Ever think about leaving the hobby?

d0cdave · #1 10/02/2007, 01:47 PM

I think about leaving the hobby everyday it seems. I love this hobby, but with a young family and a tired wife, it's hard to keep things going. I also run our club website, work 50 hour weeks in IT, restore our house and attend countless family functions.

Today I had a tank almost crash on me. I was able to save everything, and it wasnt my prized collection, but it makes me think twice about investing too much into the hobby and not enough into what should really matter to me.

I'm not giving up yet, as I am finally past the "doing it cheap" phase and getting into the "doing it right" phase.

I try and involved the family as much as possible with the hobby, and it can be such a learning experience for my young boys. I just hope it doesnt end up hurting them in the long run.

So, my usual "denial" of my reef habit goes like this:

1) My time/money/energy could be better spent elsewhere.
2) Maybe I should sell off the livestock and store my investment in equipment for a later date.
3) Maybe I should downsize everything to the nano.
4) The electricity bill really isnt THAT bad.
5) I do deserve to have the BIG tank, dammit.
6) The kids/wife/house can wait. Oooh! Look! My ricordia split again!

All joking aside, I cant be the only one!

gtrestoration · #2 10/02/2007, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by d0cdave

1) My time/money/energy could be better spent elsewhere.
2) Maybe I should sell off the livestock and store my investment in equipment for a later date.
3) Maybe I should downsize everything to the nano.
4) The electricity bill really isnt THAT bad.
5) I do deserve to have the BIG tank, dammit.
6) The kids/wife/house can wait. Oooh! Look! My ricordia split again!

All joking aside, I cant be the only one!

Quote:

1) My time/money/energy could be better spent elsewhere.

That will never change, even years from now.

Quote:

2) Maybe I should sell off the livestock and store my investment in equipment for a later date.

Sell most stuff now. By the time you return you'll want the lateset an greatest and the old stuff will have no value.

Quote:

3) Maybe I should downsize everything to the nano.

That's an option for those that can control themselves.

Quote:

4) The electricity bill really isnt THAT bad.

I still hide behind the couch with the dog when it comes in the mail.

Quote:

5) I do deserve to have the BIG tank, dammit.

See #3.

Quote:

6) The kids/wife/house can wait. Oooh! Look! My ricordia split again!

And I'll quit my 35 year smoking habit once the next life crisis is past.

SteveU

ezcompany · #3 10/02/2007, 02:03 PM

i find that 2 tanks are the most manageable, so try to consolidate. i have 3 right now and things are hectic @_@

Scissorhand · #4 10/02/2007, 02:05 PM

I say downsize. It's obvious you still have a lingering passion for it.

If you're sick and tired of it then obviously just get out for while and come back when the reef bug bites ya again.

I do try not to let reefing becoming a burden. There are little things that I do to try to keep things simple.

Like, getting rid of the dendro. It was a chore to have to direct feed it each day.

Feed only with Formula 1 & 2 pellets. No more thawing cubes of mysis in a cup.

In any case, wish ya the best.

pookstreet · #5 10/02/2007, 02:08 PM

It's tough to find a good balance between all the important things in life and this hobby. I also have 2 young kids and both of us work full time jobs. Family always comes first for me so we do as many family functions as we can, whether it's just a day out for the 4 of us or with relatives. Tank maintainance do take time and I try to do most of it at night when the kids are sleeping. It's always a joy to both of us when my 3 year old son points to the tank and start counting the "fishies". It's also a way for me to forget the hassles and stress of work. I think those are some of the reasons my wife agreed to let me upgrade to a 300. Although if family reasons forces me to let go of the tank, I wouldn't think twice about it.

d0cdave · #6 10/02/2007, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Scissorhand
I say downsize. It's obvious you still have a lingering passion for it.

If you're sick and tired of it then obviously just get out for while and come back when the reef bug bites ya again.

Feed only with Formula 1 & 2 pellets. No more thawing cubes of mysis in a cup.

In any case, wish ya the best.

Thanks. Yeah, I gave up on frozen foods for the most part and feed flake and Reef Roids. Occasionally I will throw some frozen mysis and cyclops in there.

d0cdave · #7 10/02/2007, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ezcompany
i find that 2 tanks are the most manageable, so try to consolidate. i have 3 right now and things are hectic @_@

That's probably part of my problem. I setup my 50 gallon to mostly store some fish a fellow reefer gave me once he left the hobby. I had no intention of filling it with coral and more fish, but more friends were getting out of the hobby and I acquired more. Now that tank is full of good stuff I dont wanna kill.

d0cdave · #8 10/02/2007, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gtrestoration
And I'll quit my 35 year smoking habit once the next life crisis is past.
SteveU

Thanks man. I needed that

Gooli · #9 10/02/2007, 02:35 PM

never

All Delight · #10 10/02/2007, 02:43 PM

I've left before but I think its in my blood. I started when I was 6 I had a goldfish.

Ever since then I've had a tank. I always sold everything when I move but I always get pulled back in.

