I love this hobby

[bhodges82]

I love this hobby and the people that endure the stresses of it with me. It gives me an outlet for stress and a personal challenge to maintain a reef tank. Through the years I've learned a lot and messed up a lot, the mess ups were all on me but the successes came from others input or suggestions.

I would like to hear some feedback on why you are in this hobby, what keeps you here, and maybe what you struggle with personally.

My biggest struggle is scheduled maintenence and water testing.

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[lshin037]

Why - Aquaria has always been an interest of mine. Other hobbies came and went but this one is always a fascination
What keeps me here - looking at other peoples tank and what can be achieved
Struggle - keeping my PH up without a co2 scrubber (now that I have a calrx)
- getting an alert from my apex in the middle of the night about my water levels only to find nothing wrong
- hiding reef purchases from my wife

 

[Adam]

For me putting up a saltwater tank was something I had always wanted to do. I hadn't ever had anything more than a goldfish as a kid and never delved into freshwater, it was always Salt or nothing. When I finished my basement in the early 2000's I made an in-wall space for a 6' tank. Then the market went to crap and I didn't have the funds to do it. Everything was forgotten until I was watching an episode of Tanked in 2015. Watching those goofballs do their thing got me inspired to restart the unfinished project. I researched for over a year before I had water in a tank and then still proceeded to make some rookie mistakes.

For me I love all the color and life, getting to see the personalities of the fish. But most of all it's the constant learning process. There's always something new to try, add to the system or new technology hitting the market.

While I've struggled with Alk/Cal balance and many other issues. My biggest struggle is also managing the pH.

 

[fishyfishy]

I'm love the hobby because it can be as complex or basic as you want it to be. There is always something more to add to your tank, something new to try, an experiment or invention to try and make things easier or more stable. It's a great creative outlet and I've drawn up invention ideas trying to think of ways to do things better. Obviously other people have as well which is why the hobby gets interesting new products every year.

Some challenges are maintaining the motivation consistently. Sometimes when the tank needs the most work, life gets busiest. Water changes lag, things don't get cleaned, etc. Then the motivation hits hard and I want to pull everything out and get a bigger tank!

 

[Reefchef]

First, thank you Bobby this a great thread! I loved it when I first saw it, hopefully it helps some of us just think back and realize why we started and why we do this hobby!

Like Adam we only had fresh water fish growing up, a 55 gallon tank was the largest we ever had with 2 Oscars in them. If anyone knows anything about Oscars, they are some mean son of a guns!!! They are very aggressive and will fight to the death if they don't like one another. We also had gold fish, but sorry that's a bit boring! Even as a kid I always wanted a salt water tank, but never pulled the trigger for what ever reason. Around November 2017 right before my second son was born I made the choice to buy a 55 gallon fresh water bow front. That was a huge mistake, because I still wanted my salt water so I sold it about a year later and came across this site while researching. Plus I wanted a hobby that I could get the family to enjoy with me, even if Im doing all of the work!

Once I found this site and looking at everyones tank and reading their stories and such, I knew I was in the right place and started making a plan. Making this plan included picking equipment, changing equipment, asking repetitive questions at times, and just wanting guidance. My wife hated it, because I have spent endless hours on here reading, looking at pics, tanks, equipment, and the list goes on. I am now at the point where Im getting ready to complete my aqua scape and add water, Im getting so excited just writing this! At the same time I nervous as heck, anxious, and tired at the same time because i know I still have a long way to go!!!

Like you guys said you learn so much in this hobby, you have to be a handyman, plumber, electrician, floor supporter, chemist, and care giver. Thats what i love, and just look forward to continuing to learn and grow with you guys knowledge wise, corals, and fish!!! Sorry I'm so long winded, but its just so exciting to me!!!

