Back to the Future: Out of the hobby and then back again is shocking!

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I have a local friend, whom I became very good friends with because of the hobby, who had quit the hobby many years ago. Lately we have been talking and he decided the time was right for him to get back into the hobby. YAY!

He's literally been out of the loop completely so he began asking me questions about how reefing had changed, about the best equipment etc. He was shocked to hear how we could now automatically test things like alkalinity, calcium and magnesium among other things. He was shocked at how a lot of the companies now are really working to create their own network of equipment that didn't exactly work well with other equipment brands. He was also shocked that Euphyllia coral is in such high demand and commands such higher prices than that of many years ago. There are a lot of shocking changes and evolution to reefing for him and someone who hasn't been following along for sometime! Let's talk about it today!

1. If you were just getting back into the hobby after a long hiatus what do you think would shock you the most?

2. What do you think is the next biggest trend or shocking change in reefing in the next 10 years or so?

1. If you were just getting back into the hobby after a long hiatus what do you think would shock you the most?

I return October 2017, I was shocked to see what good quality equipment cost now. I was reefkeeping from 1983 to 1989 and quit. I wish I never would have left. But technology then and knowledge was limited.




2. What do you think is the next biggest trend or shocking change in reefing in the next 10 years or so?

Incorporating filter feeders part of filtration. Example, at this time using oysters and not just any oysters but Pacific oysters, Many different nps corals are thriving. Certain non photosynthetic corals that were impossible to naturally frag and have it attached to coral rubble or any surface is now possible.
See the video, with only a little bit of dry Rock, some skimmers, and six Pacific oysters. This makes it possible for nps corals(dendronephthya) to thrive in a 7.5 gallon nano tank and 4 gallon sump. Impossible to do with so little technology before oysters were ever incorporated.

 

[Paulie069]

From what I see in the meet n greet forum that is a very common thing of peoywbo have quit hobby and now are coming back to it, which is awesome

 

[mb5322]

Absolutely I would be shocked. This has become a rich boy hobby. It has always been somewhat pricey but what is going on these days is just embarrassing. Financing on aquarium products? Really?

This! I just got back into the hobby after 12 years, was looking at equipment at my LFS, was told: "you can take it home today, for $0 down" I was floored, I felt like I was looking at cars.

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

For me it would be the ridiculous price mark ups on corals. 20 years ago the corals that were available locally were very affordable. Not these days. Nowadays, everyone who sells locally thinks every coral should be a minimum of $50.00 per frag...

Back in the '80's and 90's there was a lot more coral and live rock. The ugly back story was that to get these to the LFS reefs were dynamited, broken or broken uowith heavy equipment. I saw this firsthand in the Philippines and Indonesia. It was terrible. Some of our distributor customers were also to blame as they saw the writing on the wall. They stocked up to the rafters with some of the largest and most rare pieces. Blue corals five feet tall.

Harvesting/collecting fish was done by little kids in skiffs using squeeze bottles of bleach going into the reefs and stunning the fish so they could be scooped up easier.

Things are much much better now.

 

[Thrashed]

Hardest part for me was not fighting the zero's I had always fought, the change from LED (I still haven't got used to) and the different options for controllers and monitors that we had 10 years ago. Not even touching on prices lol, I remember giving away duncans, frogspawn, torches, and other lps because it was so cheap to buy from a LFS now I'm having trouble finding any of those under 100 dollars for a small head or 2

 

[litlsea]

After over 15 years away from the hobby the most shocking thing is how far automation has come (with a price of course) . Back in the day a float top off and a light timer was about it. Now I can travel for a month at a time and watch and adjust my reef from half a world away. Some would say this is a negative but for me it allowed me back into the hobby.

The next biggest trend is already starting with many different tank bred/grown fish and coral. We ordered yellow tangs in the 80's for $5 and Fiji rock for $2 a lb. Now collector licenses in Hawaii are not being renewed. Aqua cultured fish, inverts, coral and rock are the future. Shocking to some but the future none the less.