How discouraged do you get?

[Michael7979]

How often do you get discouraged with this hobby?

Right now I'm about to scrap the entire thing and think about starting over! Don't know if I should or if I shouldn't.


I have had the worst luck the past several months. Ever since I had a heater blow up in the tank. I have lost a lot of my SPS, 95%. Mainly Acros. Monti's don't seem to show any signs of stress at all, except for 1 large colony. Ricordeas, Hammers, toadstool, anemone all seem to be doing just fine. Fish look fantastic! Just blows me away! Seems to be that as soon as I make a step forward I have some form of trouble. I have not bought anything in along time because I have been trying to figure things out. But I still lose what I have left. Maybe this hobby wants me gone!

I don't know I'm just so ****** right now I could take a bat to it!!!!!

So tell me how often do you get discouraged with your tank or tanks?
Not the little stuff. But the big stuff they just frustrates the hell out of you?

(ps I did this on my local forum too. want to compare)
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[sprinklerdudes]

well I think I am doing a pretty good job, havn't lost anything in a while, I go and get another acropora frag, a few weeks later, there it goes, bleaching white, just another skeloton in the tank, me and acropora just don't jive

 

[MarvinsReef]

there's definitely ups and downs in the hobby. during the tough times, I try to just throttle it back and just relax and enjoy what I have left. I'm not really sure what problems you're going through with the tank but I'm sure you'll get it situated. sometimes, it takes some time for you to get back and enjoy the hobby again. that's fine. let it be. give yourself time to recuperate from the down times. we try our best to keep our tanks the best we can and sometimes, things still happens. just keep at it and hopefully a Ah ha! moment will happen that'll get you back to enjoying your tank and this hobby again. :)

 

[Michael7979]

there's definitely ups and downs in the hobby. during the tough times, I try to just throttle it back and just relax and enjoy what I have left. I'm not really sure what problems you're going through with the tank but I'm sure you'll get it situated. sometimes, it takes some time for you to get back and enjoy the hobby again. that's fine. let it be. give yourself time to recuperate from the down times. we try our best to keep our tanks the best we can and sometimes, things still happens. just keep at it and hopefully a Ah ha! moment will happen that'll get you back to enjoying your tank and this hobby again. :)

Are you a motovational speaker? Just thinking you might be able to get a 2nd job! :)
That might be exactly what I need to do for awhile.

 

[SDguy]

There were times when the only thing saving my tank from being thrown out onto the street, literally, was the fact that it weighed half a ton :)

 

[MarvinsReef]

Are you a motovational speaker? Just thinking you might be able to get a 2nd job! :)
That might be exactly what I need to do for awhile.

:hammer:

I have had to do what I just wrote a few times. there's been some trials during my last 6 or so years of being in the hobby. it's not fun losing $$$$ in corals and another $$$$ in fishes. and more importantly, the time you took to grow and nurture the corals and fishes you chose. trust me, you'll be back in full force soon. hopefully, you'll be able to help someone out later on with what you're going through at the moment. good luck and hope to see yah around here for a while. :) :)

 

[BlazinNano]

I truly thought about just taking down the tank and getting out of the hobby completely. I even had the sale thread typed up ready to hit submit. I asked my fiance to read over it and make sure it was a good deal. She yelled at me. Told me I was stupid for even thinking about selling everything. She made me realize I needed to spend about $200 to fix the problem. I fixed the problem.

 

[clowns101]

I find things Im not happy with daily,our tanks are like cars,the car dosnt put gas in itself.Tanks dont take care of themselves.I find things I need to do every day that I dont like,but,oh well,I like my tank for what it is!

 

[josepy1]

there's definitely ups and downs in the hobby. during the tough times, I try to just throttle it back and just relax and enjoy what I have left. I'm not really sure what problems you're going through with the tank but I'm sure you'll get it situated. sometimes, it takes some time for you to get back and enjoy the hobby again. that's fine. let it be. give yourself time to recuperate from the down times. we try our best to keep our tanks the best we can and sometimes, things still happens. just keep at it and hopefully a Ah ha! moment will happen that'll get you back to enjoying your tank and this hobby again. :)

nice, well put. Michael i have been going threw this thing that i cant figure out for like three months, so i understand. Just keep eliminating things one by one and youll get it. its the only way to pull our heads out of you know where and realize that we are not perfect. GOOD LUCK.