 

[Mom2Many]

I have had fish in my life, even from some of my earliest memories. I remember we had fish in bowls and my mom had a 10gallon glass tank with metal framing on our kitchen counter from the time I was very small. It had a filter you put filter floss in and an air stone in it. (cutting edge technology) It had troptical fish in it. I was alway just enthralled with watching the fish, my mom care for them and do aqua scaping with plants and such. To be able to sit and watch what you would have to be under water to enjoy...and right in your own home!

When I grew up, everywhere I lived, I had fresh water fish. I have done planted tanks, cichlids, tropical fish in everything from bowls to a 55 gallon. I have raised endlers and several types of freshwater shrimp like crystal reds and neocaradinas. I started in the salt hobby about 16 or more years ago. I have had salt tanks off and on since then, all considered nano size. The largest was 29 gallon. It really took keeping tanks, up a notch. To be able to keep alive the creatures God created in the ocean was amazing to me. The colors so bright and beautiful....and corals too!

The draw to this hobby has been in me my whole life. I have an intense life. My husband and I take in and adopt special needs children. Medical issues, autism, incontinent, behavior issues...I home school...we live on a small farm....The stress could be unreal at times without God and things to do that are stress reducing. Keeping tanks greatly reduces stress in my life. My husband whole heartedly supports my hobby. For birthdays and holidays or just to suprise me he will give me money to spend in my tank(s) or drive me to atlanta alone, and take me around to the fish stores and by me things I want. Every Sunday morning my husband makes breakfast for all of our children who still live at home (9). He gives me about two hours to spend doing my maintainance on my tanks. So getting behind does not happen. I always look forward to it and enjoy it. I take my time and just enjoy the process...

I have gotten several people in my area into this hobby, just by them seeing my tanks in my home. So now it is nice to have people to share frags with and talk tank talk with.

The hardest thing about the hobby is cost. Even though comparatively I do things on the cheap...it still is an area of guilt to me, the amount of money I need to spend on my tank. In a large family on a tight budget, that is the hardest thing to justify and has often made me get out of the hobby temperarily, when we have money issues or children that require and intense amount of time when they first come here.

 

[Shawn]

My grandmother always had a large tropical aquarium when I was growing up. I think that's what started my love of fish.

Two years ago, I took my parents on a weekend getaway to Panama City Beach. They wanted to go to those "Al's" gift stores (I think it was Al's). We were at their main one - the big store with the alligator pit and all of that. I saw there a marine aquarium with a sole 3-4" hippo tang that was simply overrun with algae. You could barely see in the tank. And I was so furious that such a beautiful fish was living in such conditions that I demanded we leave without purchasing anything. My parents saw it and agreed.

Six months of research later I bought my first tank from Premier Aquatics - a Biocube 32. A year and five months later here I am. I have found this hobby to be more relaxing (and stressful, lol) and fulfilling than anything I've done in my personal life. And I love that.

If I could say there is a drawback, it would be cost. In this hobby, it's much easier to maintain an amazing tank with more money, and that, I'm sure, keeps a lot of folks from it. I wouldn't trade it for the world, though.

 

[1mbrews8]

It's like it's own little world in the tank and so much activity and life to watch and learn about. And I'm a Pisces, so there's that lol!

 

[bhodges82]

I enjoy reading these posts, i can relate a lot to them. I love the colors that are naturally present in so many saltwater species, i love that they're is endless knowledge to gain (the never ending journey), i feel that this hobby has really honed in my problem solving and research skills.

