Here you are, still reefing, still reading this post, still cleaning the glass and feeding the fish. WHY?

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Still trying to replicate the ocean, close but not close enough. My children of the sea, very stubborn.


1 of 33 carnation corals, dendronephthya sp.

 

[Evan28395950]

The fascination, my anemone split for the first time yesterday, when I noticed it, I was so excited

 

[jasonrusso]

I voted other. I really enjoy it when things are going well. In the bad times it's usually just stubbornness and refusing to be beat.

 

[don_chuwish]

How about "I just enjoy it"? So many aspects are fun I can't list them all.

 

[gotmesalty77]

its a weird relationship. I have days where I just want to take it all down and not have to worry about it because of the stress of keeping everything alive. then after a week ill get into the kick of "man I want this to be the best reef tank out there" we all go through the motions im sure. im just glad my wife has talked me out of taking it down when ive thought about it. I love doing maintenance but I get anxiety every time I start doing water changes or cleaning. not sure why I get that way but as soon as im done it goes away lol.

The same happens to me. Once i start i have mini freak outs for some reason leading up. Usually during maintenance days i find Something that seriously needs to be completed like cleaning return, cleaning vortechs, replacing my leaking bulkhead the list could go on forever. This gives me more anxiety. However when i am all finished and im looking into that glass box i am proud of what ive done and where my reef is heading.

 

[LanaDelNeighh]

I love the challenge, I like learning the ins and outs of how to keep a reef tank, and it honestly brings me some sort of internal peace watching my tank thrive! I call it ocean therapy lol

 

[ReefBeta]

It's my living art piece in my living space. Succeed or not I'll continue work on it. Eventually it will be my masterpiece.

 

[ReefRondo]

I use this hobby purely to escape from day to day stresses. I run my own business (hopefully in the future this will include the sales of corals and fish as we already have a great outdoor aquatics department) and when things get stressful I like nothing more than getting my hands wet. Works for me.

 

[MrWheelock]

What keeps me in the hobby is the challange, the time it consumes allowing my to keep my mind off other things, and the fact that its ever changing.
It seems everyday I learn something new, encounter a new challange, or just sit back and enjoy my little piece of the ocean I am able to keep in my house.
Even if at times it seems stressful or a pain in the rear, the goods always outweigh the bads.
I'm glad I stuck with the hobby, even after a fallow period, a crash, and some time of not having coral at all.
Coming back to R2R and seeing other peoples tanks and what can be achieved has always reignited my fascination with this hobby. Being a part of this awesome community, its wealth of knowledge, and all of the friendly encouragement weighs in heavily on the fact that I'm still addicted to reefing. Had I not had a place to go and chat, ask questions, or browse others successes and failures I would have felt like I was alone in this hobby and likely would have hung up the towel a few years ago.

 

[Pennywise the Clown]

When my wife asked me what I wanted for my 50th I had a long, hard think about it. Golf clubs? A new bike? Fishing gear?
And then from nowhere a reef tank came into my head. I Googled for an hour and I knew that was what I wanted (needed)
My wife refused, saying it would be a fad and a waste of money, but a couple of months later I was setting up a Reefer 250.
18 months later I am more excited about reefing than ever and any spare cash I have is spent on my new addiction, SPS.
I have always been interested in water and what lies beneath the surface since I can remember, so this is a perfect hobby for me. I have my own little reef, growing and (mostly) thriving in my back room.
If you sit back and think about it, how amazing is that?

 

[Braves Fan]

My job was one that required me to work 6 days a week ,, for the most part ,,, 9 to 10 hours a day ,, I didn't have the time to spend my one day off ,, fishing ,, golfing or any of the other types of hobbies out there people do ,, the one day off I got was spent doing stuff around the house that needed done ,, spending time with the wife ,, having a aquarium allowed me to ,, no matter what time I got home from work ,, to have a stress reliever ,,

 

[ca1ore]

'Other' for me also. I'm just fascinated with the ocean and reefs. Since I live in CT, the best way to fuel that interest is with a reef tank.

 

[LanaDelNeighh]

As a follow up to my previous post, I had an especially rough shift and came home this morning in an off mood..... So I sat and stared at my tank and all the life swimming/crawling around it in, and a bit and it made me feel much better! It really is a form of therapy. Might be more expensive than actual therapy too lol

 

[Roosterjack]

Honestly it is a combination of three things that drive me...

1. The simplest reason is that I am fascinated by coral reefs and the diversity of the ecosystem. I consider my entire DT as a single ”pet” yet I have everything from fish to pods and everything in between to fuss over and observe.

