One Christmas when I was in elementary school (can't remember exactly when), my parents drove me to the LFS, we walked in, and there was a wroght-iron stand with a 29 on top and a 20l on the bottom. Big red bows and all.
They figured that would be a good way to get into a hobby, have a pet, and not sneeze my head off. My sister and I both were alergic to animal dander, so dogs and cats were out. Mom wasn't wild about reptiles, so fish seemed like a logical choice.
When we picked up the tanks, we decided that we'd make the 29 a freshwater tank, and the 20long on the bottom a saltwater tank.
It goes without saying that a kid with little/no knowledge about aquaria - and parents who had no experience killed our share of fish. Back then I was at my parent's mercy to buy anything, and they were pretty frugal. Something like a yellow tang was pretty extravagant, and when one died a day or two after getting home, that didn't help my chances at getting any more "expensive fish". So therefore I was content to keep a damsel or two, a percula clown, and watch a chocolate chip star consume a couple of condylactis anemones. The "Big" tank - the 29 - was for things like a bala shark, an angel or two, and some silver dollars. That tank was solid, with very few deaths.
Thats where it all started... about 15 years ago.