 

[Prozium]

as far as the corals being dead.... don't count the out till you see coralline algae growing on them!

when I was starting to get my 150g tank together a member of my local reef club had some LR for sale, so I went and picked up about 50-60lbs of good pieces. so, one piece had 2 spots that had monti's on them at one point. after he had it in his garage in a tank with a heater and powerhead for a while it had no coralline algae on it at all. I then had it in my tank during cycling and the first 4 months after putting coral and fish in with no MH lighting! now one of the monti's is coming back! note, this piece is at the far end of the tank so the 2 MH's I had on for the first 4 months could not have got much light over there. now it's looking better and better every day.:waaaht:

 

[dougers31]

I get ticked off at my tank nearly every week! Last week I lost 3 frags to rtn after not having a loss for a long time.

 

[Michael7979]

OK this is great! (in a weird way) Since I am not alone.

So how do you keep yourself from getting so discouraged that you just throw in the towel?

 

[nixer]

OK this is great! (in a weird way) Since I am not alone.

So how do you keep yourself from getting so discouraged that you just throw in the towel?

stubbornness lol

 

[fsu1dolfan]

Yeah i think we all can relate to this thread. I for one, let me tank get out of hand last year and i have spent a few days of 6 plus hours of cleaning, trimming, revamping, etc. I bought some new equipment to help me out and get things where i want. I definitely had moments where i was like maybe i should just start over fresh. Not really wanna throw in the towel and quit but, just start over. Considering this is my first salt water tank there are alot of things that i have learned and would do differently. I dont think i could ever get away from this hobby.

Its funny though, i have people tell me all the time how nice my tank looks and yet im angry because of the algae or aiptasias or something. Like Marvin said sometimes you gotta sit back relax and enjoy what you have.

 

[scott711]

I get frustrated sometimes when I lose sps for no apparent reason. I want to throw the whole tank away and start over! However, if I did that I would have a big hole in my wall :)

 

[benny z]

it's all about the journey.

peaks and valleys, no doubt.

every few years, it seems, i take a nice long sabbatical and just enjoy my fish. always a refreshing period.

 

[deereid4j]

I relate definately, my skimmer went...that was week one...week two...my lights went..the canopy from JBJ started smoking and blew....that was $300.00 fix..I have no fish anymore, as my marron clown was attacking my duncans..gave him a new home in a friend's tank, then i looks in there after making a purchase locally at a LFS and I have Friggin FLATWORMS!!! another $60.00 fix...So I fixed that issue,...oh and here we go again,...look in the tank and all my brittle stars died off my LR because of the flatworm exit!! grrrrr,...I figure if I didn't love the little corals that I do have so much, I would have given up right about the time the smoking ballast occured...The thing that keeps me strong in this hobby is that my corals depend on me, and in a way I depend on them, when I am stressed out with life, guess where I turn to first, my tank brings me peace of mind, when I need it the most. (sometimes) hahaha you are definately not alone..

 

[Paul B]

I can't vote because I have never been discouraged and my reef is 40 years old.
Even bad things that happen I take as a learning process and I am just as excited by the bad things as the good.
This is a hobby and not important or needed, if I get discouraged I will throw it out and do something else.
If something goes wrong, it is always our fault.
Electricity goes out, I bought a generator, if I go away I get someone to look after it. I learn about the animals I keep by SCUBA diving with them and If I could not do that I would do some extensive reading from varying authors that have success with that animal.

 

[MarvinsReef]

great thread going. should help someone that's a bit down atm. :)

 

[kingfisherfleshy]

I chose yearly, because it does happen...and oftentimes frustration is extreme.

Man, I wish I could get rid of that fish, or you wish you had never added that fish.

You wish you woulda spent the money to begin with instead of slowly replacing stuff till you got to the point where you knew you should be all along.

Then there are the little nagging issues...But in the end, the frustration, and slowly fixing all your problems is what makes sitting down in front of that tank so rewarding. You are thinking of where you are taking it...you are thinking of how far you HAVE taken it. One of the best feelings.