I got my love for salt when I lived in Canada for a year with a friend that had moved to his brother's house, his brother had a 300g tank that was mostly fish. I was blown away that the filtration was in another room. I would come home from work daily and just watch nature do its thing. My friends brother had a 220g tank that had a good bit of coral, mostly softies. We would go there often to play games and again I would end up starting at the tank. When I can't back home to Georgia I started looking in to aquariums, I was shocked at how much things cost, so my dream slowly started to fade. A few years later a friend of a friend contacted me and asked if I wanted his 12g nano tank, he knew how much I loved saltwater tanks, he had mentioned that his girlfriend said it had to go, i found out why a little later. I picked it up and set it up in my bedroom. I got a damsel because my friend had lost all his fish, soon after i lost the damsel so I got another and the sane thing happened. That's when I learned about appropiate sized heaters, i was cooking the fish, I wish the tank had come with a thermometer . Being that I work about a half mile from The fish store, formerly Warehouse Aquariums, i spent a ton of time their in my lunch breaks picking their brains. They were doing renovations because the owner had partnered with the current owner, which meant I got to help out. I learned about plumbing, pumps, skimmers, and many coral types. The knowledge was freely given to me, i always try to return the favor.

Happy reefing

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[ichthyoid]

"I would like to hear some feedback on why you are in this hobby, what keeps you here, and maybe what you struggle with personally."

I inherited my brother's 15 gallon metal frame aquarium when I was 10 years old and started with freshwater fish. I had to earn every dime I spent on it by collecting soda bottles, raking lawns, doing extra chores, etc. Having spent time in the Bahamas as a child opened my eyes to marine fish & the abundance of other organisms. Growing up in Florida also greatly contributed to my education of both fresh & marine environments. One day, I walked into my local fish store and the owner Perry Fagan was setting up a saltwater tank with Eheim filters, a Sanders protein skimmer & even a UV filter. It was a sight that I will never forget! There were damsels, a comical pair of yellow headed jawfish and a Queen Angel fish that were all stunning to look at! I was smitten and dreamed of owning such a tank some day. So, when I got into high school I got a summer job working construction and spent every dime I made converting my then 55 gallon O'Dell aquarium into a marine tank. I also had 30, 15 & 10 gallon freshwater tanks. My first experience with marine did not go well, as I seemed to encounter every disease known to man in the process. After college I set up another marine tank & have been in and out of the hobby ever since. It has been a life long journey lasting over 45 years, which is hard for me to believe after reading this! Thankfully, I am married to a patient and understanding wife, who indulges my need for the creativity & exploration which marine aquariums provide.

What keeps me here is that the hobby challenges me with a multitude of disciplines and related required knowledge & learning, such as biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, carpentry, electricity & electronics, plumbing, problem identification & solving, construction skill/technique in addition to a considerable artistic/aesthetic component. The beauty can be & often is just astounding! I have an innate insatiable curiosity about virtually everything I've encountered in this world and marine aquariums come as close to covering all those bases as anything I've ever encountered!

What I struggle with is what most others do as well- the discipline and consistency required for success and which the organisms we are responsible for deserve!

 

[Cook]

I had freshwater tanks in various forms since I was about 8 years old using an old 10 gallon that my mother had when she was younger. Like others here, I have some great childhood and teenage years memories from that. I had almost everything except Discus. My favorite freshwater fish ever are red bellied Piranha's. They were super cool, very shy, and yes I stuck my hand in the tank to clean it with them in it. My own personal shark week every week before that was a thing.

I worked in a fish store during college and I got into salt water then. I think I had the most fun when I had no idea what I was doing and learned everything the hard way, but I failed miserably at keeping corals alive in a 48 gallon with a home built stand, home built wet/dry filter, and some very used metal halide pendants. I moved to a 5 gallon nano with power compacts and a HOB protein skimmer and then couldn't kill the stuff, go figure.

I put this hobby away until my son was 6 and I started up a freshwater tank to give him an appreciation for fish like I had as a child. It wasn't until last year, he's 12 now, that he really showed an interest in the hobby and kept gravitating towards the salt water section. I knew I wanted to take another stab at reefing once my wife voted to move the next fish tank into the family room. I'm not sure I can personally call it love, but it is certainly something that is fun especially from Monday - Friday when all I have to do is feed the fish and change the filter socks.

I'd say what keeps me in this hobby is the automation that is available today to help with stability and save me from myself. Yay, Auto top off!

 

[ichthyoid]

FWIW- I LOVE this thread!