Greetings everyone!
I am doubly new - new to WAMAS (got my card, though!) and new to the entire hobby. I have been interested in the concept of raising my own personal reef for years, started to get seriously interested in it about 18 months ago when my daughter and I noticed The Marine Scene across the street from her gymnastic school (and next to my future martial arts school), and now starting serious research on it.
I've never had even a freshwater aquarium - the fish alone just never seemed interesting to me. At TMS, I got to see some good samples of how the entire package - fish, coral, invertebrates, live rock, etc. - might fit together into an awesome whole. That's when my interest level rose substantially.
A few weeks ago, I revisited TMS with my daughter (who is also intensely interested in this) and spoke with a gentleman there who was extremely helpful - very informative, no sales pressure, deliberately steering me away from impulse purchasing (which wasn't a danger - I did inform him I was on a research mission only) and, in fact, steering me to a very good book which I've read through once so far ("The New Marine Aquarium").
I found WAMAS a week or so ago and have also started perusing Tropical Fish Keeping and FishLore. Wonderful information on these sites!
My intent is a several-month research expedition to figure out what it is I truly need in equipment (looking to design ~100gal setup), a couple more months obtaining and setting up the system (sans macroscopic critters) and getting a stable system, and then finally the long road to building my first little reef. All along, I hope to be educating my daughter in the marine science I will be learning on the way.
I expect y'all will hear from me over and over as I work to figure out all the components, sizes, models and other minutia involved with the proper setup and maintenance of these wonderful little ecosystems. I love what I'm seeing in this community so far!
-Scott