FishyBiz · #11 10/02/2007, 03:10 PM

I'm guilty.
I wonder how far I'll get sucked in until it becomes a chore and not a hobby. Eventually I would like to buy a new home and build something like 1000 gallons. The problem is that once your at that level its not like taking down a 20 gallon fresh water in 1 hour. It's gonna be a serious hit to the wallet.

Frankysreef · #12 10/02/2007, 03:41 PM

I made my tank very easy to maintain... so the only thing that sucks right now is the electric bill...

Look for easy solutions and then try to keep it maintenance free...

Good luck

Gooli · #13 10/02/2007, 03:47 PM

I agree...the best way to make this an enjoyable hobby and not a chore is to have as much automation in your setup to allow for minimum maintenance. Especially auto-top off...anyone who is topping off manually is nuts!

Quote:

Originally posted by Frankysreef
I made my tank very easy to maintain... so the only thing that sucks right now is the electric bill...

Look for easy solutions and then try to keep it maintenance free...

Good luck

d0cdave · #14 10/02/2007, 03:49 PM

<--- Nuts!

Bebo77 · #15 10/02/2007, 03:50 PM

lol.. yes i think about it all the time now as well....

mangus7175 · #16 10/02/2007, 03:57 PM

I'm lucky that it was actually my girlfriend who wanted me in this hobby so we both enjoy it. However, my main concern is not so much the upkeep of the tank but primarily when we want to go on trips.

Since having the tank we haven't taken a quick weekend getaway for over a year. Mind you that we don't even have a large tank. There have been times though that I have thought of quitting the hobby, I could personally get back into golfing again but the kids love the tank...in fact, they prefer to watch copepods run across the LR than watch TV.

Oh yeah...I do manual top-offs every other day...maybe that's why I haven't taken any out of town trips.

Scissorhand · #17 10/02/2007, 03:58 PM

Maybe what you guys need is to paste scantily clad pictures of voluptuous hot models as your background to your tank to spice things up a little bit.

Or upgrade equipments, that always makes me whimper with excitement.

Do something different. If you haven't tried zeo, try that. Sell some fishes and get new ones. Change out your corals. Anything to make things more interesting and fun.

Put a spark in your reef life.

Or... if you need a therapist to talk to, my girlfriend can help you out with that too, and she's probably as fed up with reef as you are and will certainly know what you're going through. Heh heh.

d0cdave · #18 10/02/2007, 04:04 PM

Some guys have the best of both worlds! Forget pasting pictures behind the tank, how about a hottie INSIDE the tank?

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...=&pagenumber=2

Scissorhand · #19 10/02/2007, 04:07 PM

hah hah there you go:

reef is fun y'all.

ezcompany · #20 10/02/2007, 04:22 PM

lol
i prefer Miss South Carolina still

d0cdave · #21 10/02/2007, 04:25 PM

Well, I appreciate all the comments. Glad to hear some of you are doing the same or similar thing I am...

The hobby is satisfying and I do enjoy it. I will continue to be in the hobby as long as I can. I guess the best advice is to go slow and not burn out.

Corriander · #22 10/02/2007, 04:27 PM

Facing a 1200mile move north in a few months, I waffled over selling out. In the end, I decided that dedicating a single trip moving critters was acceptable and that I would plan accordingly.

Moving all 860gallons is out of the question. Moving 60gallons is manageable. So that is what I am doing - building the best damn 60gallon tank I can then selecting the best of my coral stock to go with me.

Because of the simple trade-off of volume for quality, sticking to the downsize has been easy. It has turned the usual cringe when hitting the 'submit' button on a MarineDepot order in to "Only $400?? Awesome! I can sell my 150gal for way more than that!"

gillies · #23 10/02/2007, 04:46 PM

I wonder the same at times but just keep going. I really like my tank. Time is important to me as well, so I have resisted the urge to get another tank or go bigger and have just stuck with the old 90gal. Good luck.

d0cdave · #24 10/02/2007, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Corriander
Facing a 1200mile move north in a few months, I waffled over selling out. In the end, I decided that dedicating a single trip moving critters was acceptable and that I would plan accordingly.

I cant imagine trying to move saltwater fish/corals etc that far. I could barely cope moving my freshwater fish from Long Beach to Ventura. The problem was taking the time to setup a new tank during the unpacking process. I now know it wouldnt have been a big deal to leave the fish in a bucket with a heater and an airstone for a couple of days, but back then it was a major undertaking.

Corriander · #25 10/02/2007, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by d0cdave
I cant imagine trying to move saltwater fish/corals etc that far. I could barely cope moving my freshwater fish from Long Beach to Ventura. The problem was taking the time to setup a new tank during the unpacking process. I now know it wouldnt have been a big deal to leave the fish in a bucket with a heater and an airstone for a couple of days, but back then it was a major undertaking.

This is exactly why I am only keeping one, maybe two fish. Even then, they will be packed in a cooler with an airstone and a heater pluged in to a 12V inverter for the drive. Somehow I doubt a 7" naso and 8" foxface rabbit would be happy in a 60gal.

The majority of my coral collection are zoas and rics which are hearty enough to FedEx wrapped in paper towels if needed. I will still need to sell most of them, but a few small samples will grow out in time.