I recently (about 3 months ago) started a reef aquarium. Back in the days I lived with my parents my dad used to own a large tropical aquarium, and I remember I was fascinated by it. But that was a lifetime ago...
It started with an itch. That slowly progressed to a curiosity, which ended up in LOTS of research on the Internet. After two weeks of research I decided I was ready to start looking around for a shop to purchase the tank from.
In aquarist's terminology, the Local Fish Shop is abbreviated to LFS. Easier to type (and bash - but that is another story). I searched the net for about 8 different LFS's, which I contacted by phone.
The conversation started like this:
[Me] Hi there. I am interested in starting a reef aquarium. Can you help me?
I got MANY responses. My favourite is this:
[LFS] Hi. What is your name and number? Ok I'll fax a quote through by tomorrow.
I mean COME ON!!! You do NOT go to a pet shop and ask for a dog and have the LFS owner tell you it will cost you R50. The first thing is to find out what I WANT.
So I decided to go with a LFS called Exotic Aquariums and located in Boksburg. I initially dealt with a average sales guy, but fortunately that guy left and my new contact - Steven - is actually sort of clued up. He is more of a hobbyist than a sales person, which is a good thing.
I remember him talking about sumps and skimmers and reactors etc., and I had a very hard time to not mix up a skimmer and a sump - since neither were familiar territory for me.
There are three ways one can partake in this hobby. The first is the cheapest - you build everything yourself and use minimal equipment. Some people have had huge success doing it this way, but it is very labour intensive. The second way is to buy the cheapest equipment you can find. This is a sure way to be the most expensive and most frustrating, since depending on equipment but then purchasing low quality products will only have you either leave the hobby in despair, or necessitate you to throw away the cheap equipment and buy the expensive ones - thus paying MORE than just buying the right equipment from the start. The third way is to have technology help you out by purchasing decent quality products. This is expensive but allows you to move quicker.
I chose the latter, for various reasons. So I ordered the tank and equipment on the 3rd of June if I remember correctly, to be delivered the 24th of June. Three weeks of waiting. That was pure agony!
I have written this blog entry to share my experiences in starting this exciting hobby to help other people understand the pain and joys of having marine fish and inverts in your living room. It is NOT an easy path, but it is absolutely rewarding.
Over the course of several days (weeks) I will be adding entries describing (with hindsight) my experiences, joys, pains and mistakes. Hopefully people can learn from me and if not, then just be entertained by my many mistakes.