now it’s like “We need a 150 gal tank within the next year, or the tang police is going to arrest us…”

I am now fascinated by this hobby, and as a descendant of generations of scientists, I’m enjoying the new “marine biologist” hat I get to put on. My goal is to start a 150g lagoon with some mangroves growing…which can eventually become the appropriate home for Dory and others.

This kind of reminds me of how I ended up beekeeping when I was just letting a friend use my roof for the hives, and then he moved to another town, leaving me to become the beekeeper…

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Before reefing

After I got the bug.

Actually, I'm with @Bruttall . Alcohol is a killer. For me, it was a game changer for me and my family.

 

[Paul B]

I dated a girl who resembled a flounder, a very cute flounder so I fell in love with fish.

Besides that, my dad had a seafood market so I grew up with dead fish.

 

[TBSB2019]

Scuba diving in the Dry Tortugas. Wanting a piece of it in our home. Kept me from having a nervous breakdown one year I did 800+ hours of overtime with insomnia and lost mom to cancer. Now I try to find hot pink corals just for her.

 

[WvAquatics]

Son got a betta and 2 gallon bowl. Always had a liking to aquariums just never got into the hobby. I'm a researcher of all things, so as i research betta care I went down a habit hole. 4 freshwater tanks later I wanted to dip into salt. Long story short I'm hooked and will stare at aquariums for the rest of my life!

 

[Dom]

One thing I always like to learn from people is why they got into reef keeping. Maybe it is because they also had friends and family who had tanks and wanted one. Perhaps it's because they wanted to take some of the ocean home. Or is it because they wanted a new, refreshing hobby with a good challenge? I am wondering why YOU got into reef keeping. Photo Credit: @Sump Crab

Honest answer; I don't know, but I'm here now.

 

[pezgal]

Nova Kings of Camouflage show about cuttlefish got me. Five years later, no cephs, but still in the reefing game.