Health of the Reef Hobby

[74rus]

Things are booming. That's why all the LFS are closing up. That's why you have to have a large tank custom made now.
I think what's booming is the number of people keeping 2 clownfish and 3 corals in a tiny sterile tank. Also booming is the number of people that are running a home frag tank.

Not all LFS closing, there’s not much of choice in my area, online stores don’t deliver live stock , petsmart doesn’t sell marine stuff.
a lot of people started to buy small tanks because it’s more affordable they came as plug and play for 500-600$ don’t see too many people willing to spend 2000$++ only to get lights for 4-6 foot tanks. At the same time if you decided to go big you probably want custom tank anyway, with things like overflow and supply holes in locations you like not a cookie cutter.

 

[WRB]

I've had saltwater fish only tanks for over 3 decades, I'd like to get into reefing but the cost of even a basic set-up is exorbitant. I.E, lighting.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

I've had saltwater fish only tanks for over 3 decades, I'd like to get into reefing but the cost of even a basic set-up is exorbitant. I.E, lighting.

The hobby mainstream lighting is ridiculously overpriced. There are a lot of cheaper options available on Amazon from “off brand” manufacturers. I’ve known many reefers in my area that have full blown Acropora tanks with good growth and color using the cheap “black box” LED light made by ViparSpectra and others. Check it out man it’s not that bad. And you can find nice local reefers who may give you some coral frags to get started. I haven’t spent more than $20 for frags for my current tank by buying from local reefers.

 

[Ribo15]

I've had saltwater fish only tanks for over 3 decades, I'd like to get into reefing but the cost of even a basic set-up is exorbitant. I.E, lighting.

It doesn’t have to be though

 

[squidarcher]

Things are booming. That's why all the LFS are closing up. That's why you have to have a large tank custom made now.
I think what's booming is the number of people keeping 2 clownfish and 3 corals in a tiny sterile tank. Also booming is the number of people that are running a home frag tank.

I mean what people can keep and afford and WANT us different. Who am I to complain about what someone wants to do with their tank as long as they’re not harming the animals?

 

[WVNed]

I mean what people can keep and afford and WANT us different. Who am I to complain about what someone wants to do with their tank as long as they’re not harming the animals?

My post was not dissing what other people want to do. I was pointing out while a bit of the hobby is booming in general many options in the hobby are going away. Large tanks aren't being manufactured. Very good pieces of equipment are leaving the market in favor of stuff that seems more cheaply made for smaller tanks.
Corals that are large and suitable for bigger tanks are now chopped up into tiny pieces for smaller ones.

 

[reefinatl]

I've had saltwater fish only tanks for over 3 decades, I'd like to get into reefing but the cost of even a basic set-up is exorbitant. I.E, lighting.

Used halide setup from somebody going to LEDs. You can grow anything in the world for under $200.

 

[fish farmer]

My post was not dissing what other people want to do. I was pointing out while a bit of the hobby is booming in general many options in the hobby are going away. Large tanks aren't being manufactured. Very good pieces of equipment are leaving the market in favor of stuff that seems more cheaply made for smaller tanks.
Corals that are large and suitable for bigger tanks are now chopped up into tiny pieces for smaller ones.

Interesting perspective.

It seemed when I started in 2000, the hobby was driven by big tanks, nothing under 75 gallons and limited stuff for small tanks. Now I see more product made for small tanks, which of course I like since I do small tanks

 

[WVNed]

Interesting perspective.

It seemed when I started in 2000, the hobby was driven by big tanks, nothing under 75 gallons and limited stuff for small tanks. Now I see more product made for small tanks, which of course I like since I do small tanks

I started at Nano-Reef.com with a Nano cube. It seemed like there weren't many options for fish or pumps or lights. Everything was for bigger tanks.
Now I am on Reef2Reef with big tanks and it seems the opposite is starting to become true.

 

[rtparty]

The industry as a whole saw a massive growth last year. Revenue was up across the board and this includes many LFS from what I've gathered.

There will be fantastic used equipment in the next 6-12 months....which is sad to say. At least half of the hobbyists don't make it one year. Once people start heading back to work, they'll lose interest in the tank and won't find time to take care of it

 

[SauceyReef]

We also should all note the technology changing the game which many are brining up. LEDs has changed everything. You can keep corals in a nano for a $100 light super easily..

 

[tehmadreefer]

Booming with newbies, yes, of which I’d say about 90% will quit within a year cos their sterile tanks can’t grow anything and all their fish die cos their immune system is basically non existent to fight anything.

Rinse and repeat, year after year.

 

[Young@Heart]

I would half to say not sure if I would call it a boom. I have been in the saltwater side of this hobby for 10+ years and an additional 3 years for the freshwater. I have seen some ebb and flow in the areas that I have lived in, but I would not necessarily call it a boom. Let's face it this is a more expensive hobby and to have success you must remain committed for the long term and that requires a commitment of resources (the two most important are: Time and $$$). I think that if we want to attract and keep more people doing this, then the market place needs more competition. Specifically in the areas of Lighting, and Automatic Systems to aid with maint. and upkeep of the aquarium. I think the interest is out there, but various resources needed to be successful are rather expensive I mean $200 - $800 or more for a single LED light.

 

[ZoWhat]

If multiple daily posts like, "My 10g nano completed its first cycle so why are my SPS corals dying and my Blue Hippo has ICH?"

....is any indication, then yes the hobby is abounding

.

 

[rtparty]

If multiple daily posts like, "My 10g nano completed its first cycle so why are my SPS corals dying and my Blue Hippo has ICH?"

....Are any indication, then yes the hobby is abounding

.

This is nothing new. These same topics have been around for the 15+ years I've been doing this

 

[ZoWhat]

This is nothing new. These same topics have been around for the 15+ years I've been doing this

But not the likes I've seen in past 6mos

I wish there was a split off inside R2R for for intermediate to expert hobbyists to have expert level discussions


.

 

[tehmadreefer]

This is nothing new. These same topics have been around for the 15+ years I've been doing this

Yes, however not to the extent it is these days. Literally can’t even count how many of these posts pop up every single day… Too many

 

[fish farmer]

Yes, however not to the extent it is these days. Literally can’t even count how many of these posts pop up every single day… Too many

Could that be a function of the ease of social media? I mean "everyone" has a smart phone right? Click and post away.

I don't have smart phone BTW, old school desktop PC....makes it easier to actually read information....I used to print off documents worth keeping back in the day.