Average time in this hobby

[Sebastiancrab]

This forum is kind of a bad place to ask this because us forum folks are a little crazier than most :p

I don't remember the exact numbers but I think BRS said 50% are gone after year 1. However, a lot of those that make it past year 1 make it to year 2. Like 75-80%. Then it is something like 75% of those that make it past year 2, make it to year 5. Ryan talked about it on a live once. They sent out that survey and it was eye opening.

So did they survey customers that had not ordered in various timeframes? I would be curious to know how they came to the conclusions they did.

 

[rtparty]

So did they survey customers that had not ordered in various timeframes? I would be curious to know how they came to the conclusions they did.

Not sure the methodology used but it lines up pretty well with the numbers I heard back in the day from one of the reps who frequented the LFS I worked at.

I remember him telling me 50% gone by the first year and 85% gone by year 3

 

[Auquanut]

They say the average homeowner lives in a house for seven years.
How long do you think people stay in the hobby?
How long have you been in the hobby?

I started my first tank in 2003 and joined a reef club in 2004.
There are very few from our club that stuck with the hobby over the years and many more that left it.

A very good question, and very hard to answer. I personally have gone through many hobbies through the years. Most haven't captured my interest for more than a year or two. I think that happens a lot.

I've kept one or two FW aquariums (or more) for years. Couldn't tell you how many, but it seems like I've always had a tank of some sort. I started my journey in reefing about 6 years ago, and I can honestly say that I've found my passion.

After watching some BRS videos, I've seen where Ryan has deduced from purchases made at BRS, that about 50% of new reefers leave the hobby within the first two years. That sounds bad, but he also says that the mass majority of those that pass that point go on to order products for many years after.

That's okay. Reefing isn't for everyone. I still build a piece of furniture if I need to, but woodworking isn't the hobby for me that I once thought it would be. My passion is in aquaria, and reefing especially. People will try reefing as they will try any other endeavor. If the bug bites them, they become one of us. The valiant few who will put in the time, research, blood, sweat, tears, and $$$ to make our tanks all that they can be.

If someone tries and finds that reefing isn't for them, that's alright. It's all about the passion. find what you are passionate about, and immerse yourself in it. For me, it's my tanks, but that's just me.

 

[zuri]

doublepost

 

[zuri]

first tank was 1999 working at petsmart idk theydo this but still one day a year everything in the store was 75% off gota 150g vho lighting was all the rage. I turned 21 moved out no want wanted to be that fish guy at that time as Deuce Bigalow ruined the hobby for abit jkjk. came back around 2016 loving how far the hobby

 

[Doctorgori]

is there a poll or thread already on this somewhere ?
Hardly poo pooing the post, just wondering if there is some data that could shed some light on this already

 

[Paul B]

I have had a tank of some kind since about 1955 or so but reefing since it started. I was standing on the dock waving to the boat when the first salt water fish were imported. :rolleyes:

OK, maybe I was home in bed, but I bought the first salt water fish, blue devils in 1971 the first week they were sold in Manhattan. Started a tank then and it is still running. The glass has been changed I think 3 times since that first 40 gallon tank.

I moved three times in my life not counting when I was in the Army. My last move was almost 4 years ago but before that my 100 gallon tank stood in the same place for 40 years.

 

[Doctorgori]

I have had a tank of some kind since about 1955 or so but reefing since it started. I was standing on the dock waving to the boat when the first salt water fish were imported. :rolleyes:

OK, maybe I was home in bed, but I bought the first salt water fish, blue devils in 1971 the first week they were sold in Manhattan. Started a tank then and it is still running. The glass has been changed I think 3 times since that first 40 gallon tank.

I moved three times in my life not counting when I was in the Army. My last move was almost 4 years ago but before that my 100 gallon tank stood in the same place for 40 years.

heck Paul, weren’t you the first to breed Coelacanths in the home aquaria? ….eons before “Piltdown” man walked upright
…40 years Paul? I’d bet your cleanup crew is mostly trilobites and ammonites by now, another 40yrs and they might even have legs by then :D

 

[Paul B]

Yes and those Coelacanths are getting mighty large and it is getting awfully hard to raise their favorite food "Trilobites" .

I felt really sorry for Piltdown man or the Iceman because they always had such lousy posture.

It was also difficult keeping the Godzilla larvae away

 

[Pntbll687]

First tank ever was a saltwater tank in 2013. Had a canister filter and live rock and just fish for the longest time before venturing into corals. At one point I had 6 nano tanks going, that was allot. I'm down to my display (180g), frag tank (50 low boy), and a 20 long in my office. All are low tech and pretty easy to care for.

I will say, I spent WAYYYY less time worrying about things in my first tank than people I see on the boards and facebook groups today.