How it All Started

So, with the suggestion of my lovely cousin, I've decided to start a blog about my beloved aquarium. Although I suppose that's not entirely accurate, as it won't be solely about my aquarium, but about everything involved with aquariums. In an attempt to validate my semi-coherent babbling about them, I want to take a minute to explain my background a bit.

The Beginning

I've been doing saltwater aquariums for about 10 years now, but I've been mesmerized by them for as long as I can remember. My grandfather had a tank set up in his living room, which I would visit when I could and watched in awe. You see, I grew up in the city, and glass cubes full of little lifeforms were usually the highlight of my day. It was only a 30 gallon freshwater aquarium, but to me it was a little aquatic world of wonder.

Aquatic Wonderworld circa 2007.

I think it's safe to say that we've all had an aquarium at some point in our lives, whether it was a bowl full of questionable liquid or the aquatic garden of Eden. I never had much success keeping anything alive. I vaguely remember a tank we had when we were kids. At one point it had a fabulous jewel enhanced substrate and the finest of cheap plastic plants imaginable. And tetras. We had some tetras of some variety. Anyway, they made short work of ruining the beautiful bejeweled wonderworld we created especially for them. Suffice it to say that until I was 15 or so, I was under the impression all aquariums had a green tinge to them.

Every aquarium I had ever owned.

I had dabbled with betta fish to the extent that I even got them a massive (see: larger than life) sized aquarium. It was a gorgeous 10 gallon bachelor pad equipped with stunning real freshwater plants. I didn't hold back at all. I even had a hang-on filter! Then, one fateful day, my aquarium world was turned upside down. I was about 15 when I saw a saltwater aquarium in someone's house. I don't really remember it much to be honest. I imagine I felt a lot like the guy who had just heard about toast.

Historical reenactment.

I've been hooked ever since. What initially drew me in to saltwater aquariums wasn't their beauty. It wasn't the soothing sound of water cascading across the filtration. It wasn't even the idea that I could create a nearly self-sustaining ecosystem containing mesmerizing organisms from the far reaches of seas I may never see. No, what initially drew me in to saltwater aquariums was my dream of watching small fish get ripped to shreds in the most badass predator tank the world had ever seen. And I was going to have it, dammit.

Note: potential candidate for Deathtank Arena (www.environmentalgraffiti.com)

The Now

Things have changed. I never did set up Deathtank Arena. I wanted to, but then I saw what a real saltwater tank could look like. And I wanted it. The first saltwater aquarium I owned was a 55 gallon beauty I got from Petco. I did my best to sabotage myself from the get-go. I added water from the fish store bags to my aquarium because "it's probably cleaner anyway." I added freshwater only when the sucking noise from my pump became too loud to ignore. I neglected to fix the problems I saw developing and waited until there was either water all over the floor or a dead fish friend at the bottom of the tank.

"Ehhh, maybe if I feed it again..."  (www.petcaregt.com)

Fortunately, I received some very good advice from some saltwater veterans, and more importantly I got older. I came back from college with a renewed passion for the hobby that taught me so much while I was growing up. I came back with a purpose: I wanted to share the things I've learned about aquariums and their residents. I've made mistakes, and I still do, but I'm always learning to be better. All the time and research I put into picking out exactly the right corals and positioning just where I want them is worth it to me when I see people standing in what can only be called amazement while they peer into the depths of an aquarium. And I share that amazement.

The 210 gallon reef tank located at Swiss Confectionery.

I hope this blog can maybe teach you a little about aquariums, but more importantly I hope it inspires you to appreciate our oceans. There really are some amazing things out there worth learning. Hopefully I'll be able to show you a few of them. As always, if you have any questions about anything related to aquariums, don't hesitate to ask.