2. I want to foster a respect and wonder in my children for reefs. Your personal beliefs may be different, but to me there is no more concentrated example of the majesty of Creation than a thriving coral reef. The intricacies, vast diversity, and complexity serve as a humbling reminder of God’s artistry and power.

3. I love the thought that the reef hobby helps to drive aquaculture and both the desire and know-how to preserve and restore natural reefs.

 

[ajhudson15]

The same happens to me. Once i start i have mini freak outs for some reason leading up. Usually during maintenance days i find Something that seriously needs to be completed like cleaning return, cleaning vortechs, replacing my leaking bulkhead the list could go on forever. This gives me more anxiety. However when i am all finished and im looking into that glass box i am proud of what ive done and where my reef is heading.

Xanax right before I start always helps lol

 

[ScubaDan206]

I enjoy the challenge and the beauty of keeping reef animals in my home. I will keep expanding and growing my potential and my knowledge. Keeping larger more diverse ecosystems, and being creative has been a dream of mine since I started keeping aquariums 20 years ago.

 

[Cque2222]

I think that the fact that I’m able to keep creatures from the ocean alive is amazing. I’ve always loved the water and it’s inhabitants, there is just so much diversity. Every day I look at my tank and see that it’s happy, or someone molted, or that coral that I’ve had that won’t behave is open and fluffed up, i feel like I’m on top of the world!
My two cents is that if you give up, all you will be able to say is that you tried and weren’t satisfied. This hobby is revolutionary, twenty years ago you couldn’t keep a sea apple or acropora alive. Today people keep monster tanks stuffed to the gills with “impossible” animals. There is just so much to discover and do, I’d go crazy not having a fish tank to remind me of what we hold so dear on this planet.
The ocean is a delicate but extremely powerful force to be reckoned with. If we do our best to protect it, and try to understand it. We can notice things that most don’t think are possible!!!

My favorite part is the micro organisms, going from my fuge with rotos and pods up to my hermits and snails living off detritus. I rarely clean my tank I’ve gotten to the point of almost self cleaning.

 

[Iván Olalla]

For me is a stress relief valve...yes, maintenance and keep things looking good involves work but that elbow grease and the satisfaction of seeing the results is awesome... at work i might be on the floor with the guys servicing one of the shops machines but it not relaxes me, but disasembling my paintball marker, a bike´s motor or servicing my tank does... also i do enjoy that my little boy shows more and more interest and it´s something we can do together an share

 

[captainsmitty]

This is an interesting question. I think eventually you just get to the point where you can't imagine your life without a reef. If you're having fun why think about it? Why do you love any of the things you love? The answer won't always be obvious.

My fascination with the ocean goes to my profession.
I am a sea captain (charter boat www.riptide.net ). I have owned this charter boat for over 20 years.
I have worked upon the ocean since 1971. We fish for salmon, rock fish, whale watching and burials at sea.
I have salt water in my veins!!!

 

[Luca Borri]

is the first time i write for R2R. i voted for "other"... because it is a long and sometimes sad story with a more or less happy ending. i’m 53 years hold and since I've had memories my mind and my body have always been immersed in water. my house was always full of frogs, snakes, salamanders and, of course, fish and other aquatic animal: obviously my parents were desperate . in 1973 my grandfather gave me a real aquarium with plants and fish (like neon, guppies and other tropical freshwater) and I started swimming in the sea with the mask. I could say: "the rest is history" but life is strange: I graduated in law, I thanked my parents for the opportunity they given to me but I went around the world to work as a diver (instructor and underwater technician operator) living in thailand, mexico, belize, indonesia and especially in East Africa (zanzibar as instructor and dar es salaam arbour for some very dirty job). in 2007 I had to go back to Italy due to family problems and found myself without work, home and family. after having started working again as an instructor in various Italian diving centers and having had a house of my own, I happened to read an article on nano reefs and I started one of 60 liters (obviously full of corals in less than 6 months) and after a while i switched to 400 liters . in 2010, following a simple medical examination, I discovered I had cancer: desperation? dismay? no just want to fight and I won !! and my aquarium was always with me: it was fine when I was fine and was sick when I was sick and I had to fight for myself but also for my fish and my corals because if I could keep them beautiful I was better too. I have dwelt too much and I go to the end: now I am well (better wounded than dead), I have 2 beautiful sons and a wife and 1000 liters of reef tank filled only with corals and fish that over time I recovered from tanks where they suffered and I searched to make them flourish again like I did. that's all folk