Have you ever considered quitting the hobby? Why?

WrasseyReefer · Jun 17, 2023

While this hobby can be really fun, it can also be really stressful, expensive, time consuming, and challenging. Have you ever considered quitting the hobby? Why? What happened to make you want to quit?

HudsonReefer2.0 · Jun 17, 2023

As life changed so did my salt water experiences. However, for the most part I always had a tank. Not to b antithetical to the thread.

Dburr1014 · Jun 17, 2023

Divorce.
Couldn't deal with the wife(ex), kids, tank, feelings, frustrations, money, ect... Sure there are more reasons, this was 17 years ago I shut the tank down.

Bought a road bicycle to get out and away and deal with most of it. Best choice at the time. Came back stronger and a better self.

fish farmer · Jun 17, 2023

When I retire I may consider getting out of the hobby if travelling with the wife takes over our time.

HudsonReefer2.0 · Jun 17, 2023

fish farmer said:
When I retire I may consider getting out of the hobby if travelling with the wife takes over our time.

We may b traveling too but to a reef destination with possible plans. Omg dare I say snowbird. Wow. I’m lil young for the traditional sense tho…just sayin.

Reefer Matt · Jun 17, 2023

I had to leave reefing in 2006 after a year. The economy took a nose dive and I didn't have a full time career yet. I came back in 2018.

Acroconut · Jun 17, 2023

I had a 75 gal reef going in the early 2000's . Had it running for close to 7 years. Replacing the double end halide bulbs as frequently as needed to keep the acros happy was breaking the bank. At about 7 years I decided to break it down and get out of the hobby. Couple years ago I really had the urge to get back into it now that LED's can sustain the corals. Have a great little Fluval Evo mixed reef, and hope to set up a Cade 60+ gal before winter sets in.

vlangel · Jun 17, 2023

I have in the hobby continuously since late 90s. I almost got out in 2011 when my husband's mom (who lived with us at the time became bed ridden). Her care was all consuming and my tanks were not getting enough attention. My husband instead talked me into down sizing which was a great solution. I have since slightly upsized and am happy.

Azael · Jun 20, 2023

Yes, last year, after I had hair algae for some time and it killed most of my corals. The tank was a horror movie and I just couldn’t stand to look at it anymore. I tried so hard to put it back on it’s feet and I succeded.

William Toohill · Jun 20, 2023

Yes, when my tank sealant failed and let 100 gallons of salt water go all over my kitchen and dining room Then it went all over my wood shop in the basement, That was the last straw for me.

jda · Jun 20, 2023

First tank in 1990 or 1991 - rode my bike to the fish store and brought things home in my backpack. I am winding down. Kids are leaving and once the last one is nearly done with college, I want to just be able to leave on a whim and maybe stay gone for 2-3 weeks out of the blue. Tanks will need to be gone by then. I loved having a hobby that kept me home, but I won't want to be at home as much.

I will save all of my gear and if I miss it, I can start back up again.

I also hate some some great fish are no longer available and the current husbandry of today is so cavalier. It might be a good time to be gone for good.

twentyleagues · Jun 20, 2023

I quit after about 12 years in the hobby 12 years ago. It became a full time job on top of my other full time job and the wife(ex) never approved of any of my hobbies totally anyway. I got tired of the constant arguing and nagging, I sold everything for pennies on the dollar over a weekend she wasnt home. She came back and was shocked it was all gone. I focused on making her happy which made me unhappy(she could never be truly happy I dont think). So now shes gone and I have a new house and im happy, sounds selfish but I dont care. I feel ready to return. Its been burning in me for a couple years. It feels good to have a salt tank again. I was completely fish tank less for about 5 years and got back into fresh water while still with her when I realized it didnt matter what I did if it wasnt completely focused on her it wasnt going to be approved of.

Jglanzberg · Jun 20, 2023

I had a 120-gallon softie tank in my office that failed. It took a while to get back into the hobby after that.

Gtinnel · Jun 20, 2023

I started my first tank(s) in the late 90’s, but about 10 years later between having young twins, and having to work 2 jobs I wasn’t able to keep up with the hobby and took my tanks down without ever planning to setup another tank.

Around four years ago my wife said I should setup another tank. After my current tank had been up for about a year I had every fish in the tank die within a few hours and I was so disgusted I almost took the tank down. I ended up doing the bare minimum to keep the tank running for months and the tank started doing better than it had in the previous year. Now I’m up to 3 tanks and my wife says suggesting I setup a tank 4 years ago is her biggest regret, lol.

liudachris · Jun 20, 2023

12 years ago, got wiped by AEFW. Moved cities for a new job that would be long hours. Now that I have a big boy job and own my house, decided to start back in a few month ago. Wife mentioned she missed the old tank so that was the excuse I needed.

William Toohill · Jun 20, 2023

Jglanzberg said:
I had a 120-gallon softie tank in my office that failed. It took a while to get back into the hobby after that.

Wow that's a shame, my tank looked alot like this when i came home.

o2manyfish · Jun 20, 2023

In 2008 I had a tank disaster and lost 400g worth of mature corals in an evening due to a rat. I spent a couple of days crying on the couch and then just didn't have the heart to start back up. I shutoff all the ancillary equipment and the lights and just left a big box of water with fish circulating in my house. 8 months after the disaster I was diagnosed with Kidney cancer and didn't want to go through recovery without the tank. So I turned on the lights, found the fish and lots of long brown algae. Drained the tanks to a couple of inches, then pressure washed the tank - with rock in it- then vacuumed out all the scum - filled the tank back up and started acting corals a few days later.

In March of 2022 in a period of 40 hours we first lost an enormous investement of fish in our 560g tank. And then 40 hours later the sump split and we lost 1500g worth of our corals - 99.5% coral loss - almost 4 big trashcans of coral skeletons.

I took a couple of days to grasp with the losses, and said to my wife - "This is a sign to get out of the hobby". We had an emergency upgrade a year earlier from the 400g to a 560g island style tank which was 120x30x36. The 560g was a beautiful looking tank but the 36" depth made it impossible for me to clean or maintain and I hated the tank so much - But it was stunning.

My wife didn't hesitate a single breath. She said "No, go and order the new tank you want." So I called up Titan Aquatic Exhibits in AZ and had them build us a 750g tank.

That was 8 months ago. I really love the 750g tank. Being this is the last big tank I will build - our house can't hold a bigger tank, I didn't spare an expense. And we are delighted with how the tank turned out and how it's starting to grow out.

Dave B

William Toohill · Jun 20, 2023

That's a beautiful tank. Good luck, hope everything works out.

WrasseyReefer · Jun 20, 2023

William Toohill said:
Yes, when my tank sealant failed and let 100 gallons of salt water go all over my kitchen and dining room Then it went all over my wood shop in the basement, That was the last straw for me.

Wow. That’s crazy. So you did quit and came back?

Pntbll687 · Jun 20, 2023

Had some type of bacteria run through my frag system a few months ago. Lost over 250 frags. Not fun. Almost tore everything down. Was in the process of starting to siphon water out and my wife stopped me.
The death has stopped and things are looking better.