Quick Trip Down Memory Lane
Hi All
Just registered yesterday after lurking on the fourm for a while.
To start my journal I'll quickly chronicle my reefing journey over the last 12 years.
Quick outline of my past tanks:
Started a 6x2x2 in Cape Town in 2003. Read so many internet posts on wetwebmedia etc and loved the intricacy of the hobby.
This tank ran exceedingly well. Never lost a single fish or coral, kept sps and a magnifica anemone under 150w MH's (sps weren't terribly colourful) and a Turboflotor Multi SL skimmer. Only issue in hindsight was the lfs owner that fleeced me out of thousands selling me equipment that I didn't need...
Had to shut it down in Dec 2005 when we moved to Melbourne, Australia.
This pic was taken after all the corals were removed already unfortunately. Dated Dec 2005
Got to Melbourne on the 2nd of Jan 2006 and bought a 48x14x14 tank on the 9th (had to have a tank but didn't have loads of money). This ran sumpless for 8 months until we moved out of the rental place into our own home.
Dated June 2006
Then got a 4x2x2 in September 2006 which had a sump and an aquamedic 2x250w MH pendant. This tank rocked and is still my favourite of all.
Dated Dec 2007:
The above tank was on cruise control and everything going well when my wife asked me to move the tank to another spot as we wanted a bigger dining room table. Thought it was a good time to get a white cabinet (to match our furniture etc) but the move ended up in disaster.
Tank crashed, lost my flecked tang (can be seen in the pic above) and most of my coral. Got a mother of a protein skimmer and tried to get the tank back from the brink but was a real struggle. all the equipment couldn't fit in the cabinet and the hobby became a drag for the first time
Dated early 2008:
In December 2008, I decided to reboot and got a new 5x3x2 which was a monster of a big tank for me and so good to aquascape. Also, finally got a sohal tang which I always wanted.
Finally the skimmer and all equipment fitted in the cabinet again. I saw great growth in softies in the tank and largely ignored sps.
Dated September 2009
This tank fell in disrepair when our son fell critically ill and passed away in 2010. Nothing could motivate me to do anything at the time, nevermind working a fish tank.
The tank got tap water topups and the fish were fed that's it. In Dec 2012, I gave all the livestock away and took a hammer to the tank, broke it into a million pieces and dumped it (now I'm really sorry I did that lol).
Kept some freshwater tanks since then but the itch to reef again bit me late last year. Got a new tank from reeflections in Dec 2014 and started her up in January 2015.
This journal will track the progress of this tank which I'm dubbing ''Nine Mile Reef'" which is a reef at Sodwana in South Africa where I once dived.
Dated early May 2015
Just registered yesterday after lurking on the fourm for a while.
To start my journal I'll quickly chronicle my reefing journey over the last 12 years.
Quick outline of my past tanks:
Started a 6x2x2 in Cape Town in 2003. Read so many internet posts on wetwebmedia etc and loved the intricacy of the hobby.
This tank ran exceedingly well. Never lost a single fish or coral, kept sps and a magnifica anemone under 150w MH's (sps weren't terribly colourful) and a Turboflotor Multi SL skimmer. Only issue in hindsight was the lfs owner that fleeced me out of thousands selling me equipment that I didn't need...
Had to shut it down in Dec 2005 when we moved to Melbourne, Australia.
This pic was taken after all the corals were removed already unfortunately. Dated Dec 2005
Got to Melbourne on the 2nd of Jan 2006 and bought a 48x14x14 tank on the 9th (had to have a tank but didn't have loads of money). This ran sumpless for 8 months until we moved out of the rental place into our own home.
Dated June 2006
Then got a 4x2x2 in September 2006 which had a sump and an aquamedic 2x250w MH pendant. This tank rocked and is still my favourite of all.
Dated Dec 2007:
The above tank was on cruise control and everything going well when my wife asked me to move the tank to another spot as we wanted a bigger dining room table. Thought it was a good time to get a white cabinet (to match our furniture etc) but the move ended up in disaster.
Tank crashed, lost my flecked tang (can be seen in the pic above) and most of my coral. Got a mother of a protein skimmer and tried to get the tank back from the brink but was a real struggle. all the equipment couldn't fit in the cabinet and the hobby became a drag for the first time
Dated early 2008:
In December 2008, I decided to reboot and got a new 5x3x2 which was a monster of a big tank for me and so good to aquascape. Also, finally got a sohal tang which I always wanted.
Finally the skimmer and all equipment fitted in the cabinet again. I saw great growth in softies in the tank and largely ignored sps.
Dated September 2009
This tank fell in disrepair when our son fell critically ill and passed away in 2010. Nothing could motivate me to do anything at the time, nevermind working a fish tank.
The tank got tap water topups and the fish were fed that's it. In Dec 2012, I gave all the livestock away and took a hammer to the tank, broke it into a million pieces and dumped it (now I'm really sorry I did that lol).
Kept some freshwater tanks since then but the itch to reef again bit me late last year. Got a new tank from reeflections in Dec 2014 and started her up in January 2015.
This journal will track the progress of this tank which I'm dubbing ''Nine Mile Reef'" which is a reef at Sodwana in South Africa where I once dived.
Dated early May 2015
